By Ana S. Iltis, Grace Koster, Emily Reeves & Kirstin R. W. Matthews

Abstract

Recent advances in methods to culture…

The authors examine a proposal for new human embryo and embryoid guidelines, writing that before conducting any research beyond day 14, scientists must develop clear, thoughtful and culturally sensitive guidelines that include limitations and oversight procedures to ensure that science responds to societal needs and values.

This journal article explores why the public and stakeholders should help develop guidelines and policies governing scientific practices for controversial biomedical research issues, such as genetically editing human embryos.

It now seems technically feasible to culture human embryos beyond the “fourteen‐day limit,” which has the potential to increase scientific understanding of human development and perhaps improve infertility treatments. Robust stakeholder engagement preceded adoption of the fourteen‐day limit and should arguably be part of efforts to reassess it, write the authors.

Gene editing in humans raises ethical and safety issues that require further discussion to identify a responsible way forward.

A growing number of stem cell clinics treat a variety of illnesses and injuries, yet few have conducted the necessary clinical research to ensure safety and efficacy. The authors highlight the importance of collaboration between scientists, regulators, patients and patient advocates in developing effective policies and practices for unproven stem cell-based intervention clinics.

The authors explore the different scientific values and priorities that should be considered in setting the policy agenda for effectively combating neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and argue that researchers and physicians should participate in this process.

This journal article examines the risks patients face in seeking experimental stem cell-based interventions from clinics outside the United States. The authors advocate for new public policies that encourage patients to remain in clinical trials in the U.S.

The authors analyze why conservative Eastern European voters are more likely to vote for female populist candidates than for candidates from leftist parties.

The international Human Microbiome Project trumpeted the coming of age of the field of metagenomics, the study of entire communities of microbes and their contributions to health and disease. In parallel, the field of metabolomics emerged as the systematic, nonbiased analysis of all low-molecular-weight small molecules, or metabolites, produced by a system in response to an environmental stimulus. These fields have enabled discoveries pertinent to a number of human conditions — namely, acute gastroenteritis, antibiotic-associated diarrhea, inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, liver disease, undernutrition and obesity — and have begun to shed new light on multiple aspects of the neglected tropical diseases.