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20 JUNE 2023
Lab-grown synthetic human embryos lead to calls for regulation
Scientists have used stem cells to create structures that resemble human embryos in the lab, in a first that has prompted calls for stricter regulation in the rapidly advancing stem cell research.
Several different labs around the world have released pre-print studies in the past seven days describing their research, which experts said should be treated with caution as the research has not yet been peer-reviewed.
The labs used different techniques to encourage human embryonic stem cells, which can become any type of cell, to self-assemble into a structure that resembles an embryo – without needing sperm, an egg or fertilisation.
Researchers have pushed back against media reports calling the clumps of cells “synthetic embryos”, saying they are neither strictly synthetic, having grown from stem cells, nor should they be considered embryos.
[Both] Two labs said they had developed their embryo models for 14 days, the legal limit for growing human embryos in the lab in many countries.
After 14 days, embryos start organising cells to form organs including the brain, a period called the “black box” because little is known about human embryos beyond that point.
An embryo model implanted in a female macaque as part of earlier research did induce some signs of pregnancy, but did not survive,
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Lab-grown synthetic human embryos lead to calls for regulation | News | Al Jazeera
'Synthetic human embryos' were created using stem cells. What are they, and why were they made? - ABC News