Lord Winston, the leading fertility specialist, has shifted pioneering work on replacement organs to the United States, blaming government bureaucracy for stifling his work.
The scientist hoped to create transgenic pigs whose organs could be tranplanted into humans without fear of immune reaction, but restrictions on the use of farm animals blocked the study.
Prof Winston aired his concerns at the British Association festival of science in York today. It's an isolated case, but still a cause for concern if it is indicative of a broader feeling of unease amongst British researchers. The work is now expected to go ahead in Missouri.
On a less serious note, Prof Winston's talk shed fascinating light on the reproductive biology of mini pigs, which typically weigh around 100kg. His description of the more practical side of germline modification of pigs was particularly enlightening and may well have produced the quote of the conference:
"I don't know if you've ever seen a pig's testicle," he said, sat on a table in front of a room of journalists, swinging his legs gently. "But they're massive."
This nugget was not offered off the cuff. A larger testicle is harder to handle, so the scientists were faced with using hormones to shrink them before attempting to genetically modify the sperm within.
Listen to Lord Winston talking about growing organs for transplant in pigs here.
