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Science In Action: Human embryo models

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Human embryo models

22/06/2023 GMT

BBC World Service - Science In Action, Human embryo models

Scientists have made human embryo models – or “synthetic embryos” - in the lab.

Scientists have made human embryo models – or “synthetic embryos” – from stem cells. What are their aims? What are the ethics?

Over the last week, news of “synthetic human embryos” has made headlines around the world. Science in Action is getting to the bottom of the sensational story.  

We talk to two of the researchers who have made the embryo models from stem cells in their labs; Professor Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz from the University of Cambridge and California Institute of Technology, and Professor Jacob Hanna from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. They tell us how they made the embryo models, what their aims are, and their own ethical considerations.   

The scientific community is excited, but not surprised, by the breaking research. We hear how Dr Andreia Bernardo, group leader at Imperial College London, could use these structures in her future research.  

Finally, Director of the Reproductive Sociology Research Group at Cambridge University, Professor Sarah Franklin, and Professor of Law at Stanford University, Hank Greely, tackle the legal and ethical constraints on this kind of work, and why it is important for understanding the health of mothers and babies. 

Photo Credit: Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz Lab

Presenter: Roland Pease 
Producer: Ella Hubber

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