This past May, the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) revised its guidelines for the first time in five years. Among the changes was a relaxation of the “14-day rule,” which prohibits a human embryo from being cultured past 14 days.

At least once every year, the Uehiro Research Division for iPS Cell Ethics visits junior high schools to directly teach students about iPS cells. (Since the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been conducting these events remotely.) These programs include lessons on the basic science, but they also include discussions on relevant ethical issues.

The publication of peer-reviewed papers is the primary way through which scientists publicly share their research findings. Before this happens, other experts will review the paper and decide whether the paper should be published (i.e. peer review).

In one of his books, the philosopher Kiyokazu Washida introduces the new potentials or implications of words. For example, he writes about the Japanese word “sara,” which roughly means “new” in English.

The pandemic caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused changes to daily lives throughout the world. These changes have led to an urgency for new drugs and vaccines.

A new initiative is giving greater consideration to patient experiences and opinions in future medical treatments.

For new drugs and medical treatments to reach the market, they must be first tested for their safety and efficacy on a number of human volunteers in clinical trials. To perform the trials, the participating doctors and researchers must adequately explain to the volunteers the purpose and risk of the trial and receive agreement from the volunteers.

A major scientific or medical discovery will often be followed by experts on the topic expressing their opinions on television or in the newspapers. While these opinions are important, so too are those of the general public. This is especially true when the technology has the potential to greatly affect society’s values.

This past March 1, the Japanese government relaxed its regulation on chimeric embryo research, making it legally easier to create human organs in animals.

In Japan, there is very strong support of iPS cell research and clinical application from the general public. Much of this support is attributed to a favourable approval rating CiRA Director Shinya Yamanaka.