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Mad Scientists Clone Van Gogh’s Ear (Picture)
Picture of woman’s ear being cloned
Just when we think Dr. Frankenstein was a fictional nut, here comes a real life version of what scientists can do with cloning.
A living replica of the ear Vincent van Gogh is said to have cut off during a psychotic episode in 1888 is now on display at a museum in Germany.
Artist Diemut Strebe used cells from Lieuwe van Gogh, the great-great-grandson of Vincent’s brother Theo, to grow the ear and a 3-D printer to shape it. The artist said the ear, which was grown at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is being kept alive inside a case containing a nourishing liquid and could theoretically last for years. The ear is identical in shape to van Gogh’s ear, according to the museum.
Lieuwe and Vincent van Gogh share about one sixteenth of the same genes, including the Y-chromosome that is passed down the male lineage. Work is underway with a female relative to include mitochondrial DNA — passed down the mother’s line — for future installations, according to the Associated Press.
Visitors to the museum can speak into the ear through a microphone. The sound is processed by software that simulates nerve impulses to produce a crackling sound.
The exhibition runs through July 6 at The Center for Art and Media in Karlsruhe, Germany. The artist plans to display the ear in New York next year. MOREHERE
Well that was certainly an earful. What I want to see is if they can clone an Orangutan’s butt and get all the colors to match precisely. Now that would be something.
Seriously, Why don’t they spend their time cloning something useful like a Thylacine.
I keep hearing and hearing “Pun intended” about all this cloning stuff for years. So why don’t they clone something that will have people rising from their seats and saying “WOW.”