For decades, scientists have been prohibited from keeping human embryos alive in their labs for more than 14 days. The prohibition was aimed at avoiding a
An update to guidance on stem cell research has dropped the 14-day embryo rule in a move that could pave the way for research on conditions from genetic disorders to miscarriage.
The changes, published by the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR), reflect new advances in fields including chimeras, organoids and genome editing.
Until now, scientists have only been able to culture intact human embryos in the lab up to the 14-day mark.
However, the update will allow scientists to explore the critical period of embryo development from 14–28 days, during which time tissues begin to be established.
The new guidelines were developed following a 1.5 year long collaboration between 45 experts in ethics, law and stem cell science from 14 different countries.
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Removal of the 14-day limit for culturing human embryos is one of the main changes in the revised recommendations from the International Society for Stem Cell Research.
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An influential scientific panel says researchers should be allowed to grow human embryos in a lab for more than two weeks and recommends lifting the so-called 14-day rule, according to news reports.
The 14-day rule refers to a strict cap placed on the length of time lab-grown embryos are allowed to mature, in order to avoid ethical dilemmas that would arise as the tissues became more and more human-like,
STAT reported. Some countries, including Australia and the U.K., have gone so far as to write the 14-day rule into law, while other countries, like the U.S., enforce the rule through regulatory research bodies. That said, in the past, scientists struggled to keep lab-grown embryos alive for that long.