Renewal Bio, an Israeli biotech company has managed to successfully create an artificial mouse embryo from stem cells, now they want to replicate the experiment using human cells.
Scientists at Weizmann's Molecular Genetics Department grew mouse embryos in a jar without the use of sperm, eggs, or a womb.
The embryos could not grow into fully grown mice, but did have a beating heart, blood circulation, the start of a brain, a neural tube, and an intestinal tract.
Renewal Bio wants to use this science for organ tissue transplants that might solve infertility, genetic diseases, and issues related to old age.
"To solve these complex and compounding issues, Renewal Bio aims to make humanity younger and healthier by leveraging the power of the new stem cell technology."
- Renewal Bio
The use of human embryos for research has frequently raised ethical concerns, whether or not synthetic embryos may experience pain or sentience.
Lead Scientist Jacob Hanna said these concerns could be avoided by creating synthetic human embryos with "no lungs, no heart, or no brain."
