Podcast: Synthetic Embryos coming soon? 'Painkiller': Netflix's Dreadful Opioid Miniseries

By Cameron English and ChuckDinerstein — Aug 25, 2023
Recent breakthroughs in stem-cell have raised the prospect of one day "breeding" humans and growing organs in a lab. How realistic are these scenarios? Netflix just released an embarrassing miniseries about the opioid epidemic. Let's take a closer look at the show's claims.
Image by GDJ via Pixabay

Join hosts Cameron English, Dr. Chuck Dinerstein and special guest Barbara Billauer as they break down these stories on Episode 48 of the Science Dispatch podcast:

A synthetic embryo can now be constructed from very early pre-embryonic cells – without the need for an egg or sperm. These were initially created in mice. In April, Chinese researchers created synthetic monkey embryos. Last month, the first synthetic human models were reportedly created. This development throws a moral monkey-wrench into the current moratoria on embryonic research after 14 days. But there are more problems ahead.

"Painkiller" is a textbook example of a show clearly meant to sway public perceptions on a critical public health issue — even if that means lying to viewers along the way.

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Cameron English

Director of Bioscience 

Cameron English is a writer, editor and co-host of the Science Facts and Fallacies Podcast. Before joining ACSH, he was managing editor at the Genetic Literacy Project.

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