Researchers are racing to engineer highly realistic human embryo models using stem cells in the lab. Some of the newest models are now so similar to real human embryos that it’s unsettling even if also exciting in terms of research potential.
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While the models will catalyze new, unique research advances, biologists disagree about key issues related to them, including how long it should be OK to grow these human embryo-like structures in the lab.
I have to admit to being very surprised by just how much these models look like real human embryos, even if so far they still lack certain key features and their gene expression isn’t quite right.
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Just as this modeling research field often feels in nebulous territory, the models themselves also don’t fit into clear categories. To me, while human embryo models are clearly not people, they also are not just everyday blobs of cells. There is something special about them. Instrumentalizing them, particularly for commercialization, comes with risks and tough dilemmas.
