Anja Pichl
Ethical, legal and social aspects of human cerebral organoids and their governance in Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States
Pichl, Anja; Ranisch, Robert; Altinok, Ozan Altan; Antonakaki, Melpomeni; Barnhart, Andrew J.; Bassil, Katherine; Boyd, J. Lomax; Chinaia, Alice Andrea; Diner, Sarah; Gaillard, Maxence; Greely, Henry T.; Jowitt, Joshua; Kreitmair, Karola; Lawrence, David; Lee, Tim Nicholas; McKeown, Alex; Sachdev, Vorathep; Schicktanz, Silke; Sugarman, Jeremy; Trettenbach, Katharina; Wiese, Lara; Wolff, Hannes; Árnason, Garðar
Authors
Robert Ranisch
Ozan Altan Altinok
Melpomeni Antonakaki
Andrew J. Barnhart
Katherine Bassil
J. Lomax Boyd
Alice Andrea Chinaia
Sarah Diner
Maxence Gaillard
Henry T. Greely
Joshua Jowitt
Karola Kreitmair
Dr David Lawrence david.lawrence@durham.ac.uk
Assistant Professor
Tim Nicholas Lee
Alex McKeown
Vorathep Sachdev
Silke Schicktanz
Jeremy Sugarman
Katharina Trettenbach
Lara Wiese
Hannes Wolff
Garðar Árnason
Abstract
Human cerebral organoids (HCOs) are model systems that enable researchers to investigate the human brain in ways that had previously been impossible. The emergence of HCOs was accompanied by both expert and layperson discussions concerning the possibility of these novel entities developing sentience or consciousness. Such concerns are reflected in deliberations about how to handle and regulate their use. This perspective article resulted from an international and interdisciplinary research retreat “Ethical, Legal and Social Aspects of Human Cerebral Organoids and their Governance in Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States”, which took place in Tübingen, Germany, in August 2022. The retreat focused on whether HCO research requires new ethical and regulatory approaches. It addressed epistemic issues around the detection and theorisation of consciousness, ethical concerns around moral status and research conduct, difficulties for legislation and guidelines managing these entities, and public engagement.
Citation
Pichl, A., Ranisch, R., Altinok, O. A., Antonakaki, M., Barnhart, A. J., Bassil, K., …Árnason, G. (2023). Ethical, legal and social aspects of human cerebral organoids and their governance in Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, 11, Article 1194706. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2023.1194706
| Journal Article Type | Article |
|---|---|
| Acceptance Date | Oct 27, 2023 |
| Online Publication Date | Nov 13, 2023 |
| Publication Date | 2023 |
| Deposit Date | Jan 25, 2024 |
| Publicly Available Date | Jan 25, 2024 |
| Journal | Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology |
| Publisher | Frontiers Media |
| Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
| Volume | 11 |
| Article Number | 1194706 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2023.1194706 |
| Keywords | ELSA, moral status, consciousness, brain organoid, public engagement, governance, human cerebral organoids, ethics |
| Public URL | https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1965790 |
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Copyright Statement
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY).
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