'Synthetic' Embryo With Brain and Beating Heart Grown From Stem Cells

[Poiuyt]

Researchers from the University of Cambridge have created model embryos from mouse stem cells that form a brain, a beating heart, and the foundations of all the other organs of the body – a new avenue for recreating the first stages of life.

The team, led by Professor Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz, developed the embryo model without eggs or sperm, and instead used stem cells – the body’s master cells, which can develop into almost any cell type in the body.

The researchers mimicked natural processes in the lab by guiding the three types of stem cells found in early mammalian development to the point where they start interacting. By inducing the expression of a particular set of genes and establishing a unique environment for their interactions, the researchers were able to get the stem cells to ‘talk’ to each other.

The stem cells self-organised into structures that progressed through the successive developmental stages until they had beating hearts and the foundations of the brain, as well as the yolk sac where the embryo develops and gets nutrients from in its first weeks. Unlike other synthetic embryos, the Cambridge-developed models reached the point where the entire brain, including the anterior portion, began to develop.

https://neurosciencenews.com/synthetic-embryo-brain-stem-cell-21306/

This should make for some interesting conversations among the pro-life circuit.

[Brenda]

1. Why?

Ever heard of Frankenstein? What/when will this synthetic become sentient? What rights will it have?

Like there aren't enough people on this planet.

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. Mouse cells, not human (nt)

[Brenda]

3. Still.

Why create synthetic mice? Next it will be what chickens and cows?

See Eureka for the outcome of eating that stuff.

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. For research

Thus, these complete embryoids are a powerful in vitro model for dissecting the roles of diverse lineages and genes in development.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05246-3

[JanMichael]

7. Eureka! Fabulous series.

They could reboot that and I'd watch it again.

[Brenda]

12. Yep

I actually saw a cable channel running it again recently, think it was SyFy.

[AndyS]

15. Amazon prime has 5 seasons. nt

[Hermit-The-Prog]

5. I want a wooly mammoth.

[Brenda]

10. Sure, and I want a

T-Rex in my back yard to scare away my neighbors.

But somewhere along the line Mother Nature takes control, not us.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

11. What could possibly go wrong?

No, no, no, I'm building a bunker for completely different reasons. Nothing to do with this. I swear.

[DJ Porkchop]

4. Well, at least it can't grow up to vote Republican. n/t

[Moostache]

8. This feels like a really bad idea...

Not simply for the "ick" factor of creating a Frankenstein monster mouse, but more because this kind of 'research' leads to fueling the fires of conspiracy theorists and lunatics on the internet and in dark edges of society. They take a nugget of truth and weaponize it against the gullible and ill-informed and THAT has real-world problems for all of us. Vaccines are a miracle of the last century in the fight against infectious disease, but too many stories like this make the scientifically illiterate feel like there MUST be truth to the wild conspiracies and then all hell is coming for us all with a vengeance.

[Stinky The Clown]

9. Ugly threats to Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz in 10 . . . 9 . . . 8. . . 7 . . .

[Goodheart]

13. I can imagine that couples who are unable to procreate the "old fashioned" way might have some

interest in doing it like this.

[Volaris]

14. Na, should be an easy one for them...if it has a heartbeat, it doesn't matter how it got there..

Rape, Incest, New-lab Stuff, it's all gawds will and it has to be protected.

Complete embryos that were frozen BEFORE there's a heartbeat, now THAT ONES gonna be a real head-scratcher for them. Best guess is..have to thaw them, and now some random instantly has 9 more kids to raise, OR, find some unmarried woman and put her womb to good use since it's now State Property.

Roevember is coming for these fucks.

[maxrandb]

17. Can they implant these in

Alito, Clarence, the Conservadroid, Roberts, Biff and they Handmaiden?

How about implanting in Josh Hawley and JD Vance?

Doesn't matter how it got there, and his would be an excellent chance to test their pro-life bonefides.

[Eko]

18. This is good and a big deal.

It can lead to creating organs from peoples DNA to replace them, such as lungs and kidneys.

[Ohio Joe]

19. And... Not surprisingly...

It’s already smarter than the average magat