A team from the University of Cambridge's Gurdon Institute created a model human embryo with a heartbeat and traces of blood. These models, I mean, how much can we really learn from them at the moment? If we've got this black box, do we know how close they are to the real thing? That's a really good question. And one interesting thing is that it will be necessary if you want to really be confident that they're replicating that process,. You do need to be able to compare them to what's happening in natural embryo.
Scientists have created synthetic human embryos using stem cells in a groundbreaking advance that sidesteps the need for eggs or sperm. Madeleine Finlay speaks to science correspondent Hannah Devlin about her world exclusive story on this development, what it could mean for medical research, and whether the ethical and regulatory classifications of these embryos are keeping pace with the science. Help support our independent journalism at
theguardian.com/sciencepod