'Synthetic' Embryo , Breakthrough Could Help Solve , Organ Donor Shortage.
'Time' reports that British scientists have
successfully created a "synthetic" embryo
with a brain and a beating heart.
The lab-created embryo features all the foundations of the body's organs, including neural and gut tubes that protect the spine and intestines.
'Time' reports that the creation
could solve the donor shortage
crisis and prevent miscarriages.
The breakthrough could also be used to
reduce the need for animal experimentation.
Researchers at Cambridge University
used stem cells from mice
without fertilized eggs or sperm.
Our mouse embryo model
not only develops a brain, but also
a beating heart, all the components
that go on to make up the body, Professor Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz, Lead author, via 'Newsweek'.
This has been the dream of our community for years, and major focus of our work for a decade and finally we've done it, Professor Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz, Lead author, via 'Newsweek'.
The team's work has shed light on how tissues
form and the causes of genetic diseases.
This period of human life is so mysterious, so to be able to see how it happens in a dish–to have access to these individual stem cells, to understand why so many pregnancies fail and how we might be able to prevent that from happening–is quite special, Professor Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz, Lead author, via 'Newsweek'.
This period of human life is so mysterious, so to be able to see how it happens in a dish–to have access to these individual stem cells, to understand why so many pregnancies fail and how we might be able to prevent that from happening–is quite special, Professor Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz, Lead author, via 'Newsweek'.
'Time' reports that the team is now developing similar human
models with the potential to shed light on crucial processes
involved with the development of specific organs