Skin cells have been reprogrammed by a team of Australian researchers and turned into a lifelike replica of an early human embryo. It is hoped the models will allow researchers to study in greater detail the earliest phase of human development and hopefully find cures for some forms of infertility and miscarriage. Although the iBlastoids are imitations and not real human blastocysts, there is no clear ruling on such models. A technique called 'nuclear reprogramming' was used to turn skin cells into the embryonic-like cells and they were then assembled around a 3D scaffold. 'For example, early blastocysts are enclosed within the zone pellucida, a membrane derived from the egg that interacts with sperm during the fertilisation process and later disappears.

Source: Daily Mail March 17, 2021 15:03 UTC