‘Synthetic’ human embryos created without eggs or sperm

Professor Roger Sturmey said there is still much work to do “to determine the similarities and differences between synthetic embryos and embryos that form from the union of an egg and a sperm”.

A human embryo in the lab at nine days after fertilisation as scientists say they have created an embryo without eggs and sperm (University of Cambridge/PA)

Scientists say they have created “synthetic” human embryos without the need for eggs or sperm in a potentially major advance.

It is currently unclear whether the model embryos have the potential to continue maturing beyond the earliest stages of development, but experts believe they may help in the study of illnesses, genetic disorders or recurrent miscarriage.