Stem cells and embryos - new technology raises hopes and ethical dilemmas
Many people will be struggling to make sense of the astonishing breakthroughs presented at this week’s International Society for Stem Cell Research’s (ISSCR) annual meeting in Boston. The work by Prof Magdalena Żernicka-Goetz, of Cambridge University and the California Institute of Technology, creating human embryo-like models from stem cells, without the need for eggs or sperm, raises questions about life itself.Persuading stem cells to develop until clumps of them resemble an embryo or an embryonic organ in conditions that mimic the womb is currently an unregulated process in the UK, though transferring these into a woman’s womb is prohibited. However, given the similarities that these stem cell models have with human embryos, they offer enormous potential to unlock the secrets of early pregnancy and give an insight into what leads to miscarriages or birth defects.
Read more at: The Guardian