Synthetic Human Embryos Are Created, Raising Questions

Embryologist Ric Ross holds a dish with human embryos at the La Jolla IVF Clinic on Feb. 28, 2007, in La Jolla, Calif. Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images

Scientists reported a breakthrough in creating synthetic human embryos without the use of eggs or sperm but now face legal and ethical issues.

They claim to have created model embryos using stem cells and that those embryos resemble early stages of human development, which can be used in the studies of human genetic disorders.

“We can create human embryo-like models by the reprogramming of [embryonic stem] cells,” said professor Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz from the University of Cambridge and the California Institute of Technology, describing scientists’ work in a plenary address at the International Society for Stem Cell Research’s annual meeting in Boston.

However, this groundbreaking work was quick to bring up serious legal and ethical issues, as in the UK and other countries, such lab-grown entities go against current local legislation.

14-Day Rule

So far, scientists are legally able to do scientific research in the lab only until the human embryo is 14 days old. After that period, they can monitor an embryo’s course of development only via pregnancy scans or if the embryo was donated for research.

The Warnock Committee proposed this rule in 1984, arguing that within 14 days of fertilization, the embryo could be regarded as a collection of cells.

Scientists call these 14 days a “black box” period, as it’s very difficult to monitor the human embryo’s development in its initial stages, which is needed to find answers to many questions regarding abnormalities, diseases, and so forth. Hence, their motivation to create a synthetic human embryo.

How It’s Done

So far in their work, Zernicka-Goetz’s team and the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel have shown that they can create from mice stem cells embryo-like structures with beating hearts, intestinal tracts, and the beginnings of a brain.

Efforts are now in place to replicate this success with embryos derived from human stem cells. The full details of this latest work at the Cambridge–Caltech lab are yet to be published in a journal paper.

At her talk, Zernicka-Goetz explained that her team grew from a single stem cell the model structures of an embryo at the stage known as gastrulation, which is when the embryo starts to form multiple layers and sets up the human body’s basic axes.

Although at this stage the human embryo doesn’t yet have the beginnings of a brain, gut, or beating heart, the tested model embryo shows the presence of cells that are egg and sperm precursors.

“Our human model is the first three-lineage human embryo model that specifies amnion and germ cells, precursor cells of egg and sperm,” Zernicka-Goetz said.

Previous efforts to implant synthetic mice embryos into the wombs of female mice didn’t result in the development of live animals. The result with synthetic embryos from monkeys proved similar.

Thus, scientists don’t know if the normal development of synthetic embryos is possible and whether the obstacles are just technical or have a more fundamental biological base.

Legal and Ethical Issues

However, these achievements are facing legal and ethical issues. Currently, it’s illegal to use human synthetic embryos clinically, as it’s against the law to implant such embryos into a patient’s womb.

If such human synthetic embryos are to develop into embryo-like structures that lead to forming fetuses and mature human beings, we would be confronted with the question of what their moral status would be, which is what the scientific community is also concerned about.

Some key points to consider are as follows:

• Status and rights: Determining the moral and legal status of synthetic human embryos is complex. The question arises as to whether they should be granted the same rights and protections as natural human embryos.
• Human dignity: Synthetic human embryos may be created solely for research purposes, and there are concerns about treating human life as a mere resource or commodity. Critics argue that the creation and manipulation of embryos for experimentation undermines human dignity and respect for life.
• Consent and informed choice: Synthetic human embryo research, requiring genetic material donors, prompts informed consent queries.
• Safety and potential harms: The risks and potential harms associated with creating and manipulating synthetic human embryos need to be carefully evaluated.
• Implications for human reproduction: The development of synthetic human embryos could have significant implications for human reproduction, including assisted reproductive technologies, genetic engineering, and potential applications in cloning, which raise ethical concerns about the potential for misuse, exploitation, or unintended consequences.

Difference Between Synthetic Embryos and Cloning

Synthetic embryos and cloning are both related to the field of reproductive biology and involve the creation of organisms, but they’re distinct processes with different goals and methods.

In broad terms, synthetic embryos are used for the purpose of research and may not result in the production of a whole organism, whereas the purpose of cloning is to reproduce the entire organism.

However, there may still be ethical discussions surrounding the use of human cellular material and the potential applications of synthetic embryos.

Synthetic embryos are typically created through a combination of cellular reprogramming techniques, such as induced pluripotent stem cell technology, and various laboratory procedures to mimic the developmental processes of a natural embryo.

Cloning involves the replication of an entire organism or specific parts of it. The most well-known method of cloning is somatic cell nuclear transfer, by which the nucleus of a somatic (nonreproductive) cell is transferred into an egg cell that has had its own nucleus removed. This reconstructed egg is then stimulated to develop into an embryo and, under certain conditions, implanted into a surrogate mother for further development.

Particularly when applied to humans, cloning raises numerous ethical questions and concerns. These include issues related to individuality, identity, consent, the potential for exploitation, and the moral status of cloned individuals.

Both synthetic embryos and cloning are active areas of scientific research, and their regulations can vary across different jurisdictions. Ethical and moral considerations are crucial factors to be considered, especially in today’s society.

Ildem Akerman, associate professor of functional genomics at the University of Birmingham, said: “These findings [on synthetic human embryos] suggest that we would soon develop the technology to grow these cells beyond the 14 day limit. ... Nevertheless, the ability to do something does not justify doing it.”

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