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Scientists Grow “Synthetic” Embryo With Brain and Beating Heart – Without Eggs or Sperm
by kantos

    Scientists from the University of Cambridge have created model embryos from mouse stem cells that form a brain, a beating heart, and the foundations of all the other organs of the body. It represents a new avenue for recreating the first stages of life.

    The team of researchers, led by Professor Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz, developed the embryo model without eggs or sperm. Instead, they used stem cells – the body’s master cells, which can develop into almost any cell type in the body.

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    According to the team, their results could help researchers understand why some embryos fail while others go on to develop into a healthy pregnancy. In addition, the results could be used to guide the repair and development of synthetic human organs for transplantation. The study, which is the result of more than a decade of research that progressively led to more and more complex embryo-like structures, was reported on August 25, 2022, in the journal Nature.