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For some people the Book " hybrid " think of a fuel - efficient car . For others , however , it conjures up visions of colossus .
The Modern thriller " splicing , " opening June 4 , severalise the news report of two world - course of instruction genic engineer who specialize in splice together desoxyribonucleic acid from different animals to create amazing new hybrids . Though incredibly successful with their animal hybrids , they on the Q.T. make a raw human - animal intercrossed tool that could yield a therapeutic for genus Cancer and other diseases . But as any picture buff knows , scientist who play God with living find that things go horribly untimely .
This subject , of course of action , is not new . characterisation ofmad scientistscreating unholy intercrossed monsters can be traced back to the 1896 H.G. Wells novel " The Island of Dr. Moreau " and Mary Shelley ’s 1818 novel " Frankenstein ; Or , the Modern Prometheus . " Films like " Splice " draw upon a widespread and deep - seat public mistrust of scientists ; this same distrust ( justly or wrong ) also underlies concern overgenetically modified organism .
There subsist rumors and urban legend of supposed human / chimpanzee hybrids ( " humanzees " ) , and though human being and chimpanzees are more genetically alike than not , no grounds of such a intercrossed exists , and scientist doubt it is possible .
Human / animal hybrids are merely the material of horror fiction — and Internet fraud ; a photograph of a supposedhalf - human , half - dogfamily circulated around the Web in 2009 — though crossbreed are not uncommon in the animal kingdom . [ 8 bizarre intercrossed brute . ]
One of the most familiaranimal hybridsis the mule , which is the product of a male donkey and a distaff horse . Another brace of celebrate hybrids are liger ( a male Leo and a distaff Panthera tigris ) and tigons ( a female Leo and a virile tiger ) which have characteristics of both metal money .
Despite images of Frankenstein ’s teras , there ’s not needs anything unnatural about hybrids ; in fact they often pass off in nature .
Members of Canid family ( which let in dogs , wolves , Canis latrans , and foxes ) are well known for interbreeding and make hybrids . And scientists in Canada ’s Northwest Territories recently declare that they found the first confirmed hybrid between icy and grizzly bears . A hunter killed an strange - looking bear and take its meat to scientist ; genetic analysis revealed that the loan-blend ’s mother was a polar - grizzly mix , its founding father a grizzly .
While cinematic scientist such as those in " Splice " unwittingly unleash horrific monsters , real genetic scientist strive to avail create hardy and hefty plant life and animal hybrids . Drs . Frankenstein and Moreau need not apply .
Benjamin Radford is care editor of theSkeptical Inquirerscience magazine . He is conscientious objector - host of theMonsterTalkpodcast , and his new bookScientific Paranormal Investigationhas just been give up ; this and his other books and undertaking can be found on hiswebsite . HisBad Science columnappears on a regular basis on LiveScience .
