Scientists forced mouse stem cells to grow into synthetic embryos that began to develop
Laboratory embryos created without anyeggs or sperm survived for 8.5 days. This is almost half the length of a typical mouse pregnancy. During this time, a yolk sac developed around the embryos to provide nutrition. At the same time, the individuals themselves developed a digestive tract, neural tubes, or the rudiments of the central nervous system, beating hearts and a brain with clearly defined subsections, including the forebrain and midbrain.
“This has been the dream of the scientific community for many years and the main focus of our work for a decade. Finally, we have done it,” the scientists said in a statement.
Natural (top) and synthetic (bottom) embryos. You can compare the formation of the brain and the heart.
Image credit: Amadeus and Handford
In contrast to previously published works,The researchers used three types of mouse stem cells. One type helped the embryo to appear, and the other two transformed into the tissue of the placenta and yolk sac. Throughout the experiment, scientists observed how these three types of stem cells interacted, exchanging chemical messages and “collided” with each other.
Studying such processes will give scientists clues about how the earliest stages of embryonic development occur in humans and what happens when things go wrong.
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