Laboratory science
Why human embryos returned as research models
Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC
Hopwood argues the boom in human developmental biology is species-specific (medicine and regulation) yet still depends on imperfect mouse and stem-cell models.
Key findings
Human work was stymied by inaccessibility and controversy, then revived by clinical demand, IVF supply, and translation funding. Mice remain the test bed and foil: adequacy and insufficiency are constantly rediscovered. Stem-cell models are human but not (yet) embryos, enabling experiment under ethical limits. Digitisation reanimated descriptive collections as infrastructure for molecular work.
Methodology
The article sketches anatomy’s Carnegie heyday, IVF and preimplantation research, 1990s Visible Embryo digitisation of the Carnegie collection, gene-expression surveys of postimplantation tissue, and stem-cell embryo models in the US/UK-centred, increasingly global field.
Limitations
This is not a lab protocol for embryo culture. The 1,500-page handbook and 1991 move are cited institutional facts. It does not settle the 14-day rule.
How this study connects
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