Scientists are actively exploring the possibility of human reproduction in space, just as a group of Israeli researchers have managed to grow a human embryo model without sperm or egg.
Researchers in Israel managed to grow “complete” models of human embryos by reprogramming stem cells to mimic the process of life, according to a new report.
They were able to do this without the aid of a sperm and egg, but by mixing the stem cells – which they had chemically turned into four types of cells that became the fetus, placenta, yolk sac, and extraembryonic mesoderm – into a specific baby making cocktail.
The configuration cells spontaneously arranged themselves into the structure that resembled a “textbook” 14-day human embryo, and released the type of hormones that a human pregnancy releases.
Scientists grow artificial embryo model without using sperm, an egg or a WOMB https://t.co/GajHtlw5IF pic.twitter.com/LtEAOAyVBy
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) September 7, 2023
However, the the scientist’s artificially created splice of life is reportedly impossible to generate a pregnancy from, as the embryo “bypasses the stage needed to attach to the womb lining.”
Elsewhere in questionably ethical bio research, scientists are attempting to make human reproduction in space a reality.
Dr. Egbert Edelbroek, CEO of SpaceBorn United—a Netherlands-based company dedicated to making reproduction in space a reality— is leading the charge.
The company has created a miniaturized in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo incubator, which is poised to be launched on a mission to figure out if humans have the ability to reproduce in space.
