LONDON — Policymakers and scientific groups need to specify guidelines for the burgeoning field that uses stem cells to mimic aspects of embryonic development, including by establishing certain red lines on research, an influential U.K. bioethics group said Wednesday in a new report.
Specifically, the report from the Nuffield Council on Bioethics says that researchers should not use these stem cell-based embryo models to try to start a pregnancy in a person or animal, and should not develop them to the point that they have the capacity to feel pain or awareness.
The models that scientists have built thus far remain too primitive for either of those outcomes to occur, researchers say, and it would likely be years before either might even be possible. But in the new — and fast-moving — field, research teams around the world have shown they are coaxing cells to form more complex models, fueling competition among different groups. Governance structures have yet to adapt.
Click this link for the original source of this article.
Author: Andrew Joseph
This content is courtesy of, and owned and copyrighted by, https://www.statnews.com and its author. This content is made available by use of the public RSS feed offered by the host site and is used for educational purposes only. If you are the author or represent the host site and would like this content removed now and in the future, please contact USSANews.com using the email address in the Contact page found in the website menu.
