News

In Greek mythology, a chimera was a grotesque, fire-breathing monster usually depicted with the head of a lion, a goat’s body and a serpent’s tail. But the creation of modern-day chimeras—lab-grown human-animal hybrids—is moving beyond the realm of mythology or science-fiction—which is raising disturbing bioethical concerns.

“An Italian woman burned alive by a jealous ex-lover could have been saved if passing motorists had heeded her desperate screams for help, police said. Sara Di Pierantonio, 22, was doused in alcohol and set alight on the side of a road outside Rome by former boyfriend Vincenzo Paduano, 27, according to authorities… Surveillance footage showed at least two cars driving by as the woman screamed for help” (Yahoo News, May 31, 2016).

According to a recent report, “Fish are being killed, and prevented from reaching maturity, by the litter of plastic particles finding their way into the world’s oceans… Some young fish have been found to prefer tiny particles of plastic to their natural food sources, effectively starving them before they can reproduce. The growing problem of microplastics—tiny particles of polymer-type materials from modern industry—has been thought for several years to be a peril for fish… Microplastics are near-indestructible in natural environments.

“Violent crimes—from homicides and rapes to robberies—have been on the rise in many major U.S. cities, yet experts can’t point to a single reason why and the jump isn’t enough to suggest there’s a trend… ‘It’s being reported on at local levels, but in my view, it’s not getting the attention at the national level it deserves,’ FBI Director James Comey said recently.

According to a report last week, “The world’s most visited museum, the Louvre in Paris, is to close on Friday amid worsening flooding caused by days of torrential rain… The Seine, which runs through Paris past the Louvre, has risen five metres above normal levels. Heavy rains across Europe have left at least 10 people dead, most of them in Germany” (BBC, June 2, 2016).