Standing next to some test tubes on a table, scientists mix a large quantity of stem cells into a large, dense swarm. Then, they watch as the mob of cells simultaneously begin to regroup themselves, with some heading for the center and the others moving away.
What the scientists observed was a process in the earliest stage of embryo development, where stem cells divided into two types: one for creating the tissues that surround the embryo, and the other for producing the cells inside the body.
The cells communicate and form new structures that have striking similarity to parts of an embryo. The scientists observe a large, round structure that appears to be a yolk sac, and even the primitive forms of red blood cells.
“This was absolutely thrilling,” said Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz, a developmental biologist at the University of Cambridge and the California Institute of Technology.
This month, teams of researchers in Israel, the UK, the United States, and China created the first ever models of human embryos in laboratories. The teams worked independently and carried out their investigations using different methods, but utilized the same underlying concept: stem cells, given the right conditions, can turn into many types of tissues.
The purpose of the models was to uncover the mysteries surrounding the first few weeks of human development. “We know the basics, but the very fine details we just don’t know,” said Jacob Hanna, a developmental biologist at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.
“We know remarkably little about this step in human development, but it is a time where many pregnancies are lost,” said Roger Sturmey, senior research fellow in maternal and fetal health at the University of Manchester in the UK.
The researchers say that the models can also be used for cancer treatment. Traditional treatment methods involve cell transplants, where doctors remove healthy stem cells from the bone marrow, kill the cancer cells with radiation or chemotherapy, and then return the healthy cells to the body. However, studies show that 25 out of 110 patients die after their first transplant. Researchers have suggested that using earlier forms of stem cells could increase the treatment’s rate of success.
Embryo models could turn this idea into a reality. Scientists would take a patient’s skin cells and soak them with chemicals to revert them to stem cells. Then, the cells can be turned into embryo models with the help of more chemical baths, which could then morph into the early blood cells that the patient needs.
However, the embryo models have also sparked ethical debates. Many ethicists have pointed out that there are currently no restrictions in the US and many other countries governing the creation of stem cell-derived embryo models, nor is there agreement on what the restrictions should look like. In response to these concerns, the scientists involved in the research stated that the models were not real embryos and could not create a living human.
“We do it to save lives, not create it,” said Dr. Zernicka-Goetz.
What the scientists observed was a process in the earliest stage of embryo development, where stem cells divided into two types: one for creating the tissues that surround the embryo, and the other for producing the cells inside the body.
The cells communicate and form new structures that have striking similarity to parts of an embryo. The scientists observe a large, round structure that appears to be a yolk sac, and even the primitive forms of red blood cells.
“This was absolutely thrilling,” said Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz, a developmental biologist at the University of Cambridge and the California Institute of Technology.
This month, teams of researchers in Israel, the UK, the United States, and China created the first ever models of human embryos in laboratories. The teams worked independently and carried out their investigations using different methods, but utilized the same underlying concept: stem cells, given the right conditions, can turn into many types of tissues.
The purpose of the models was to uncover the mysteries surrounding the first few weeks of human development. “We know the basics, but the very fine details we just don’t know,” said Jacob Hanna, a developmental biologist at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.
“We know remarkably little about this step in human development, but it is a time where many pregnancies are lost,” said Roger Sturmey, senior research fellow in maternal and fetal health at the University of Manchester in the UK.
The researchers say that the models can also be used for cancer treatment. Traditional treatment methods involve cell transplants, where doctors remove healthy stem cells from the bone marrow, kill the cancer cells with radiation or chemotherapy, and then return the healthy cells to the body. However, studies show that 25 out of 110 patients die after their first transplant. Researchers have suggested that using earlier forms of stem cells could increase the treatment’s rate of success.
Embryo models could turn this idea into a reality. Scientists would take a patient’s skin cells and soak them with chemicals to revert them to stem cells. Then, the cells can be turned into embryo models with the help of more chemical baths, which could then morph into the early blood cells that the patient needs.
However, the embryo models have also sparked ethical debates. Many ethicists have pointed out that there are currently no restrictions in the US and many other countries governing the creation of stem cell-derived embryo models, nor is there agreement on what the restrictions should look like. In response to these concerns, the scientists involved in the research stated that the models were not real embryos and could not create a living human.
“We do it to save lives, not create it,” said Dr. Zernicka-Goetz.
