Centuries go by and science continues to insist through new studies to determine more exactly how human life was generated, this time with the creation of a synthetic human embryo model that imitates a natural one between seven and 14 days old, which is when the fertilized egg is transformed into a structure with three germ layers.
The new findings published in the journal Nature were jointly led by a group of scientists from the United States and the United Kingdom, specifically from the University of Cambridge and the California Institute of Technology, led by biologist Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz.
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Zernicka-Goetz explained that embryo culture has reached a stage that goes somewhat beyond the equivalent of 14 days of development of a natural embryo. The objective was to help scientists better understand the period of development of the “black box”, considered the first stage in which human life is gestated.
It is important to note that it is only allowed to cultivate embryos in the laboratory up to a legal limit of 14 days. They then return to the research much later by looking at the scans that are done during the pregnancy and on the embryos donated for research.
Professor Żernicka-Goetz, explained to The Guardian: “Our human model is the first three-lineage human embryo model that specifies amnion and germ cells, egg and sperm precursor cells. It’s beautiful and created entirely from embryonic stem cells.”
Roger Sturmey, Professor of Reproductive Medicine at Hull York Medical School (UK) and Principal Investigator of Maternal and Fetal Health at the University of Manchester, England, explained that the work follows a growing research base. demonstrating that stem cells can be directed to form a structure resembling the embryonic stage called a blastocyst.