'Synthetic' Embryo , Breakthrough Could Help Solve , Organ Donor Shortage.<br />'Time' reports that British scientists have <br />successfully created a "synthetic" embryo <br />with a brain and a beating heart.<br />The lab-created embryo features all the foundations of the body's organs, including neural and gut tubes that protect the spine and intestines.<br />'Time' reports that the creation <br />could solve the donor shortage <br />crisis and prevent miscarriages.<br />The breakthrough could also be used to <br />reduce the need for animal experimentation.<br />Researchers at Cambridge University <br />used stem cells from mice <br />without fertilized eggs or sperm.<br />Our mouse embryo model <br />not only develops a brain, but also <br />a beating heart, all the components <br />that go on to make up the body, Professor Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz, Lead author, via 'Newsweek'.<br />This has been the dream of our community for years, and major focus of our work for a decade and finally we've done it, Professor Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz, Lead author, via 'Newsweek'.<br />The team's work has shed light on how tissues <br />form and the causes of genetic diseases.<br />This period of human life is so mysterious, so to be able to see how it happens in a dish–to have access to these individual stem cells, to understand why so many pregnancies fail and how we might be able to prevent that from happening–is quite special, Professor Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz, Lead author, via 'Newsweek'.<br />This period of human life is so mysterious, so to be able to see how it happens in a dish–to have access to these individual stem cells, to understand why so many pregnancies fail and how we might be able to prevent that from happening–is quite special, Professor Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz, Lead author, via 'Newsweek'.<br />'Time' reports that the team is now developing similar human <br />models with the potential to shed light on crucial processes <br />involved with the development of specific organs
