Tsutomu Sawai

Recently, the use of three-dimensional neural tissues cultured in vitro and called "cerebral organoids" has advanced recapitulation of neural development and disease modeling studies. Along with such advances, cerebral organoid research, and associated concerns call for the elucidation of two points: (1) how cerebral organoid research is currently progressing and the future directions it is likely to take, especially in functional assessment of organoids, and (2) how we should solve ethical issu

In 2008, researchers created human three-dimensional neural tissue - known as the pioneering work of "brain organoids." In recent years, some researchers have transplanted human brain organoids into animal brains for applicational purposes. With these experiments have come many ethical concerns. It is thus an urgent task to clarify what is ethically permissible and impermissible in brain organoid research. This paper seeks (1) to sort out the ethical issues related to brain organoid research and

Research using three-dimensional neural tissues derived from human pluripotent stem cells-known as 'human brain organoids'-has progressed rapidly in recent years. Although related ethical issues have been intensively discussed, legal issues have only been sparsely examined compared with the related ethical issues. In this paper, we explore a fundamental issue concerning the legal status of human brain organoids: whether they can be considered legal persons. We clearly distinguish between two typ

Representations of brain organoids in the media are often negatively or positively exaggerated without appropriate discussion. Here, we examine two topics (the possibility of consciousness and medical applications) and call on scientists, ethicists, and the media to represent brain organoid research and its ethical issues more accurately.

When presented with a graded view of human-swine chimeric embryo research with concomitant, specific objectives, a large majority of the general public as well as researchers are willing to accept this research with the aims of disease study, novel drug and treatment development, and transplantation.

The study involved a comprehensive exploration of the function of LLMs in medical ethics education, positing that tools such as ChatGPT can profoundly enhance the learning experience in the future. This is achieved through tailored, interactive educational encounters while addressing the ethical nuances of their use in educational settings.

An ethical and legal framework is needed to regulate the rapidly developing human brain organoid research field properly. However, considering the legal issues involved in human brain organoid research remains underdeveloped and scattered. This article reviews the legal issues of human brain organoid research, grouping them into the following five broad themes: (1) consciousness, (2) legal status, (3) consent, (4) ownership, and (5) transplantation. The issues in each topic include both the urge

Epigenome editing offers ethical advantages with non-inheritable gene expression control. However, concerns arise regarding potential transgenerational effects in humans. Ethical and regulatory evaluation is crucial, considering recent advancements and enhanced understanding of transgenerational epigenetics in both mammals and humans.

In contemporary Japan, at least in the field of regenerative medicine, human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) are given no moral status and are treated in a purely instrumental way. However, some authors have mentioned the potentiality of hiPSCs in that 'tetraploid complementation' would make it possible to create humans directly from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and hiPSCs. A blastocyst consists of inner cell mass (ICM) cells and a trophoblast. The tetraploid complementation techni

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image sizeThis article refers to:Non-Human Moral Status: Problems with Phenomenal Consciousness DISCLOSURE STATEMENTNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s)Additional informationFundingTS was funded in whole, or in part, by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) [Grant Number JP21wm0425021], the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI [Grant Number 21K12908], the Mitsubishi Foundation, th

Friction welding of S15CK carbon steel was carried out in order to examine the relationship between heat input for welding and joint strength. The joint strength is evaluated from tensile strength. The heat input is a heat source for welding solid materials and was classified into 6 inputs: friction heat input, deformation heat input and total heat input in the friction stage and upset stage.The most important heat input for evaluating the joint strength among these heat inputs was experimentall

Candida tropicalis var. japonica was proved to produce following three sorts of α-glucosidases. (1) Neutral α-glucosidase group. The enzyme included in this group hydrolyzed sucrose, maltose and methyl-α -glucoside optimally at pH6.1 to 6.6, but not below pH4.0. In this group at least three different enzymes seem to de involved, but the separation of the enzymes was not successful. (2) Acid α-glucosidase. This enzyme hydrolyzed both maltose and methyl-α-glucoside optimally at about pH4.0, but no