For first time, fibroblast-derived model of early embryo will allow extensive study into causes of very early miscarriage and effects of toxins and drugs on early development.

In a discovery that will revolutionize research into the causes of early miscarriage, infertility and the study of early human development — an international team of scientists led by Monash University in Melbourne, Australia has generated a model of a human embryo from skin cells.

The team, led by Professor Jose Polo, has successfully reprogrammed these fibroblasts or skin cells into a 3-dimensional cellular structure that is morphologically and molecularly similar to human blastocysts. Called iBlastoids, these can be used to model the biology of early human embryos in the laboratory.