Biomedical and societal impacts of in vitro embryo models of mammalian development

Abstract

In recent years, a diverse array of in vitro cell-derived models of mammalian development have been described that hold immense potential for exploring fundamental questions in developmental biology, particularly in the case of the human embryo where ethical and technical limitations restrict research. These models open up new avenues toward biomedical advances in in vitro fertilization, clinical research, and drug screening with potential to impact wider society across many diverse fields. These technologies raise challenging questions with profound ethical, regulatory, and social implications that deserve due consideration. Here, we discuss the potential impacts of embryo-like models, and their biomedical potential and current limitations.

Keywords: Pluripotent stem cells; disease models; ethics; models of embryonic development; teratogens.