- Scientists used stem cells to create a model of an embryo without sperm or eggs in the lab.
- The model embryo released the same hormone that causes a positive pregnancy test.
- Researchers hope to use this model to understand early development, miscarriage, and genetic disorders.
We know a lot about how babies are made, but we don’t know everything. Scientists understand surprisingly little about the early stages of embryonic development, when cells begin to organize and form a body.
Researchers are one step closer to understanding that early era by creating a model of a human fetus in the lab without the use of sperm or eggs.They published their research results in the journal Nature.
“The drama is in the first month, and the remaining eight months of pregnancy are mainly when a lot of growth occurs,” said study co-author Jacob Hanna, who studies molecular genetics at the Weizmann Institute of Science. Institutional press release.
According to the Mayo Clinic, most miscarriages occur within the first 11 weeks of pregnancy. These models could help scientists understand what could go wrong early in development and prevent it, Hannah said in a press release.
He also said the model could be used to see how genetic disorders, not just birth defects, develop.
How did scientists grow human model embryos without sperm or eggs?
To accomplish this feat, the team turned to stem cells. Stem cells are cells that form other, more complex cell types in response to messages sent by the body.mayo clinic call them “raw materials of the body”.
Researchers started with stem cells and turned them into the type of cells that make up a human fetus. from the placenta to the fetus. The cell types were then mixed together and left alone.
Magically, as if guided by tiny magnets, some of the cell types were organized within the dish in arrangements similar to those found in human fetuses.
“I have a lot of faith in cells. If you have the right combination and the right environment, the cells will start to move,” Hannah said. BBC. “It’s an amazing phenomenon.”
Aided by laboratory conditions, the researchers grew the cells for 14 days, a legal limit for embryo research. in many countries.
This mass imitated a real embryo so effectively that A pregnancy test gave a positive resultaccording to a press release.
Scientists are not aiming to implant these pseudo-embryos into humans. reported by the BBC.
In addition to improving our understanding of miscarriages, genetic diseases and birth defects, researchers will be able to perform experiments that would be impossible with real human embryos, such as determining which drugs are safe to take during pregnancy. We aim to use these embryo models to
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