Abstract
Chimeric life forms constitute mergers between two or more distinct beings. This article explores the making of interspecies mammalian chimeras in biomedical research where the availability of human embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells has opened the way to radically humanize the biology of other organisms. By showing how chimeric life forms are foundational to biology, however, I loosen the compelling grip that chimeras have as liminal and monstrous. To the story of the chimera, this article replies with another story, that of the human as it is differently enacted at the levels of cells, tissues and organisms. Drawing on fieldwork conducted at a stem cell laboratory and farm animal research institute, the paper argues that meanings of the human become elusive and unknown when intertwined with chimeric life. In conclusion, the article reflects on the transforming politics of the human in biomedical research.
Highlights
In order to dislodge us from our own species narcissism many working in critical and social theory have accepted the premise that the human can no longer serve as the basis and inspiration for social inquiry.1 To understand the contemporary predicaments we find ourselves in we need to get away from the human
This article investigates recent transformations in how the human is defined, approached and governed in biomedical research by asking: what and who constitutes the human in the making of interspecies mammalian chimera? Within the fields of stem cell science and regenerative medicine, chimeric entities are made by inserting cells from one donor species
The first section of the paper examines the mythic accretions gathered around the figure of the chimera and relates these to the experimental interspecies chimeras in mice, rats and birds that emerged in late twentieth century laboratories
Summary
In order to dislodge us from our own species narcissism many working in critical and social theory have accepted the premise (to some degree or another) that the human can no longer serve as the basis and inspiration for social inquiry. To understand the contemporary predicaments we find ourselves in we need to get away from the human. This article investigates recent transformations in how the human is defined, approached and governed in biomedical research by asking: what and who constitutes the human in the making of interspecies mammalian chimera? The first section of the paper examines the mythic accretions gathered around the figure of the chimera and relates these to the experimental interspecies chimeras in mice, rats and birds that emerged in late twentieth century laboratories These interspecies mixtures came to be known as chimeric (in direct reference to the Chimera monster of Greek myth) and have been central to establishing knowledge about the developmental and reproductive capacities of organisms. In exploring the making of interspecies mammalian chimera, the aim of this article is not to uphold particular versions of what the human means, but rather to investigate what biomedical researchers take it to mean in their everyday practices
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