A new report said scientists may not be far from giving apes the ability to think and talk like humans. The report is about experiments which transplant human cells into animals for medical purposes. It claimed that concerns about the creation of talking apes should be taken seriously. It should also draw people's attention to the possibility that the medical research about creating "humanised" animals is going to generate monsters. A regulatory body is needed to closely monitor any experiments that many risk creating animals with human-like consciousness or giving them any appearance or behavioural traits that too closely resemble humans, the report said. Scientists would, for example, be prevented from replacing a large number of an ape's brain cells with human brain cells until more is known about the potential risks. This has already been done in simpler animals like mice, which is judged to be less risky. Under the new UK guidelines, the power to regulate tests on animals containing human material would be transferred to a body with wider responsibility for animal testing in the Home Office. While there is no risk from experiments currently being carried out in Britain, it is possible that ethical   boundaries could be crossed within the next few years if scientists are not careful, the experts said. Professor Thomas Baldwin, a member of the Academy of Medical Sciences working group that produced the report, said the possibility of humanised apes should be taken seriously. He said, "The fear is that if you start putting very large numbers of human brain cells into the brains of primates you might transform the primates into something that has some of the abilities that we regard as distinctly human, such as speech, or other ways of being able to _ or relate to us." Professor Martin Bobrow, chair of the academy working group that produced the report, said, "The very great majority of experiments present no issues beyond the general use of animals in research and these should continue to proceed under the current regulations." Lord Willis, chair of the Association of Medical Research Charities, said, "AMRC only supports research that is absolutely necessary and where no suitable alternative methods are available." It can be inferred that   _  .
people should be careful when creating talking apes Thomas Baldwin and Lord Willis are from the same organization creating humanised animals is difficult in Britain now scientists must be cautious not to cross ethical boundaries