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In my long career in science I have not lost the wonder at the ability of a single cell, the egg, to develop into an embryo that can then form all the complex cells, tissues and organs that make up a baby. How one cell can achieve all this remains one of the greatest mysteries about what it means to be human, or any other organism for that matter.
In a major breakthrough, Australian medical researchers have discovered a safe, ethical and accurate system for exploring this question. Monash scientist Professor Jose Polo and his team have developed a cellular model called an iBlastoid that mimics the way cells divide and early embryos develop.
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This lab-grown ball of human cells shares many similarities with 5-day-old human embryos. UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER
Researchers re-create key human embryo stage in lab
Mar. 17, 2021 , 12:25 PM
A human embryo at the blastocyst stage is smaller than the tip of a ballpoint pen and may contain fewer than 100 cells, but this developmental waypoint has long puzzled and vexed biologists and physicians. Many miscarriages occur during this stage, for example, and a blastocyst can also split to create twins. Now, multiple research groups have found ways to mimic blastocysts, coaxing lab-grown human cells to form clusters that closely resemble the true thing.
Scientists create early stage human embryos from skin cells abc.net.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from abc.net.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
For the first time, scientists have used human cells to make structures that mimic the earliest stages of development, which they say will pave the way for more research without running afoul of restrictions on using real embryos.
Monash University
Living structures that model early human embryonic development have been generated entirely from cells in the skin. The models mean it should be possible to study infertility, early miscarriage and early embryonic development without the controversial use of real human embryos – although the models may raise ethical issues of their own.
Previously, the only means of studying the early development of human embryos was via blastocysts obtained from IVF procedures. Blastocysts are a ball-like early stage of embryonic development that is formed five days after fertilisation occurs and can go on to form embryos. But their use in science is controversial because of their potential to grow into a living human individual.