Cambridge scientists create first self-developing embryo from stem cells

Artificial mouse cells grown from outside body in a blob of gel shown to morph into primitive embryos, roughly equivalent to one third of way through pregnancy

The transformation of a fertilised egg into a tiny living embryo ranks among nature's most impressive feats. Now scientists have replicated this critical step towards a new life for the first time, growing an artificial mouse embryo from stem cells in the lab.

The cells, grown outside the body in a blob of gel, were shown to morph into primitive embryos that perfectly replicated the internal structures that emerge during normal development in the womb.