Take this post with a pinch of salt, as I don't know the stuff that well either.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Someday
The objective is to create stem cell lines.
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I think there are other goals as well. One thing I read researchers are aiming for with mixed DNA hybrids (substantial portions of DNA mixed in with each other, not like the 99.9% example where the tiny bit of cow DNA is discarded) is to study DNA duplication errors. These are rare, the chances of observing one are minute. By copy-pasting together mixed DNA, the DNA strands can be artificially made to produce certain types of copying errors more often, helping the study copying process errors. So it's sort of deliberately mucking things up to get a better chance to study the damage formation process.
I didn't read anywhere how this would soon benefit any treatments of diseases. It may may be long-term research or research without any specified practical aim at all, other than to learn how things work.
Peter