Scientists Create Human Embryo Models; How Will They Help?

London: A team of scientists from the US and the UK has developed the world’s first synthetic human embryo-like structures, referred to as embryo models.

In what is being considered as a significant advancement in medical science, the synthetic embryo has the potential to provide insights into miscarriages.

According to a study published in bioRxiv, these structures — resembling early-stage human development — have been generated using stem cells.

The synthetic embryos could be used in the future to bypass the need for sperm or eggs.

The team, led by Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz from Cambridge University, have stated that these stem cell-derived models of the embryo serve as crucial tools for studying developmental events and intercellular communication during structural transformations that take place after implantation into the uterus.

The researchers emphasised that the focus of the research is not to create life, but to save it.

They are hopeful that further investigation will help in better understanding of genetic diseases and causes of miscarriage.

“We present a modular, tractable, integrated model of the human embryo that will allow us to probe key questions of human post-implantation development, a critical window when significant numbers of pregnancies fail,” read the yet-to-be peer-reviewed paper.

There are no legal means to implant these structures into a patient’s womb currently.

“The idea is that by accurately modelling normal human embryonic development using stem cells, we can gain extensive information about the early stages of development and potential abnormalities. This allows us to conduct research without the need for early embryos,” The Guardian quoted Robin Lovell-Badge, head of stem cell biology and developmental genetics at London’s Francis Crick Institute, as saying.

The same team of researchers had earlier grown a synthetic embryo of a mouse without the use of male sperm and female womb. They succeeded in developing the embryo with a functioning brain, a beating heart and vital organs.