The closer the knit, the tighter the fit: conceptual and ethical issues of human embryo modelling

Abstract

The funding sources were not involved in this study.

Biophysical models of early mammalian embryogenesis

“…Large numbers of genetically identical datasets can also be provided by blastoids, something that is typically impossible with human embryos. This makes it easier to probe the relative importance of environmental noise versus genetic mutation and aids the gathering of sufficient data to validate model predictions ( Daoud et al., 2021 ). Reduced ethical restrictions also make it possible to create genetically altered blastoids so that, for example, cell lineage can easily be identified ( Yanagida et al., 2021 ; Mehta, 2014 ).…”

Pluripotent Stem Cells as a Model for Human Embryogenesis

“…However, scientific progress is often accompanied by various ethical, philosophical, and even legal discussions that concern the scientific community and society in general. In just three years, several reviews were published discussing some of the major ethical dilemmas that arose around 3D models [ 79 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 ]. For example, there are ethical considerations when using human 3D embryonic or organoid models in animal experiments for possible transplantation or implantation to test their functionality [ 80 ].…”