内容摘要：Irwin was taken home to his family in downtown Durango, a tourism hub of 20,000 residents that is known for mountain tours on a narrow-gauge train.

Irwin was taken home to his family in downtown Durango, a tourism hub of 20,000 residents that is known for mountain tours on a narrow-gauge train.

On the research farm, Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’” was serenading a piglet barn, where music acclimates the youngsters to human voices. In air-conditioned pens, the animals grunted excited greetings until it’s obvious their visitors brought no treats. The 3-week-olds darted back to the security of mom. Next door, older siblings laid down for a nap or checked out balls and other toys.“It is luxury for a pig,” Ayares said. “But these are very valuable animals. They’re very smart animals. I’ve watched piglets play with balls together like soccer.”

About 300 pigs of different ages live on this farm, nestled in rolling hills, its exact location undisclosed for security reasons. Tags on their ears identify their genetics.“There are certain ones I say hi to,” said Suyapa Ball, Revivicor’s head of porcine technology and farm operations, as she rubbed one pig’s back. “You have to give them a good life. They’re giving their lives for us.”A subset of pigs used for the most critical experiments – those early attempts with people and the FDA-required baboon studies – are housed in more restricted, even cleaner barns.

But in neighboring Christiansburg is the clearest signal that xenotransplantation is entering a new phase — the sheer size of United Therapeutics’ new pathogen-free facility. Inside the 77,000-square-foot building, the company expects to produce about 125 pig organs a year, likely enough to supply clinical trials.David Ayares, president and chief scientific officer of Revivicor, looks at pigs at the company’s research farm near Blacksburg, Va., on May 29, 2024, where organs are retrieved for animal-to-human transplant experiments. (AP Photo/Shelby Lum)

David Ayares, president and chief scientific officer of Revivicor, looks at pigs at the company’s research farm near Blacksburg, Va., on May 29, 2024, where organs are retrieved for animal-to-human transplant experiments. (AP Photo/Shelby Lum)

Company video shows piglets running around behind the protective barrier, chewing on toys and nosing balls back and forth.During those eight games, John Haliburton generated his own celebrity at local watering holes. He savored the 4-1 series victory over top-seeded Cleveland and two more wins at New York as the Pacers took the lead in the finals conference before his reappearance Tuesday — in a suite at the top of the lower bowl, located behind the basket closest to the Pacers bench.

“My dad is just fine. He lives just fine, he’s watching the game in a beautiful home or he finds his way into a sports bar with a bunch of Pacers fans,” Haliburton said, drawing laughter. “There was a lot of commentary around him, especially right after, which I think some was warranted and some went a little too far, but I think that’s just sports and that’s just talking heads. What can you do? But I don’t think there was any emotion to it.”said after Monday’s practice he thought it was important fathers watch their sons in person — especially in a conference final. Coach Rick Carlisle echoed those sentiments before Tuesday’s game.

“Glad he’s back,” Carlisle said. “You know a father should be able to watch his son play basketball, so we welcome him back.”Apparently, the Pacers and league officials felt the same way, even though the younger Haliburton never complained publicly about the punishment.