For the first time in history, scientists have managed to grow a mammalian embryo outside the uterus. The study was published in the journal Nature.
According to a group of researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, they mechanically created more than 1,000 mouse embryos in six months.
In the first part of the experiment, the scientists removed embryos from the mouse uterus five days after being conceived. One of the researchers, Dr. Jacob Hanna, said his team could grow embryos outside the uterus for 11 days. It should be noted that embryos grown in the laboratory are identical to those grown in the mother's body.
It took the scientific team seven years to develop the technology that enabled them to do the research. It is a two-part system consisting of an incubator and a ventilation system.
It takes a mouse about 20 days to survive outside the womb. The team of scientists developed technology that allows embryos to go through half of their pregnancy. After that, the embryo becomes too large for the apparatus and can no longer receive enough food by diffusion, causing it to die. The next challenge for science is developing embryo blood supply technology that ensures the fetus's full development.
