Lab-grown human embryos just got a new set of rules + Johannesburg's romcom revolution

New scientific guidelines have been released this week on embryo research and the use of stem cells. We talk to experts about what’s changed – including a recommendation to relax the 14-day time limit for human embryo research. And we hear about a wave of romantic comedy films emerging from South Africa that are re-imagining the city of Johannesburg. Welcome to episode 17 of The Conversation Weekly.

It's been five years since the last set of guidelines from the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) were published. Since then, scientists have made significant developments in stem cell and embryo research. Now, new ISSCR guidelines have just been published. In this episode, we look at what's changing in this field of research, and what the new guidelines say. One of the most significant shifts concerns what's called the 14-day rule, a time limit for how long human embryos can be grown in the lab. While these aren't law, they guide the regulations about this kind of research in countries around the world.

We hear from Megan Munsie, deputy director for the Centre for Stem Cell Systems at the University of Melbourne and one of the scientists who sat on the panel that reviewed the guidelines about what's changed. Jun Wu, assistant professor in molecular biology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre, explains his new research on human embryo models and why it provides an alternative to using human embryos. And César Palacios-González, senior research fellow in practical ethics at the Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics at the University of Oxford, talks through some of the questions philosophers consider about the ethics of human embryo research.

In our second story (at 25m20), we head to South Africa, where a wave of romantic comedies have hit the big screen in recent years. Many of them are based in Johannesburg. Pier Paolo Frassinelli, professor of communication and media studies at the University of Johannesburg, talks to us about his research into these films and how they are reimagining the city.

And Wale Fatade, commissioning editor at The Conversation in Lagos, Nigeria, gives us his recommended reading. 

The Conversation Weekly is produced by Mend Mariwany and Gemma Ware, with sound design by Eloise Stevens. Special thanks for this episode go to Matt Williams in New York. Our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. If you'd like to sign up for The Conversation's free daily newsletter, please subscribe here. To get in touch, find us on Twitter @TC_Audio or on Instagram at theconversationdotcom. Or you can email us on [email protected]. Full credits for this episode can be found here.

Further reading:

New global guidelines for stem cell research aim to drive discussions, not lay down the law, by Megan Munsie, The University of Melbourne and Melissa Little, Murdoch Children's Research Institute

Researchers have grown ‘human embryos’ from skin cells. What does that mean, and is it ethical? by Megan Munsie, The University of Melbourne and Helen Abud, Monash University

First human-monkey embryos created – a small step towards a huge ethical problem, by Julian Savulescu, University of Oxford and César Palacios-González, University of Oxford

South Africa’s romcom revolution and how it reimagines Joburg, by Pier Paolo Frassinelli, University of Johannesburg

Ethiopia’s blockchain deal is a watershed moment – for the technology, and for Africa, by Iwa Salami, University of East London

Why young Nigerians are returning to masquerade rituals, even in a Christian community, by Kingsley Ikechukwu Uwaegbute, University of Nigeria