Explained: Why Did Scientists Develop Synthetic Embryos, What Are The Ethical And Moral Concerns?

Scientists have reported that they have developed advanced synthetic embryo-like structures. 

Two teams of scientists, one in the United Kingdom (UK) and the other in Israel, have developed embryos from human stem cells.

While these scientists developed embryos from stem cells, embryos are naturally formed after a sperm and egg fertilise. 

Scientists say that such research could help them understand miscarriages and organ development during pregnancy in a better way. 

However, this is also a controversial. There are ethical and moral concerns regarding this kind of research.

To be sure, the embryos in the two cases cited above were just above 14-days-old and had not developed into a foetus. 

Here we explain what the scientists did, what's the stated purpose behind such work, and what are the ethical and moral concerns.

What's the research and its significance?

The research on synthetic embryos was conducted by two teams of researchers, one led by biologist Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz at the UK's University of Cambridge and the second by biologist Jacob Hanna at the Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot.

The studies have been posted on a pre-print repository and have not been published in a peer-reviewed journal.

First things first, the more accurate term here is "embryo-like structures" as these structures are neither completely like embryos nor completely synthetic as they are developed from human stem cells. 

New Scientist notes, "They are similar to early embryos, a tiny ball of cells arising from a sperm fertilising an egg, but created from stem cells grown in the lab. These structures haven’t been wholly synthetically created, as the stem cells came from an embryo originally, and they seem to have certain differences to naturally formed embryos. Some therefore prefer to call these entities stem-cell-based embryo models."

Explaining the research, Kathryn MacKay of University of Sydney in an article for The Conversation noted that synthetic embryos have for the first time been allowed to develop beyond the 14-day period, which is the point to which such research is usually allowed. 

Calling the research a "significant advance" in the field, McKay notes, "It’s further remarkable they seem to behave, in terms of development, like a human embryo would in some ways. Żernicka-Goetz reported the human-like embryos began to develop placenta and yolk sacs, but not a beating heart or the beginning of a brain."

McKay said that the research could "yield valuable knowledge" about placenta.

"Despite the role of the placenta in pregnancy, and its importance to the health of mother and fetus, we know surprisingly little about this vital but temporary organ. If it was possible to observe placenta in a lab via these synthetic embryos, this could yield valuable knowledge," noted MacKay, Senior Lecturer in Bioethics, University of Sydney.

Nature also noted that such research could be used to study developmental defects or pregnancy loss.

Why is it controversial, what are the concerns?

Żernicka-Goetz told Scientific American that the structures they made are not exactly embryos.

"It’s not an embryo—it’s an embryolike structure. Or in other words, we can call it a model of a human embryo. It’s three-dimensional, its architecture is beautiful, and it’s very powerful in understanding the causes for pregnancy loss at the time of implantation. But it’s not a real embryo," said Żernicka-Goetz.

MacKay of University of Sydney notes that there is the moral question whether such structures should be used for research.

"If the human-like synthetic embryos are capable of developing into full living beings, then we must consider whether it is morally permissible to create them just for research...We should think carefully about whether it is ethical to create living human-like beings only to conduct research on them," notes MacKay of University of Sydney for The Conversation.

Moreover, the embryonic stem cell itself is opposed by some religious group, which consider it against their pro-life beliefs.

"Opponents argue that the research is unethical, because deriving the stem cells destroys the blastocyst, an unimplanted human embryo at the sixth to eighth day of development," says a post on the Harvard Stem Cell Institute's website, adding that it's rooted in the idea that the soul enters the body upon conception itself.