(Undark) – Human embryo models can provide a powerful window into the earliest stages of life. But how far should they go?

Embryo models mimic the earliest developmental stages of humans and other mammals. They could greatly improve researchers’ knowledge of fertility — offering a glimpse of the first weeks of pregnancy, a mysterious period for which natural embryos are seldom available — and potentially shed light on miscarriage, congenital anomalies, and other health issues.And because scientists can grow them in a lab from stem cells, they are easier to obtain and less ethically sensitive than real human embryos.

Right now, they don’t last long. But the technology is getting better, and some people are wondering about a future where it becomes possible for scientists to create human offspring in a lab without any involvement of sperm and egg.Long before then, though, serious ethical questions are already on the table. (Read More)