Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 19, 2023 / 16:00 pm
Cambridge University researchers developed the world’s first synthetic human embryo models using stem cells but without using an egg or sperm, which has sparked ethical concerns and questions about whether scientists are on the verge of creating human life without fertilization.
This creation, first reported by The Guardian, uses a single embryonic stem cell and develops it into an embryo-like structure that resembles an embryo in the gastrulation stage, which occurs at about 14 days after fertilization in an embryo. The models, however, do not contain every component of an embryo, which would likely be necessary for it to become a fully developed human being.
The full research is yet to be published and has not undergone peer review.
Melissa Moschella, a philosophy professor at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., whose expertise includes bioethics, told CNA that it does not appear that the model is intended or expected to develop to have the full organizational or development structure of an embryo based on what has been released to the public so far.