Advertisement Australian researchers have created “model” human embryos from the skin cells of an adult’s arm, in a world-first scientific breakthrough that raises significant ethical questions. The model embryos, created in a laboratory by researchers at Melbourne’s Monash University, do not use egg or sperm, but ordinary cells that are reprogrammed to replicate the first few days of human life. An animation, developed by Monash University, showing how the artificial embryos are generated. Credit:Monash University When placed in a dish, the model embryos attach – much as embryos would in the uterus – and begin developing. However, they are not identical to natural embryos, lacking several key features and containing cells not normally seen.