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Mouse embryo models built from stem cells take shape in a dish

Two groups have grown self-organizing models of mouse embryos from stem cells in vitro. The models mimic mid-gestation embryos, providing an unparalleled opportunity to study early embryonic development.
  1. Neal D. Amin

    1. Neal D. Amin is in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA, and in the Stanford Brain Organogenesis Program, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute and Bio-X, Stanford.

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  2. Sergiu P. Pașca

    1. Sergiu P. Pașca is in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA, and in the Stanford Brain Organogenesis Program, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute and Bio-X, Stanford.

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For more than 100 years, researchers have been attempting to grow mammalian embryos in the laboratory1, to study the mysterious forces and factors that transform a fertilized egg into a mature organism. Now, two groups, one2 writing in Nature and the other in Cell3, have used advances in cell-culture techniques and stem-cell biology4–6 to progress towards this goal. The groups grew structures resembling mouse embryos in vitro without the need for sperm, eggs or a uterus. These ‘embryoids’ developed to a stage equivalent to mouse mid-gestation, marking an impressive advance in our ability to study early mammalian development.

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Nature 610, 39-40 (2022)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-03075-y

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Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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