This paper seeks to address research governance by highlighting the notion of public accountability as a complementary tool for the establishment of an ethical resonance space for emerging technologies. Public accountability can render development and design process of emerging technologies transparent through practices of holding those in charge of research accountable for their actions, thereby fostering ethical engagement with their potential negative consequences or side-effects. Through practices such as parliamentary questions, audits, and open letters emerging technologies could be effectively rendered (...) transparent and opened up to broader levels of scrutiny and debate, thereby contributing to a greater adherence of emerging technologies to ethics and moral consensus. Fundamental democratic practices could thus not only lead to better informed choices in design and development processes, but also contribute to more morally substantive outcomes. (shrink)

Non‐invasive microanalytical methods have been devised to study the energy metabolism of single human preimplantation embryos. Psyruvate, which is added routinely to all media used to culture human embryos, is consumed throughout the preimplantation period, with glucose assuming an increasing role at embryo compaction and blastocyst formation. All of the glucose consumed may be accounted for by the appearance of lactate in the incubation medium. The enzyme hexokinase my be involved in regulating this aerobic glycolysis. There is cosiderable indirect evidence (...) for the utilisation of endogenous as opposed to exogenous energy substrates, the most likely candidate being protein. Information on early human embryo metabolismis likely to find application in a number of areas: these include the improvement of techniques for assisted human conception, notably in the selection of embryos for transfer following In Vitro Fertilisation; the diagnosis of gentic defects at the preimplantation stage; increased undersding of the causes of implantation failure and miscarriage, and the development of novel post‐coital contraceptives. (shrink)

This review uses nutritional markers of normal and impaired development to address the question; what makes a viable mammalian preimplantation embryo? Resolution of this question is important to ensure the long‐term safety of embryo‐based biotechnologies in man and domestic animals, the optimisation of embryo production and culture conditions and the development of methods to select viable embryos for replacement. After considering the nutrition of embryos and somatic cells, and the phenomenon of caloric restriction, it is concluded that preimplantation embryo survival (...) is best served by a relatively low level of metabolism; a situation achieved by reducing the concentrations of nutrients in culture media and encouraging the use endogenous resources. BioEssays 24:845–849, 2002. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (shrink)