Latest news with #uterus
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
World First: Scientists Film The Exact Moment a Human Embryo Implants
Scientists have for the first time ever filmed a crucial step that leads to new human life – cracking open a 'black box' of early development, and potentially helping with fertility treatments. Every human alive today was once nothing more than a free-floating clump of cells looking for a suitable place to call home. Despite the odds, our embryos did it: they became one with our mother's body. This achievement, known as implantation, occurs deep within the uterus, and until now, scientists had only taken snapshots of the phenomenon. It takes weeks before an ultrasound can glimpse anything in the darkness. Related: A new system now lets researchers take a closer look at the surprisingly invasive process. Time-lapse recordings show human embryos in the lab aggressively penetrating a collagen-based matrix to create a cavity for connection and further growth. "For the first time, we've been able to watch human embryo implantation unfold dynamically," senior author and bioengineer Samuel Ojosnegros of the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST) told ScienceAlert. "We've opened a window into a stage of development that was previously hidden." The experiments took place in the lab, not in a real uterus; however, the platform developed by Ojosnegros and his colleagues recreates the right structural environment and nutrients for donated embryos to implant. This is a critical step that can easily go wrong under natural conditions. Roughly 60 percent of failed pregnancies happen during implantation or soon after, making this stage a key bottleneck to life. Compared to mouse embryos, which only invaded the matrix superficially, researchers found that human embryos drill deep, fully wrapping themselves in the collagen matrix. "Our technology lets us pinpoint where the embryo exerts force, and we found it applies significant mechanical force to implant and invade," said Ojosnegros. "This means that mouse studies can only take us so far in understanding human implantation." A human embryo typically implants five to six days after fertilization (when egg and sperm meet). At this stage, the embryo is a cluster of 100 to 200 cells – too small to be seen using ultrasound. In the past, this meant that researchers could mainly watch the first five days of embryo development in the lab. The new uterine model developed by Ojosnegros and his colleagues widens the window, extending embryo observation beyond that initial first stage. The technology can be used as a flat gel or as a droplet to observe embryo implantation in 2D or 3D. When blastocysts are left on top of a flat gel, they can be seen binding to the collagen surface and then invading it. When they are placed inside the droplets, meanwhile, the embryos seem to 'pull' the collagen fibers of the mother's tissues toward their center, remodeling the environment around themselves. Lead author of the study Amélie Luise Godeau from BIST and her team speculate that the embryo is somehow connecting the maternal environment with its own tissues. What the uterine wall might do in response to that is beyond the scope of the study. The collagen-based matrix is not made using human uterine cells, so it can only provide half the picture. That limitation, however, also offers an advantage. The composition of the matrix can be tweaked to see how human embryos respond to different environments or compounds that might improve implantation. "For example, through our spin-off, Serabiotics, and in collaboration with the pharmaceutical company Grifols, we've developed a protein supplement that can be used in clinics to enhance implantation rates," said Ojosnegros, the cofounder of Serabiotics. The study was published in Science Advances. Related News Chlorophyll & Collagen: Does Science Back TikTok's Favorite Supplements? Aging Can Spread Through Your Body Via a Single Protein, Study Finds New Genetic Test Predicts Children With Future Risk of High BMI Solve the daily Crossword
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Scientists capture first footage of human embryo implanting in a uterus
A human embryo being implanted into a uterus has been pictured in real time and in 3D footage for the first time by a team of scientists. It shows images of an embryo implanting into a synthetic uterus, demonstrating how the process occurs naturally. The groundbreaking footage was released by researchers at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) in collaboration with Dexeus University hospital in Barcelona, which donated the embryos. Samuel Ojosnegros, the principal investigator of the IBEC's bioengineering for reproductive health group and lead author of the study, said the work was significant because it revealed how the implementation process happened in detail. 'We have observed that human embryos burrow into the uterus, exerting considerable force during the process,' Ojosnegros said. 'These forces are necessary because the embryos must be able to invade the uterine tissue, becoming completely integrated with it. It is a surprisingly invasive process. Although it is known that many women experience abdominal pain and slight bleeding during implantation, the process itself had never been observed before.' Embryo implantation occurs when a fertilised egg attaches to the lining of the uterus about six to 12 days after ovulation. A platform that allows embryos to implant outside the uterus under controlled conditions was developed by the researchers. This platform, based on a gel made partly by collagen and uterine tissue, then enabled real-time fluorescence imaging and analysis of the embryo's interactions with its environment. After this, researchers carried out experiments with human and mouse embryos to compare the two implantation processes. They discovered that while a mouse embryo sticks to its surface, a human embryo penetrates the uterine tissue completely before growing from the inside out. The study also showed that during the implantation process, the human embryo released enzymes that broke down the surrounding tissue, and that this embryo also exerted traction forces on its environment. The failure of the implantation process is one of the main causes of infertility, accounting for about 60% of miscarriages. According to the researchers, this study, which helps to improve understanding of the implantation process, could have a significant impact on fertility rates. Amélie Godeau, a researcher and co-first author of the study, said: 'We observe that the embryo pulls on the uterine matrix, moving and reorganising it. It also reacts to external force cues. We hypothesise that contractions occurring in vivo may influence embryo implantation.'
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Scientists capture first footage of human embryo implanting in a uterus
A human embryo being implanted into a uterus has been pictured in real time and in 3D footage for the first time by a team of scientists. It shows images of an embryo implanting into a synthetic uterus, demonstrating how the process occurs naturally. The groundbreaking footage was released by researchers at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) in collaboration with Dexeus University hospital in Barcelona, which donated the embryos. Samuel Ojosnegros, the principal investigator of the IBEC's bioengineering for reproductive health group and lead author of the study, said the work was significant because it revealed how the implementation process happened in detail. 'We have observed that human embryos burrow into the uterus, exerting considerable force during the process,' Ojosnegros said. 'These forces are necessary because the embryos must be able to invade the uterine tissue, becoming completely integrated with it. It is a surprisingly invasive process. Although it is known that many women experience abdominal pain and slight bleeding during implantation, the process itself had never been observed before.' Embryo implantation occurs when a fertilised egg attaches to the lining of the uterus about six to 12 days after ovulation. A platform that allows embryos to implant outside the uterus under controlled conditions was developed by the researchers. This platform, based on a gel made partly by collagen and uterine tissue, then enabled real-time fluorescence imaging and analysis of the embryo's interactions with its environment. After this, researchers carried out experiments with human and mouse embryos to compare the two implantation processes. They discovered that while a mouse embryo sticks to its surface, a human embryo penetrates the uterine tissue completely before growing from the inside out. The study also showed that during the implantation process, the human embryo released enzymes that broke down the surrounding tissue, and that this embryo also exerted traction forces on its environment. The failure of the implantation process is one of the main causes of infertility, accounting for about 60% of miscarriages. According to the researchers, this study, which helps to improve understanding of the implantation process, could have a significant impact on fertility rates. Amélie Godeau, a researcher and co-first author of the study, said: 'We observe that the embryo pulls on the uterine matrix, moving and reorganising it. It also reacts to external force cues. We hypothesise that contractions occurring in vivo may influence embryo implantation.'
