Monkey knockouts? ANDi is the first step on the path todeveloping a knockout monkey that could be a better animal modelfor studying diseases and their treatments. Genetically modifiedprimates could potentially be used to study breast cancer, HIV, andany number of diseases. However, not everyone agrees that creatinga knockout monkey should be a scientific goal. Some point out thatmice, and even zebrafish, share the majority of human genes andhave been used effectively in research. Others argue that aknockout monkey could present a threat to public health because apathogen might leap from the study animals to the human population.Others are uncomfortable with the use of primates in any sort ofresearch due to their close relationship to humans. What do youthink? Should we press forward to develop a knockout monkey?
