Science can create embryo's

[Nom De Plume]

Researchers from the University of Cambridge have created model embryos from mouse stem cells that form a brain, a beating heart, and the foundations of all the other organs of the body -- a new avenue for recreating the first stages of life.

The team, led by Professor Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz, developed the embryo model without eggs or sperm, and instead used stem cells -- the body's master cells, which can develop into almost any cell type in the body.

The researchers mimicked natural processes in the lab by guiding the three types of stem cells found in early mammalian development to the point where they start interacting. By inducing the expression of a particular set of genes and establishing a unique environment for their interactions, the researchers were able to get the stem cells to 'talk' to each other.

The team say their results, the result of more than a decade of research that progressively led to more and more complex embryo-like structures and reported in the journal Nature, could help researchers understand why some embryos fail while others go on to develop into a healthy pregnancy. Additionally, the results could be used to guide repair and development of synthetic human organs for transplantation.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2 ... 120314.htm

[Aussie]

Transplantation, sure. But...thin end of the wedge in playing "God?"