Scientists have created a 'complete' model of a human embryo without eggs, sperm or ovaries.
1 day ago · A stem-cell-derived human embryo model showing blue cells (embryo), yellow cells (yolk sac) and pink cells.—Weizmann Institute of Science A team of scientists at the Weizmann Institute have...
A team of scientists at the Weizmann Institute has achieved a remarkable feat by creating a model of a human embryo that closely resembles a 14-day-old fetus without using sperm, eggs or a uterus.
The team did this using stem cells, which offer an ethical means of studying the earliest stages of human life.
In the early days after fertilization, when a sperm meets an egg, important changes occur in the developing embryo, which can eventually be seen on the baby's scan. This period is extremely important, yet poorly understood, and is a major source of miscarriages and birth defects.
The team's research, published in the journal Nature, marks a milestone as the first "complete" embryo model, simulating all the key structures formed during the early stages of human development.
Artificial embryos
Instead of using sperm and eggs, the researchers started with stem cells that had been reprogrammed to have the ability to become any type of tissue in the human body.
Chemicals were then used to transform these stem cells into the four types of cells found in early-stage human embryos: epiblast cells (developing the embryo proper), trophoblast cells (developing into the novel), hypoblast cells (formation of the auxiliary yolk sac), and extraembryonic mesoderm cells.
By mixing 120 of these cells in the right proportions and letting nature take its course, about 1% of the mixture self-organizes into a structure resembling a human embryo. Although not identical, this was an important step, as it progressed to the competition stage of 14-day-old embryos, which is the legal limit for embryo research in many countries.
These embryo models offer potential advantages for understanding cell differentiation, organ development, and genetic diseases. They can also contribute to improving in vitro fertilization (IVF) success rates and testing the safety of medications during pregnancy. While the models show promise, there is room for improvement in mitigating the high failure rate.
Furthermore, ethical questions arise as these models increasingly resemble real embryos.
This research opens new avenues for the study of human development and paves the way for deeper insights into the formation of the human body plan.
However, the ethical and legal boundaries must be clarified as these models go further in simulating real embryos. It is worth noting that these models cannot be used to achieve pregnancy, as they extend beyond the point where an embryo can successfully implant in the uterus.
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