Andy smith
Strembryo
Until recently, scientists studying the earliest moments of human development relied on embryos donated by people undergoing IVF, which in most countries – including the UK and US – must be destroyed after 14 days. In 2023, however, a team at the University of Cambridge created the first complete stem-cell based human embryo model.
Stembryos, as they are known, can be studied for longer – and they are expected to produce fresh insights into developmental conditions and the causes of early miscarriages, as well as improve IVF success rates. But consideration of the ethical questions inherent to this work hasn’t kept pace. Which is why, in July, the UK published its first guidelines on the generation and use of stembryos in research, including the proposal that a committee be created to oversee all stembryo studies.
Virome
We are, all of us, riddled with viruses – and thank goodness for that. The average human is host to as many as 380 trillion of them, collectively known as the virome. But while some viruses make us unwell, scientists now understand that the legions of viruses living inside us have a broader and more profound influence on our general health.
Viruses make up a critical part of something we are more familiar with: the microbiome, that vast population of microorganisms that make camp both inside and on us. Scientists believe the virome regulates the…
