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A new research project will solve the mystery of the development of human embryos in the early stages of fertilization.
Scientists hope to improve their understanding of fertility, conbad anomalies and regenerative medicine.
About 3% of babies are born with developmental abnormalities such as heart defects, spina bifida, and cleft palates.
Problems often start very early in pregnancy, but very little is known about how and why they occur.
Andrew Copp, a professor of developmental neurobiology at the Institute of Child Health at University College London, cited work that had been done on a possible way to increase prevention of cancer. folic acid for spina bifida.
He added: "This is a work of mouse research and we hope that, in a similar way, this HDBI initiative will develop new preventive treatments, for example for specific conbad anomalies."
The Wellcome-funded Human Development Biology Initiative (HDBI), with a budget of £ 10 million, will be a "family tree" for cell division and specialization after fertilization.
He will examine them from four particular stages of development or organ systems: early human embryo, brain and spinal cord, blood and immune system, heart and lungs.
The researchers hope to understand how tissues and organs develop and reveal new ideas about how this process can go wrong.
They will explore various stages of development, up to 20 weeks after fertilization, using various existing techniques.
For many years, development studies have relied on cellular and animal models, and scientists say their understanding of early human development remains extremely limited.
Very few laboratories have access to human embryo tissue samples, which means that essential field research is still needed.
Professor Rick Livesey, based at University College London, and one of the researchers at the head of the HDBI, said, "We know very little about the development of humans.
"By understanding what is" normal "in development, we can see how things can go wrong and offer new avenues of research, and the results of this work could help regenerative medicine reach its full potential."
The project will involve donations of embryos and human fetal tissue, subject to a strong regulatory and legal framework.
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