Why Scientists Might Drop the 14-Day Limit on Human Embryo Research

Scientists are currently limited to stopping human embryo growth at 14 days, but now, the International Society for Stem Cell Research wants to rethink that limit. What now? » Subscribe to Seeker! » Watch more Elements! » Visit our shop at The internationally recognized limit for how long a human embryo can be grown in a lab is 14 days. But in light of advancements that may now make it possible to culture embryos beyond 14 days, scientists and ethicists are discussing: should growing human embryos in a lab beyond this limit be allowed? The existing 14-day limit on lab-mediated human embryo development was suggested after the first IVF babies were born in the 1970s. And until recently we didn’t even know HOW to keep human embryos or something similar alive in the lab longer than nine days, so this wasn’t really a pressing question. But 2016 was the year that a couple research t