Artificial Uterus and Artificial Embryos: Unsolved Tasks

Ex utero embryo culture is one of the important tasks that has not been completely solved. In the first part of the current review, we focus on potential roles ex utero mammalian embryo culture could play, such as in infertility treatment or ex utero embryo treatment. Particularly, we discuss ex utero genetic therapy of embryos for correction and prevention of congenital pathologies. We also discuss the benefits of ex utero embryo culture in comparison to the traditional surrogacy programs and review its potential influence on social aspects. In the second part, we discuss key methods for ex utero embryo culture, their limitations, bottlenecks and blank points. Moreover, we analyze methods of artificial embryo production using stem cells and possible uses of such embryos (including those that reproduce stages of postimplantation development) in scientific research. We discuss the risks of using the described technologies and possible approaches that will avoid these risks.