Artificial embryos without sperm and egg cells: scientists revealed the details of the experiment
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A team of scientists claims to have created a model embryo using stem cells, without the use of eggs or sperm. It looks like a textbook example of a real 14-day-old embryo, according to a study by the Weizmann Institute in Israel, published in the journal Nature, The Guardian writes. “This is the first embryo model that has a structural organization of compartments and a morphological similarity to a human embryo at day 14,” said study leader and Professor Jacob Hanna. Although the tiny structures are not identical to human embryos, researchers hope to soon perfect them to study the early stages of human development and the unknown causes of miscarriages. Photo: Jacob Hanna/Weizmann Institute Scientists note that this model can also help in experiments on the possible effects of drugs on real human embryos. This is important because pregnant women usually do not participate in such trials, and doctors are still unaware of the side effects of some drugs. How the experiment took place Scientists took “naive” (undifferentiated) stem cells, writes the BBC. They used chemicals that were supposed to induce them to turn into one of 4 types of cells: epiblast cells, which become the embryo (or fetus) proper; trophoblast cells that become the placenta; hypoblastic cells, which become a supporting yolk sac; extra-embryonic mesoderm cells. 120 of these cells were mixed in the exact ratio. They spontaneously began to assemble into a structure that resembles a human embryo, but is not identical to it. “I put a lot of emphasis on the cells: you have to make the right mixture and have the right environment and it just succeeds,” says Professor Hanna. This embryo even secreted hormones that showed a positive pregnancy test in the laboratory. But the researchers stress that it would be unethical, illegal and virtually impossible to achieve pregnancy using these embryo models. That is, an embryo of 120 cells cannot be successfully implanted in the mucous membrane of the uterus. In addition, it is also an ethical and legal issue. It will be recalled that earlier scientists reported that they managed to create a prototype of an artificial uterus to save premature babies. Read also: Survived fifty operations: doctors told about the condition of a 6-year-old girl with an artificial esophagus
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