Is it possible for a human to be gentically altered into an animal?

Question

i keep thinking on this subject and i wondered if it was really possible for someone to be altered into an animal or at least somewhat close to it...

Answer 1

We are animals already, but apes in denial..

Answer 2

I'm sure it's already happening...it's just not publicized.

Answer 3

Although you're seeking a simple answer, the problem is that the question is framed so lose that it could be answered in a number of ways and still be correct. Lets examine a few.

One answer would be yes. It is possible for a human to be genetically altered into another species. One way is through a process called evolution. In the far distant future, our genetic makeup will probably have altered enough that our descendants will no longer be compatible with current humans.

This probably isn't the answer you're looking for, but there are other techniques of making genetic alterations, some of which are outlined in other answers...but that probably brings us nicely to another answer which would be:

No, we probably do not currently have the technology to do this.

You say you don't know anything about biolgy and just want to know the above, all I'm trying to get across is that sometimes a question can't be answered in a valid way with a simple yes or no.

Answer 4

We are animals.

Answer 5

This question shows that the author knows nothing about biology.  It also reflects a human bias that puts people in a completely separate category from all other living things.  This viewpoint is not very helpful to understanding anything.

Answer 6

No

Answer 7

probable..governments technology is said to be 50 year ahead of ours so i would say yes its poss

Answer 8

That would be inhuman.

Answer 9

OK you want a relatively sensible answer.

The answer is no for the time being, for the simple reason that genetic modification in organisms any more complex than bacteria more than the insertion or deletion of a single gene or two is still not possible. It is still impossible to replace a single faulty gene in those suffering from a single mutation genetic disease.

Think of this - the nearest relatives of humans are chimpanzees and bonobos which share around 98% of their genetic material.

We have between 20-25 000 genes which means we share about 19 600-24 500 of them, which means around 500 genes needing to be deleted and potentially replaced by genes coding for a chimpanzee or bonobo  and that doesn't even cover needing to change some regulatory genes into the appropriate form.

It's just a nightmare trying to think about it.

If you owned a 20-bedroom Norman castle and wanted a 20-bedroom modern hotel, you would probably knock it down and replace it.

Millions of years of separations of genomes going their own way mean they are quite different and can't easily be tampered with.

In any case all this would have to be done before development started - characters become 'fixed in stone' as embryos develop. Why take a human embryo and change it into a chimp one, when there are chimp embryos occurring naturally?

Answer 10

No, for genetic alteration to be successful it must take place on the germination level, meaning it would have to be done when a baby is still just a couple of cells. Even then our genes act as a kind of "fail safe" when the wrong combination of genes shows up you have a "spontaneous abortion" meaning the cells die and so does the baby. Occasionally a mutation slips by and that is why you see all those things on tv, like tree people and very large or very small individuals. However those are changes in a very small subset of proteins. The large scale changes needed to become an animal would not be possible with the information we have today, and it is extremely unlikely that it will ever be possible. or legal for that matter

Answer 11

Yes, they are all anchors on Fox News.

Answer 12

Humans are already animals.

Answer 13

well ive kissed a few dogs in my time

Answer 14

Not right now it isn't. Maybe in the future, for what reason I really don't know as were the far most superior creature on earth.

Answer 15

Yes and they're called hoodies! Although that would be derogitory to animals so no offences intended to them.

Answer 16

its been done several thousand years ago