Lab-grown human ‘embryo’ created without eggs or sperm

Scientists have developed human embryo-like structures without using sperm, an egg or fertilisation, offering hope for research on miscarriage and birth defects but also raising fresh ethical concerns

Scientists have developed human embryo-like structures without using sperm, an egg or fertilisation, offering hope for research on miscarriage and birth defects but also raising fresh ethical concerns.

Earlier this year, several labs around the world released pre-print studies that had not been peer-reviewed, describing their development of early human embryo-like structures.

But now one group’s research has been published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature, describing how they coaxed human embryonic stem cells to self-organise into a model resembling an early embryo.

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British law prohibits the culturing of human embryos in labs beyond the 14-day mark, but because the structures derived from stem cells are formed artifically, they are not explicitly covered by existing regulations.

Still, most researchers have adopted voluntary limits on their work at this stage.

The Weizmann Institute research did not develop its models beyond 14 days and does not involve transferring the models into a human or animal womb.