News

NEW YORK, February 12, 2002 (LSN.ca) – Scientists at Cornell University’s Centre for Reproductive Medicine and Infertility have used live human embryos in experiments on artificial wombs created from replicated cells removed from the lining of the womb. Dr Hung-Ching Liu and her team revealed to the media that human embryos successfully attached to the walls of laboratory wombs and began to grow, but the embryos were destroyed after six days.

Liu reveals that in later experiments she intends to allow the embryos to develop to the legal limit of 14 days before they are destroyed. “We will then see if the embryos put down roots and veins into our artificial wombs’ walls, and see if their cells differentiate into primitive organs and develop a primitive placenta,” she said.

Liu, who says that for her experiments she “took embryos left over from IVF programmes,” told media she would experiment first with animals on later developed embryos. “The next stage will involve experiments with mice or dogs. If that works, we shall ask to take our work beyond the 14-day limit now imposed on such research,” she said.

See the coverage in the Observer at:  https://www.observer.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,648024,00.html