Mouse embryo models grown from a single induced cell type reach the equivalent of day 8.5

16 October 2026

A paper published in Nature on 14 October 2026, with Sheng Ding of Tsinghua University as corresponding author, reports continuous development outside the womb of mouse embryo models grown only from chemically induced totipotent-like stem cells. The cells self-organised into blastocyst-like structures that resembled natural blastocysts in shape and in the separation of cell lineages. The resulting models then went through gastrulation, embryonic axis formation, blood formation and early organ formation, closely resembling natural embryos at embryonic day 8.5. With longer culture the models developed functional cardiac tissue that the authors describe as highly comparable to natural embryos at day 10.5. The authors conclude that a single induced cell type can recapitulate much of early mouse embryogenesis and offer the system as a model for studying mammalian development.