Human Embryos News and Research

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Researchers find new insights into silencing of X-chromosomes in human embryos

Researchers have discovered new insights into how one of the two X-chromosomes is silenced during the development of female human embryos and also in lab-grown stem cells.

16 Dec 2016

Researchers suggest need for human studies to examine effects of cannabinoid use during pregnancy

In this new era of legalized marijuana, far too little research has been conducted on the effect of cannabis on the development of human embryos, say researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center who scoured medical literature on the topic and found what they say is worrisome animal research.

30 Sep 2016

Researchers uncover new clues about role of glucosamine in early embryonic development

Most pregnant women with well-controlled diabetes give birth to healthy children. But their babies run much higher risks of birth defects than babies born to women without diabetes, because very early in embryonic development, the babies are exposed to higher levels of glucose in maternal blood.

23 Jun 2016

New IVF-based technique can reduce risk of mothers passing on mitochondrial disease to infants

A new IVF-based technique is likely to lead to normal pregnancies and reduce the risk that babies born will have mitochondrial disease, according to researchers at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Mitochondrial Disease at Newcastle University.

9 Jun 2016

Transplantation of hpNSCs into non-human primates modeled with PD promotes behavioral recovery

A multi-center team of researchers in the U.S. testing the potential of cell therapy for treating Parkinson's disease (PD) has found that grafting human parthenogenetic stem cell-derived neural stem cells (hpNSCs) into non-human primates modeled with PD promoted behavioral recovery, increased dopamine concentrations in the brain, and induced the expression of beneficial genes and pathways when compared to control animals not transplanted with stem cells.

9 Jun 2016

New real-time imaging technique holds great potential in shaping assisted reproduction procedures

Researchers at A*STAR's Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) have developed advanced microscopy technologies to monitor embryo development in real time, revealing how mammalian cells differentiate during the earliest stages of embryonic life.

23 May 2016

ISSCR releases updated guidelines for stem cell research, development of new therapies

The International Society for Stem Cell Research, the world's largest professional organization of stem cell scientists, today released newly updated guidelines for stem cell research and the development of new clinical therapies.

13 May 2016

New research shows molecular, cellular processes in human embroyo development

Despite significant biomedical advances in recent decades, the very earliest events of human development¬--those that occur during a critical window just after fertilization--have remained an unobservable mystery, until now.

5 May 2016

Researchers develop new technique to create naïve pluripotent stem cells

Scientists at the University of Cambridge have for the first time shown that it is possible to derive from a human embryo so-called 'naïve' pluripotent stem cells - one of the most flexible types of stem cell, which can develop into all human tissue other than the placenta.

7 Mar 2016

Researchers use hydrogel to prevent stem cells and human embryos from differentiating

Unlike normal cells, stem cells are pluripotent -- they can become any cell type, which makes them powerful potential treatments for diseases such as diabetes, leukemia and age-related blindness. However, maintaining this versatility until the time is right is a major challenge.

11 Feb 2016

New CRISPR technology can be used to make designer babies

How should we handle the new CRISPR technology that can both advance science and medicine, but also be used to make designer babies? Scientist and author Paul Knoepfler tackles this and other difficult questions related to this revolutionary technology in his new book, GMO Sapiens: The Life-Changing Science of Designer Babies, targeted at a broad, lay audience.

7 Jan 2016

Researchers successfully use CRISPR to treat adult mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Researchers have used CRISPR to treat an adult mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. This marks the first time that CRISPR has successfully treated a genetic disease inside a fully developed living mammal with a strategy that has the potential to be translated to human therapy.

4 Jan 2016

Mitochondrial variation and viable pregnancy: an interview with Dr Elpida Fragouli

Embryos require adequate amounts of energy so that they can successfully progress through each of their cell divisions.

16 Dec 2015

CRISPR tool streamlines gene editing

Within the past few years, a new technology has made altering genes in plants and animals much easier than before. The tool, called CRISPR/Cas9 or just CRISPR, has spurred a flurry of research that could one day lead to hardier crops and livestock, as well as innovative biomedicines. But along with potential benefits, it raises red flags, according to an article in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society.

10 Sep 2015

Study sheds light on ways to improve embryonic wound healing in humans

It's like something out of a science-fiction movie - time-lapse photography showing how wounds in embryos of fruit flies heal themselves. The images are not only real; they shed light on ways to improve wound recovery in humans.

1 Sep 2015

New non-invasive image processing technique may improve IVF success rates

A collaboration between biologists and engineers at Monash University has led to the development of a new non-invasive image processing technique to visualise embryo formation. Researchers were able to see, for the first time, the movement of all of the cells in living mammalian embryos as they develop under the microscope.

29 Aug 2015

Researchers discover molecule that may favour production of induced pluripotent cells

Since 2006, research has succeeded in generating, from specialised adult cells, induced pluripotent cells (iPS cells), with huge potential applications, particularly for regenerative medicine. However, the process has still not been completely mastered. Two teams of researchers from Inserm, CNRS, Centre Léon Bérard and Claude Bernard Lyon 1 University have discovered a molecule that may favour the production of these induced stem cells.

9 Jul 2015

Chromosomal abnormalities in embryos created for IVF can be predicted at earliest stage of human development

Scientists at Oregon Health & Science University, Stanford University, University of Valencia and IGENOMIX have discovered that chromosomal abnormalities in human embryos created for in vitro fertilization, or IVF, can be predicted within the first 30 hours of development at the cell-1 stage which results from the union of a female egg and male sperm.

8 Jul 2015

Researchers develop new IVF technique to improve fertility treatment

For couples struggling to conceive the old-fashioned way, in vitro fertilization (IVF) provides an alternate route to starting a family. When eggs are mixed with sperm in test tubes, the fertilized eggs to grow into embryos that can be implanted inside the uterus of a woman who will carry them to term.

29 Apr 2015

ISSCR calls for moratorium on human germline genome editing attempts in clinical practice

In response to an article published by Chinese scientists describing research that used gene editing technologies in human embryos, the International Society for Stem Cell Research has again called for a moratorium on attempts at human clinical germline genome editing while extensive scientific analysis of the potential risks is conducted, along with broad public discussion of the societal and ethical implications.

27 Apr 2015