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Scientists use stem cells to produce synthetic mouse embryos

Scientists use stem cells to produce synthetic mouse embryos

By Omayma othmani

Published: August 25, 2022

Scientists have recently created "artificial" mouse embryos from stem cells that do not contain sperm from the father or an egg or womb of the mother. The embryos created in the laboratory mirror a natural mouse embryo for up to 8 days after fertilization, and they contain the same structures, including a structure resembling a beating heart.

In the near term, researchers hope to use these alleged embryos to gain a better understanding of the early stages of development and the mechanisms behind disease without the need for many laboratory animals, and this brilliant work could also lay the foundation for creating artificial human embryos for research in the future.

On the other hand, Luis Montolio, a research professor at the National Center for Biotechnology in Spain who did not participate in the research, said: "We are undoubtedly facing a new technological revolution, we are still very ineffective, but with enormous potential. It reminds us of remarkable scientific advances like the birth of Dolly the sheep and others."

Zernicka-Goetz, an expert in stem cell biology, said that one of the reasons for studying the early stages of development is to get more information about why most human pregnancies are lost early and why embryos created for fertilization in the laboratory fail to implant and develop in up to 70% of cases. She added that studying natural development is difficult for many reasons, including the fact that very few human embryos are donated for research and that scientists face ethical restrictions.

The roots of this work date back decades, and both Zernicka-Goetz and Hanna said their team had been working on this type of research for many years, hoping to discover more in the future.

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