Scientists create ‘synthetic human embryos’ without eggs or sperm

For the first time in human history, scientists create synthetic human embryos using stem cells without the need for eggs or sperm. According to newspaper information GuardThe news was published at the annual meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research, but has not yet been published in any scientific journal.

The announcement was made by Professor Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz, a biologist at Cambridge and Caltech Universities in the United States. He explains that the embryo grows, equivalent to about 14 days of natural gestation for a normal human baby. So far, they have not revealed whether it would be possible to create an embryo that develops more than 14 days in the lab.

The idea of ​​the study is to develop a synthetic human-like embryo to study different areas of science and medicine, such as the study of genetic diseases, the causes of recurrent miscarriages, among other possibilities.

Although seen as a great advance for science, The issue still raises many ethical and legal questions about the development of ‘synthetic humans’ in the laboratory.. Although embryos do not form important structures such as the heart or brain, they have cells responsible for the formation of the placenta, yolk sac and other important structures for the human body.

“The ability to recapitulate the earliest events of human development using stem cells in a dish is a remarkable advance in cellular and reproductive technologies. The potential benefits are enormous, and from a better understanding of how early tissues self-organize at stages that are impossible to study with current approaches, they are relevant to health and survival.” It extends to elucidating the genetic and cellular requirements involved in early human development Professor Dr. Rodrigo Suarez of the University of Queensland (Australia).

Ethics of synthetic embryos

As it is a complex issue, there is no prediction yet for scientists to start using synthetic embryos in studies. They do not even know whether this structure will pass the embryonic stage; for example, synthetic mouse embryos were not able to complete a full pregnancy even after the embryos were implanted in a female’s uterus.

In another study with monkeys, an effective pregnancy could not be established after implanting synthetic embryos created in the laboratory. So, more work is needed to understand the possibilities the field has to offer.

“Our human model is the first three-lineage human embryo model to identify amnion and germ cells, egg progenitor cells, and sperm. “It was beautifully and completely created from embryonic stem cells,” said Zernicka-Goetz.