Explained | Lab-grown human embryos: Ethical conundrums and emerging frontiers

Scientists have used stem cells to create lab-grown structures resembling human embryos. While it marks a groundbreaking achievement in the field, this development has sparked discussions regarding the need for stricter regulations in this rapidly advancing area of research.

Here's all you need to know

AFP reports that over the past week, multiple research laboratories worldwide have released pre-print studies outlining their research. 

The laboratories used various methods to stimulate human embryonic stem cells — which possess the capability to 'self-assemble into any cell type — to spontaneously organise themselves into a structure resembling an embryo. Remarkably, this process occurred without the requirement of sperm, an egg, or even fertilisation.

However, experts have cautioned that these findings have not yet undergone peer review and should be approached with caution.

The primary objective of this research is to provide scientists with a model that enables the study of human embryos in ways that were previously unattainable due to ethical concerns. 

By doing so, scientists as per AFP, hope to gain new insights into the origins of birth defects, genetic disorders, infertility, and other pregnancy-related issues.

As mentioned previously, multiple institutes using many techniques have come up with such groundbreaking research.

The initial announcement came from Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz, a researcher from Cambridge University and the California Institute of Technology, during the annual meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research in Boston, reports news agency AFP.

Shortly after, on Thursday, Jacob Hanna's team at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel published their own pre-print study detailing their work on stem cell-based human embryo models. 

As per the French news agency, another team, Zernicka-Goetz, then released their own pre-print publication. 

Following this, labs in China and the United States have also shared their pre-print studies later in the past seven days.

The influx of data has shed light on the highly competitive nature of research in this particular field. 

In August 2022, both the Zernicka-Goetz and Hanna teams independently published papers detailing their creation of embryo-like structures using mouse stem cells. Talking to AFP, both teams confirmed that their new studies had been accepted by prestigious peer-reviewed journals and that they had presented their findings at conferences months prior to the recent media coverage.

Jacob Hanna dismissed the notion that either team was the "first," and said that they had achieved distinct accomplishments. However, talking to AFP, he highlighted that his models possessed features such as a "placenta, a yolk sac, amniotic cavity" which he claimed were absent in the structures developed by the Zernicka-Goetz team.

Other researchers concurred that Hanna's models were more advanced, praising his team for employing only chemical modifications rather than genetic modifications to induce the formation of embryo-like structures. 

A researcher from Germany's Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics described the similarity between Hanna's model and a natural embryo as "remarkable, almost uncanny."

The labs of team Zernicka-Goetz and Hanna conducted their experiments for a maximum of 14 days, adhering to the legal limit for growing human embryos in laboratories in many countries. 

This limit exists because, after 14 days, embryos initiate the cellular organisation required for organ development, including the brain. This stage, referred to as the "black box", remains largely unexplored in human embryos.

Regulations governing research in this area vary between countries, primarily applying to fertilised embryos. Thus, the new embryo-like models exploit a legal loophole as they are not derived from fertilisation. 

Darius Widera, an expert in stem cell biology at the University of Reading, advises against premature comparisons between the studies. Despite that, he reportedly acknowledged "the impact of both studies is immense" and emphasises the necessity of developing new guidelines for this rapidly progressing technology.

"We should try to avoid unhealthy hype since this technology is at an early stage -- but already, new guidelines are going to be needed," said Widera.

On Friday, Cambridge University also announced that it has launched a project aimed at developing the first governance framework for stem cell-based human embryo models in the UK.

James Briscoe from Britain's Francis Crick Institute advises researchers to proceed with caution, transparency, and care. He warned that the "danger is that missteps or unjustified claims will have a chilling effect on the public and policymakers, this would be a major setback for the field."

Scientists involved in the research emphasise that they do not intend to implant embryo models into human wombs. Furthermore, they say that even if such implantation were to occur, it would not result in a viable pregnancy. 

According to Widera, previous research involving the implantation of an embryo model into a female macaque did exhibit some signs of pregnancy but did not survive.

Some researchers have expressed their reservations about media reports referring to these cell clusters as "synthetic embryos".

They argue that these embryos do not meet the criteria of being purely synthetic or actual embryos due to their origin from stem cells.

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