# Building a Nonhuman Human %% - [[a Mongolian gerbil has an ear structure like humans]] - [[we may be able to construct an entire functioning nonhuman human from pieces of other species]] %% I recently read that a Mongolian gerbil has an ear structure like humans which means that using them in studies could help eventually help researchers to better understand a rare ear condition called superior semicircular canal dehiscence (SSCD).[^1] This led me back to a passage I read in the book Stiff by Mary Roach. She "got the impression that it would be possible to construct an entire functioning nonhuman human from pieces of other species."[^2] She says a pig's heart is a particularly close match to ours. The human knee most resembles the brown bear's. Our lungs are like that of a Goat. A Jersey cow (at about six months old) closely resembles our human brain. And according to Roach, "emu hips are dead ringers for human hips." With a combination like that Frankenstein's monster wouldn't look so bad after all! [^1]: [[(Rutgers University, 2023)]] Rutgers University, 17 Feb 2023. How the Mongolian gerbil may help speed recovery of a rare inner ear problem: Scientists develop testing model to enhance understanding of a condition known as “third window syndrome”. ScienceDaily. [LINK](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/02/230217152312.htm) [^2]: [[Stiff by Mary Roach]]