Lab-grown human embryo: New era of research and ethical concerns

Scientists have once again pushed boundaries by creating lab-grown human embryos using stem cells.

While this groundbreaking development represents a significant stride in biomedical research, it also sparked an avalanche of ethical concerns. And, of course, calls for stronger regulation.

Here’s what you need to know.

Lab-grown human embryos

The labs involved with the study created structures resembling human embryos using high-tech methods to first create human stem cells, which can then be turned into a cell – such as arranging itself to look like an embryo.

What’s interesting is they did this without needing sperm, an egg, or the usual process of making a baby.

Why the need for this research?

Scientists say it gives them a new way to study human embryos.

This kind of research has been hard to do because of moral concerns, and these models might help us better understand genetic problems, birth defects, and fertility issues, among other things.

Lab-grown embryos: Existing research

Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz of Cambridge University and the California Institute of Technology was the first to announce these developments at the International Society for Stem Cell Research’s annual meeting in Boston.

Her presentation was followed by a pre-print study detailing similar work from Jacob Hanna’s team at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.

Both Zernicka-Goetz and Hanna published papers in 2022 describing their work creating the first embryo-like structures using mouse stem cells.

Ethicals concerns and regulations

Current regulations regarding embryonic research are primarily geared towards fertilised embryos, creating a regulatory grey area for these new, embryo-like structures.

In response to these limitations, Cambridge University launched a project to establish the United Kingdom’s first governance framework for these stem cell-based human embryo models.

Researchers involved with this project underscored their commitment to ethical consideration, saying they don’t have plans to implant these embryos in a human womb.

Besides, they said these models, even when implanted, won’t produce a viable, living baby.

Their sole purpose is research − to understand human post-implantation development, a stage where many pregnancies fail.

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