There are many problems scientists are currently trying to solve. For example, cancer — it’s bad! Malaria? Also bad! Don’t even get me *started* on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease — zero out of 10!


With all of these issues, though, there are plenty of people who would benefit from their resolution. But scientists sometimes get caught up in wondering “can we do this?” instead of “SHOULD we do this?,” leading to Boschian creations that terrify the public while giving the sun-deprived Nordics of the Nobel committee a hard-on.


Case in point: the Entity.



The “Entity” is a model embryo made from stem cells. It apparently “closely resembles” an early human embryo, and it was made “without using sperm, eggs or a womb,” per the BBC.


The stated purpose of this was not, as one might expect, to spit directly into the face of God. Instead, scientists say that developing a model like this provides for an ethical way to study early embryo development. Using real embryos arouses “legal and moral issues” or something. Who would’ve thought?



Naturally, there’s a whole bunch of science that went into making this happen. Naive stem cells “were reprogrammed to gain the potential to become any type of tissue in the body,” and from there, chemicals were used to make the stem cells become some of the various cells found at the early stages of human development.


The project was cut off after 14 days, which the BBC notes is the “legal cut-off for normal embryo research in many countries.” What would have happened if they let the embryo grow? Who’s to say, but my money’s either on the hottest person imaginable or something resembling Sloth from The Goonies.



The development of these embryo models is sure to inspire legal questions. Can they be raised past the 14-day limit that most countries put on embryo research? Sure, it may not technically be illegal, given that they’re models and not actual embryos, but as Professor Robin Lovell Badge told the BBC, “Some will welcome this, but others won't like it.”


“The researchers stress it would be unethical, illegal and actually impossible to achieve a pregnancy using these embryo models — assembling the 120 cells together goes beyond the point an embryo could successfully implant into the lining of the womb,” the BBC article explains.


For now, we’ll take their word for it — while keeping an eye out for any Sloth-like babies.