Scientists create embryo-like structures from monkey cells

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Study author Zhen Liu, of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai, said: “Because monkeys are closely related to humans evolutionarily, we hope the study of these models will deepen our understanding of human embryonic development, including shedding light on some of the causes of early miscarriages.” In the study, eight female macaques received the embryo-like structures but only three were successfully implanted. Because monkeys are closely related to humans evolutionarily, we hope the study of these models will deepen our understanding of human embryonic development, including shedding light on some of the causes of early miscarriages Zhen Liu Once in the womb, the embryo-like structures also led to the formation of early gestation sacs – which develop early in pregnancy to enclose an embryo and amniotic fluid. Commenting on the study, Roger Sturmey, professor of reproductive medicine at Hull York Medical School at the University of Hull, said the work “will offer important new tools in our understanding of the earliest stages of embryo development, but also highlight the need for guidance in this area, something that scientists in the UK are actively working on.” Professor Robin Lovell-Badge, group leader at the Francis Crick Institute in London, said the findings “will give regulators some breathing space to develop appropriate rules for the culture of such human models, notably whether they can be taken beyond the equivalent of gastrulation stages ”. Dr Darius Widera, associate professor in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine at the University of Reading, said the “ethical implications of embryonic stem cell research in monkeys are complex”.