CAMBRIDGE/PASADENA (ANP) - Scientists have developed mouse embryos from stem cells without the use of sperm or eggs. The embryos closely resembled a real mouse embryo, complete with signs of heart and brain function, and lasted more than eight days. British and American media write that.
The researchers, from the University of Cambridge and the California Institute of Technology, among others, hope to eventually use their results to better understand the early stages of development of human life in particular, including how miscarriages and certain diseases arise. They may even lay the groundwork for creating human embryos, it has been suggested. That in turn could lead to even more precise research and even the realization of organs for transplantation.
Moreover, much fewer laboratory animals could be needed by using these 'synthetic' embryos for research. However, the science is far from that long, but the progress so far is widely regarded as spectacular.