title: What if stem cells turn into embryos in a dish?
abstract: Recent studies show that pluripotent stem cells can undergo self-organized development in vitro into structures that mimic the body plan of the post-implantation embryo. Modeling human embryogenesis in a dish opens up new possibilities for the study of early development and developmental disorders, but it may also raise substantial ethical concerns.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.|The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute for Medical Research, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.|The Florey Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Martin F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Pera
authors.affiliation: Department of Health, Ethics &Society, Research Schools Care and Public Health Research Institute and GROW School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: de Wert
authors.affiliation: Department of Health, Ethics &Society, Research Schools Care and Public Health Research Institute and GROW School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Wybo
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Dondorp
authors.affiliation: Francis Crick Institute, Mill Hill, London, UK.
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lovell-Badge
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Christine L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Mummery
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Megan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Munsie
authors.affiliation: Embryology Unit, Children's Medical Research Institute, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia.|Discipline of Medicine, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Patrick P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Tam
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D033041:Embryo Research / Q000941:ethics* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D005775:Gastrula / Q000502:physiology; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D039904:Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology*