Scientists create human embryo in lab without eggs, sperm

Scientists create human embryo in the lab without eggs, sperm

The models accurately emulated embryonic development in its earliest stages - a process still poorly understood due to ethical constraints on real embryo research.

A stem cell–derived human embryo model at a developmental stage equivalent to that of a day 14 embryo.

In a scientific first, researchers at Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science have successfully created synthetic models of 14-day-old human embryos derived entirely from stem cells grown in a lab.

The breakthrough, reported in the journal Nature, provides an unprecedented glimpse into the mysterious earliest stages of human development and could open up new avenues of research into infertility, birth defects, and organ growth.

Led by molecular biologist Professor Jacob Hanna, the Weizmann team started with two types of stem cells - those reprogrammed from adult skin cells and others derived from established lab-grown stem cell lines.

Using a specialised technique developed by Hanna in 2013, they reverted the cells to an earlier, more flexible “naive” state resembling a 7-day-old embryo ready for implantation.