• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Scientists create model embryo with heartbeat without eggs or sperm

Home> News

Published 07:48 19 Jun 2023 GMT+1

Scientists create model embryo with heartbeat without eggs or sperm

The experiments could provide scientists with key insights into early pregnancy

Emily Brown

Emily Brown

Scientists have been able to successfully create a model embryo with a heartbeat without using eggs or sperm.

The synthetic structure offers researchers a better look into the first weeks of human life, having been grown in culture from embryonic stem cells before being transferred into a bottle which was designed to act as an artificial uterus.

They didn't use eggs or sperm, and there was no fertilisation involved, but still it replicated some of the cells and structures that would usually appear within the first month of pregnancy.

Advert

The model embryos recreated structures seen in early pregnancy.
Pexels

These structures included beating heart cells, which normally emerge in a natural embryo after 23 days, as well as traces of red blood, which usually appear in the fourth week of pregnancy.

Scientists did not see any evidence that the model embryo had the beginnings of a brain, and since the structures lacked some of the features crucial for guiding development, such as the placenta and yolk sac precursors, they began to stray from the norm over time.

Nonetheless, the creation has proved extraordinary for the team which included Dr Jitesh Neupane, of the University of Cambridge’s Gurdon Institute.

Advert

Dr. Neupane told The Guardian: “I randomly took my plate under the microscope and when I saw the [heartbeat] for the first time I was scared, honestly. I had to look down and look back again. It was overwhelming for me. People get emotional when you see the heartbeat.”

The model later diverged from the norm.
Pexels

The scientist has stressed the creations are 'neither embryos nor are [they] trying to make embryos actually'.

"They are just models that could be used to look into specific aspects of human development," he explained.

Advert

While the creation of synthetic embryos is a contentious topic, the team specifically designed their creation so it lacked the tissues which usually form the placenta and yolk sac, meaning there was no theoretical potential that it would develop into a foetus.

The team therefore argued that the experiments were ethically uncontroversial.

“At the later time points they don’t have all the features of embryos,” Neupane continued. “It would be dangerous to compare them directly to in vivo embryos.”

Neupane spoke about the experiments at the International Society for Stem Cell Research’s annual meeting in Boston on Saturday (17 June), though the findings are yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal paper.

Advert

In the future, such lab-grown entities could provide researchers with insight to the causes of miscarriages, the impact of genetic disorders and the effects of drugs on embryos.

Sarah Norcross, director of a charity which helps people struggling with infertility and genetic conditions, called Progress Educational Trust, commented: “The sophistication of the stem-cell-based embryo models that can now be created is testament to the talent of the researchers working in this area.

"For all this sophistication, however, we must remember that these models are not actual human embryos.”

Featured Image Credit: Vipman/Shutterstock/Panther Media GmbH/Alamy

Topics: Science, World News

Emily Brown
Emily Brown

Emily Brown is UNILAD Editorial Lead at LADbible Group. She first began delivering news when she was just 11 years old - with a paper route - before graduating with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University. Emily joined UNILAD in 2018 to cover breaking news, trending stories and longer form features. She went on to become Community Desk Lead, commissioning and writing human interest stories from across the globe, before moving to the role of Editorial Lead. Emily now works alongside the UNILAD Editor to ensure the page delivers accurate, interesting and high quality content.

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

Just now
an hour ago
2 hours ago
  • Just now

    Teen issues warning after doctors ignored major symptom before she 'died' in front of classmates

    Evelyn Walker had been preparing for a normal day at school when she went into cardiac arrest

    News
  • an hour ago

    Every piece of evidence found in Diddy's hotel room that give disturbing insight into 'freak offs'

    Jurors were shown images of Diddy's hotel room on the night of his arrest

    News
  • 2 hours ago

    Trump slammed for 'disgusting' comments when asked about Joe Biden's 'aggressive' cancer diagnosis

    The POTUS has made some insensitive comments about his former political rival

    News
  • 2 hours ago

    MrBeast hits back at allegations he’s been ‘sued’ after being accused of exploiting Mayan pyramids in video

    MrBeast has said it 'saddens' him to see people 'spreading lies'.

    News
  • Mystery surrounding Earth's 'heartbeat' that shakes every 26 seconds has scientists baffled
  • Scientists baffled after discovering Earth has a 'heartbeat' every 26 seconds with no explanation
  • Scientists claim they've found exact location of Noah's Ark as new scans give 'unexpected' details
  • Scientists may have finally worked out whether the chicken or egg came first