A model of the human embryo derived from stem cells has been created in the lab, a breakthrough that scientists say could help understand early human development and why and how some pregnancies fail.
Derived from pluripotent stem cells, or stem cells able to develop into various different cell types, this embryo model is an organised three-dimensional structure replicating some of the early human embryonal developmental processes, the research from Cambridge University, UK, said.
Such models, allowing experimental modelling of embryonic development during the second week of pregnancy, could also help researchers understand the developmental origins of organs and specialised cells such as sperm and eggs, the study published in the journal Nature said.
