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Changing the public perception of human embryology

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An Author Correction to this article was published on 27 November 2023

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Human embryology is flourishing thanks to an impetus provided by embryo models formed from stem cells. These scientific advances require meticulous experimental work and a refined ethical framework, but also sensible public communication. Securing public support is essential to achieve societal impact.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IMBA), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), Vienna, Austria

    Nicolas C. Rivron

  2. Systems Bioengineering, MELIS, Universidad Pompeu Fabra and Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain

    Alfonso Martinez-Arias

  3. Research Group Reproduction and Genetics, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium

    Karen Sermon

  4. European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE), Strombeek-Bever, Belgium

    Karen Sermon

  5. Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands

    Christine Mummery

  6. Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine, Münster, Germany

    Hans R. Schöler

  7. Center for Stem Cell and Organoid Medicine, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    James Wells

  8. Division of Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    James Wells

  9. MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, The University of Edinburgh, Crewe Road, Edinburgh, UK

    Jenny Nichols

  10. Developmental Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA

    Anna-Katerina Hadjantonakis

  11. MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK

    Madeline A. Lancaster

  12. The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK

    Naomi Moris

  13. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Jianping Fu

  14. Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Jianping Fu

  15. Department of Cell & Developmental Biology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Jianping Fu

  16. Biomedical Institute for Multimorbidity, Hull York Medical School, University of Hull, Hull, UK

    Roger G. Sturmey

  17. Cambridge Reproduction, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Kathy Niakan

  18. The Centre for Trophoblast Research, Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Kathy Niakan

  19. Human Embryo and Stem Cell Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK

    Kathy Niakan

  20. Wellcome Trust–Medical Research Council Stem Cell Institute, University of Cambridge, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre, Cambridge, UK

    Kathy Niakan

  21. Epigenetics Programme, Babraham Institute, Cambridge, UK

    Kathy Niakan

  22. The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Janet Rossant

  23. Department of Biomedical Ethics and Public Policy, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Suita, Japan

    Kazuto Kato

  24. Ethics Committee, International Society for Stem Cell Research, Evanston, IL, USA

    Kazuto Kato

Authors
  1. Nicolas C. Rivron
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  2. Alfonso Martinez-Arias
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  3. Karen Sermon
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  4. Christine Mummery
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  5. Hans R. Schöler
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  6. James Wells
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  7. Jenny Nichols
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  8. Anna-Katerina Hadjantonakis
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  9. Madeline A. Lancaster
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  10. Naomi Moris
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  11. Jianping Fu
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  12. Roger G. Sturmey
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  13. Kathy Niakan
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  14. Janet Rossant
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  15. Kazuto Kato
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nicolas C. Rivron.

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Competing interests

N.C.R. is an inventor on the patents “Blastoid, cell line based artificial blastocyst” (EP2986711) and “Blastocyst-like cell aggregate and methods” (EP21151455.9), which are both licensed to dawn-bio, a company he co-founded. A.M.A. and N.M. are inventors on the patents “Polarised three-dimensional cellular aggregates” (PCT/GB2019/052668) and “Human polarised three-dimensional cellular” (PCT/GB2019/052670), maintained by Cambridge Enterprise.

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Rivron, N.C., Martinez-Arias, A., Sermon, K. et al. Changing the public perception of human embryology. Nat Cell Biol 25, 1717–1719 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41556-023-01289-4

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