Mouse embryo models with beating hearts, grown entirely outside the womb

A Tsinghua University team led by Ding Sheng has grown mouse embryo models from chemically reset stem cells that develop organised structures — blood cells, blood vessels, early reproductive cell lineages and heart tissue that beats rhythmically. The work, published in Nature on 14 October, follows development from before implantation through the beginnings of organ formation, entirely outside the uterus. Models like these let researchers study the earliest stages of life — and why pregnancies fail — without using real embryos.

SDG 9 · Industry, innovation and infrastructure — Mechanism: tech innovation