Synthetic Human Entities With Embryo-Like Features (SHEEFs) and the Incarnation

摘要

For a few years now, scientists have been able to use human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) to generate various organoids—artificially grown mass of cells or tissues that resemble various organs. Several techniques have been developed to both induce and suppress stem cell differentiation, coupled with more recent 3D tissue culturing methods, have yielded more complex and realistic organoids. While these organoids have proved especially useful for gaining insight into organ development and especially disease modeling, they're not without their limitations. For instance, media factors can easily complicate their creation, and organoid development and growth are frequently stunted due to their inability to deliver nutrients and eliminate waste.1 Nevertheless, the continual evolution of synthetic biology, coupled with greater precision and control in outfitting hPSCs with particular developmental pathways, have led to increasingly complex organoids, which provide better models for research. But perhaps no development has been more significant than the recently discovered ability to induce human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs)—non-embryonic stem cells—into exhibiting totipotent behavior, which means the power of self-organization and the execution of a body plan.