embryos

Scientists have created embryos from stem cells – it could help us better understand infertility and miscarriage

Scientists have created embryos from stem cells – it could help us better understand infertility and miscarriage: SciePro/Shutterstock Scientists recently announced that they have developed embryos using just stem cells. No sperm or egg cells (oocytes) were involved. These new research findings were presented by Professor Magdalena ?ernicka-Goetz of the University of Cambridge and the …

First synthetic embryos: the scientific breakthrough raises serious ethical questions

First synthetic embryos: the scientific breakthrough raises serious ethical questions: synthetic mouse Weizmann Institute of Sciences Children, even some who are too young for school, know you can’t make a baby without sperm and an egg. But a team of researchers in Israel have called into question the basics of what we teach children about …

Growing human embryos in the lab and why scientists just tweaked the rules – podcast

Growing human embryos in the lab and why scientists just tweaked the rules – podcast: Illustration of an early stage human embryo. nobeastsofierce via Shutterstock In this week’s episode of The Conversation Weekly, as new scientific guidelines are released on embryo research and the use of stem cells, we talk to experts about what’s changed …

First human-monkey embryos created – a small step towards a huge ethical problem

First human-monkey embryos created – a small step towards a huge ethical problem: We believe monkeys to have lower moral status than humans – but what about human-monkey chimeras? Joao Paulo Porto/Shutterstock Scientists have created the world’s first monkey embryos containing human cells in an attempt to investigate how the two types of cell develop …

Editing the DNA of human embryos could protect us from future pandemics

Editing the DNA of human embryos could protect us from future pandemics: We could edit our genes to make us more resistance to viruses. Natali_ Mis/Shutterstock Hollywood blockbusters such as X-men, Gattaca and Jurassic World have explored the intriguing concept of “germline genome editing” – a biomolecular technique that can alter the DNA of sperm, …

Turtle embryos can choose their own sex, shows new research – but why?

Turtle embryos can choose their own sex, shows new research – but why?: Cell Press © Du et al The animal world has many weird and wonderful ways of having sex. Some animals, such as snails, are hermaphrodites – able to make both eggs and sperm simultaneously. Some, such as wrasses and parrot-fish, initially hatch …

Hybrid embryos raise hope of resurrecting northern white rhino – but what’s the point?

Hybrid embryos raise hope of resurrecting northern white rhino – but what’s the point?: Shutterstock Scientists have for the first time created hybrid embryos with DNA from the nearly-extinct northern white rhinoceros, an advance that could ultimately lead to the first resurrection of a mega-mammal. But while this scientific achievement could provide a new way …

Scientists edit human embryos to safely remove disease for the first time – here’s how they did it

Scientists edit human embryos to safely remove disease for the first time – here’s how they did it: Human eight cell embryo for IVF selection. K. Hardy, Wellcome Images , CC BY-SA Scientists in the US have released a paper showing that they have successfully edited human embryos to correct a mutation that causes an …