Generating babies in the laboratory, is it fiction or for real?

Abstract

In the last few years, we have seen great advances in the field of developmental biology.  From Yamanaka factors to CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing strategies, they have represented milestones in science. These new protocols help us to better understand embryonic development and to push the frontiers of knowledge. A couple of recent studies have applied this basic knowledge on humans and demonstrated that human embryos can grow outside the mother's uterus. This scientific advance opens new avenues in the study of human development, but also the controversy of whether we are going too far. Before discussing the ethics behind growing synthetic embryos, we must ask ourselves whether it is possible to develop a viable human embryo in the laboratory.  Do we really understand human embryonic development, and so are we able to replicate it in the laboratory? are we able to grow a "baby" in a culture dish?  In this work, we are going to review the recently published advances in this regard to assess whether it is feasible to cultivate healthy and viable embryos outside the mother's uterus.