A new era of stem cell and developmental biology: from blastoids to synthetic embryos and beyond

Recent discoveries in stem cell and developmental biology have introduced a new era marked by the generation of in vitro models that recapitulate early mammalian development, providing unprecedented opportunities for extensive research in embryogenesis. Here, we present an overview of current techniques that model early mammalian embryogenesis, specifically noting models created from stem cells derived from two significant species: Homo sapiens, for its high relevance, and Mus musculus, a historically common and technically advanced model organism. We aim to provide a holistic understanding of these in vitro models by tracing the historical background of the progress made in stem cell biology and discussing the fundamental underlying principles. At each developmental stage, we present corresponding in vitro models that recapitulate the in vivo embryo and further discuss how these models may be used to model diseases. Through a discussion of these models as well as their potential applications and future challenges, we hope to demonstrate how these innovative advances in stem cell research may be further developed to actualize a model to be used in clinical practice.