University of Georgia scientist Steve Stice and his team injected human genes into pig bone marrow cells, reprogramming them into pluripotent stem cells, which were then injected into pig embyros, which were inserted into mother pigs. The piglets – technically they are chimera, because they also contain human genetic factors – were born last September.

The new technology developed by the two UGA researchers will basically allow scientists to make custom-designed pigs that will serve as a better research model for human disease and as a source of cells and organs for regenerative medicine, according to Stice, who says this new research tool may be used to determine which stem cells – adult, embryonic or induced pluripotent stem cells – work best for specific diseases.