The entelechy test: embryos and simbryos
Over two weeks in March, four teams reported the self-assembly from stem cells of structures resembling human embryos...
BioNews
Zygote
The single cell formed immediately after fertilisation, once the genetic information of the egg and sperm have fused.
35 articles
Genomes of identical twins start to diverge in the womb
Identical twins may not in fact be genetically identical at birth, according to a new study by researchers in Iceland...
Protein from a mother's egg stays in the developing embryo
A maternal protein in the embryo can cause long-lasting impacts on development, Australian researchers have found...
Why single embryo transfers in IVF sometimes result in twins
The reasons why IVF treatment sometimes results in twin or triplet births — even though only one embryo is used — have been found by the largest study to date on single embryo transfer and multiple pregnancy...
New structure found in sperm may help understand infertility
Cutting-edge microscopy has unveiled a structure inside sperm that may play a key role in infertility and birth defects...
First genome editing of human embryos by UK scientists
UK scientists have successfully edited the genome of human embryos to study the role of a gene key to the earliest stages of development...
Mitochondrial replacement therapies in Mexico and the USA - and the FDA
Almost a year after the first live birth of a baby following a mitochondrial replacement technique procedure, the US Food and Drug Administration has sent a very strongly-worded letter to the scientist and team responsible for the event...
Stem cells reprogrammed to resemble fertilised eggs
Researchers have successfully turned stem cells into 'totipotent' cells, with characteristics resembling those of fertilised eggs...
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
Book Review: GMO Sapiens - The Life-Changing Science of Designer Babies
GMO Sapiens is just the annoying grit in the machine that the genome editing debate needs, but readers deserve clearer lines between science, speculation and opinion...
Mitochondrial donation case study finally published after 13 years
Chinese researchers say an IVF technique called pronuclear transfer can safely produce a viable pregnancy...