Embryo Modeling and Embryo Cultivation
Channel: HMS Center for Bioethics
Date: 2021-03-26

February 13, 2020

Presented by 
Jianping Fu, PhD
Insoo Hyun, PhD

Scientists are now able to explore important milestones in early human development which, until recently, have remained inaccessible to scientific exploration. Using extended culture systems of fertility clinic embryos alongside stem cell-based models of post-implantation human development (so-called "synthetic embryos"), researchers can now explore the "black box" of human development -- i.e., the developmental point just beyond implantation, when most women do not know they are pregnant and when many birth defects and miscarriages occur. 

What can be learned by culturing natural embryos up to the 14 day regulatory limit? How can stem cell-based embryo models be used to advance human health? If embryo models are derived from patients' body cells, would this be tantamount to human cloning? What new ethical and policy questions do these advances raise? Do these new questions threaten the potential benefits of this research? 

Insoo Hyun addressed these and many other questions, accompanied by Jianping Fu, one of the world leaders in embryo modeling research. Interactive audience discussion followed their presentation.

To learn more about the Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics, please visit
bioethics.hms.harvard.edu