The Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel has successfully created a synthetic human embryo without using a fertilized egg to do so. It is intended to allow embryo research that bypasses some ethical dilemmas. The synthetic embryo, according to lead research professor Jacob Hanna, has all the features and characteristics of a human embryo that is 14 days old, sans the living part. The synthetic embryo, according to lead research professor Jacob Hanna, has all the features and characteristics of a human embryo that is 14 days old, sans the living part.
The project is intended to help scientists understand the first month of human development, which is still, according to Hanna “largely a black box.” He said, “Our complete stem-cell derived human embryo model offers an ethical and accessible way of peering into this box.”
From Discover Magazine: “An embryo is self-driven by definition,” said Hanna. “We don’t need to tell it what to do. We must only unleash its internally encoded potential.”
He dubbed the structures “stem cell-based complete embryo-like structures (SEMs)” and fostered their development for eight days, until they had reached the equivalent of 14 days of normal development. Along the way, his team found that the SEMs bore a close resemblance to the embryos illustrated in classical embryology atlases from the 1960s.
“Every compartment and supporting structure was not only there but in the right place, size and shape,” the statement said.
The project could help researchers bypass a looming controversy in embryonic research, when to continue to use actual human embryos for research purposes. Right now, the standard is to not use embryos beyond 14 days, The International Society for Stem Cell Research recently announced it would consider going beyond the 14-day limit and invited scientists to have a debate about what a new, longer standard might be.
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