Australian researchers have created “model” human embryos from the skin cells of an adult’s arm, in a world-first scientific breakthrough that raises significant ethical questions.
The model embryos, created in a laboratory by researchers at Melbourne’s Monash University, do not use egg or sperm, but ordinary cells that are reprogrammed to replicate the first few days of human life.
When placed in a dish, the model embryos attach – much as embryos would in the uterus – and begin developing.
