Scientists have grown a human embryo in a test tube

An international team of specialists from the US and UK grew a human embryo in a laboratory that remained alive for 13 days (previously, scientists managed to keep an embryo alive for only 9 days). According to the scientists, thanks to several additional days of life, they were able to identify new aspects of human development at early stages that previously remained unknown to science. Such work can also help in understanding why some pregnancies are terminated in the first weeks.

The early stages of development of many animals are fairly well understood by scientists, but human development remains largely unclear.

One of the specialists working on the new project, Ali Brivanlou, a biologist, noted that in the 21st century, scientists can tell more about rodents or frogs than about humans, despite the fact that in recent years a number of experts have been working in this area and have already eliminated a number of gaps in this matter.

In particular, in the latest work, scientists observed cell division in embryos and established a certain feature that can be called unique to humans.

Brivanlou and his colleagues discovered cells in the embryo that appear around day 10 and disappear by day 12. At present, specialists cannot explain why these cells appear and what they affect, but at the peak of development, these cells make up about 10% of the embryo. According to experts, the cells may represent something like a transitional organ (like a tail that appears in the embryo but disappears before birth).

The research could also be useful in the field of artificial insemination, for example, according to Norbert Gleicher, head of one of the reproductive centers in New York, about half of the embryos that are implanted in women's uteruses die. The work of Brivanlou and his colleagues will help specialists understand what exactly happens at this stage of development and how to prevent the death of the embryo after implantation.

Gleicher explained that the process of artificial insemination remains a mystery to this day, but now the work of Brivanlou (with whom Gleicher collaborated in the past) will help to better assess the ability of the embryo to survive before actual implantation in the uterus.

Despite the benefits of the new research, the ability to grow a human embryo in a test tube raises a number of ethical and political questions. In a number of countries, including the US and the UK, it is prohibited to use embryos older than 14 days, since this is when the fetus begins to form.

But during their work, Brivanlou and his colleagues were almost certain that their embryos would not survive for more than two weeks, since the embryo needs additional nutrition consisting of hormones and nutrients as it grows. Scientists cannot say what substances a new organism needs during development; this would require conducting a series of experiments with animal embryos, which, according to some data, scientists have already begun.

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