First human-pig 'chimera' created in milestone study

Prospect of growing human organs for transplantation raised by creation of first ever embryos combining two large, distantly related species

Scientists have created a human-pig hybrid in a milestone study that raises the prospect of being able to grow human organs inside animals for use in transplants.

It marks the first time that embryos combining two large, distantly-related species have been produced. The creation of this so-called chimera - named after the cross-species beast of Greek mythology - has been hailed as a significant first step towards generating human hearts, livers and kidneys from scratch.