Baker Institute experts examine the implications of the Alabama Supreme Court's recent ruling that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law. Listen as they explore both the science of human embryo research and the impacts on access to reproductive health care in the United States.

For research involving human embryos and other controversial subjects, science journals should require ethics statements from researchers detailing research oversight, what embryos were used, how many and for how long. This will help increase transparency and improve communication with the public, writes Science and Technology Policy Fellow Kirstin R.W. Matthews.

Synthetic biology is an emerging field with many possibilities to improve health, energy, the environment, and our food systems. This one-pager defines and describes what a synthetic biology project could look like.

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed a gap in our ability to track and stop the spread of infectious diseases. With funding from the National Science Foundation, a Rice University research team is engineering bacteria to sustainably and continuously monitor wastewater for viruses.

What are the ethical and policy implications of embryoids — cell-based embryo models that mimic the early stages of human development — for use in research? Center for Health and Biosciences experts Ana Iltis and Kirstin R.W. Matthews summarize the concerns and questions raised in the recent literature.

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

Abstract

Recent advances in methods to culture…

The market for stem cell therapies is growing, but most of these treatments are still experimental — and patients who undergo them risk experiencing serious side effects. This quick take offers three recommendations to improve patient safety and education around stem cell interventions in Texas.

Abstract

Scholars began reporting about this marketplace in the mid-2000s; however, there is no sign of it dissipating…

Vaccination policies are a cornerstone of public health, but anti-vaccine activists have been adamantly pushing for legislation that would weaken and dismantle the public health infrastructure, the authors write. In this issue brief, they examine vaccine policy challenges leading up to and during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the future of vaccine legislation in Texas and the United States.

The authors identify key themes that emerged from anti-vaccine testimonies during the 2021 Texas legislative session and consider the implications of these discussions as the next legislative session draws near.