Human Embryo Research: Lessons from History

Human embryo research: lessons from history.

Lessons from the human embryo debate

Britain has given the green light for research on stem cells derived from human embryos. Nigel Williams reports on the discussion ahead of this controversial decision.

Embryo research: are there any lessons from natural reproduction?

Harris begins his provocative paper in this way: I make two appeals to consistency, or to “parity of reasoning,” that I believe show that no one who either has used or intends to use sexual reproduction as their means of procreation, nor indeed anyone who has unprotected heterosexual intercourse, nor anyone who finds in vitro fertilization (IVF) acceptable, nor anyone who believes that abortion...

History Lessons from Bacteria

Microbes have been catapulted into the spotlight again by recent studies showing that uniquely modern phenomena, like jet lag and artificial sweeteners, can affect health by altering the microbiome (Suez et al., 2014; Thaiss et al., 2014). However, even as the nature of our current relationship with bacteria unfolds, DNA sequencing and proteomic approaches are giving us a fascinating glimpse in...

Human embryo research in France.

The French law on bioethics, voted upon in July 1994, is going to be revised. This is the occasion for France to reconsider its position concerning research on human embryos, which is currently prohibited in France, as it is in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. However, such research is authorised in other European countries such as the UK, Spain, Belgium, Italy and The Netherlands. The establi...