telegraph | An ethical debate over how long
human embryos can be grown in a lab has erupted after Cambridge
University announced it had allowed fertilised eggs to mature for 13
days – just one day short of the legal limit.
In groundbreaking research, scientists invented a thick soup of
nutrients which mimics conditions in the womb, and keeps an embryo alive
for days longer than it could previously survive without being
implanted into a mother.
Currently UK law bans
laboratories for growing embryos for longer than 14 days because after
two weeks, twins can no longer form, and so it is deemed that an
individual has started to develop.
But scientists have now suggested
that the deadline should be extended to allow for more research into
the development of embryos.
Professor Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz, who led the research suggested it would be useful to extend the limit by a few days, while Professor Robert Lovell-Badge of London’s Francis Crick Institute said an extra week might be useful, but admitted it could ‘open a can of worms.’
“Proposing to extend the 14-day limit might be opening a can of worms, but would it lead to Pandora’s box, or a treasure chest of valuable information ?” said Professor Lovell-Badge
“This is not a question to be left to scientists alone.”
Professor Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz, who led the research suggested it would be useful to extend the limit by a few days, while Professor Robert Lovell-Badge of London’s Francis Crick Institute said an extra week might be useful, but admitted it could ‘open a can of worms.’
“Proposing to extend the 14-day limit might be opening a can of worms, but would it lead to Pandora’s box, or a treasure chest of valuable information ?” said Professor Lovell-Badge
“This is not a question to be left to scientists alone.”
