the.com/embryos
you, before you had opinions, arms, or a name.
means an embryo is an early-stage multicellular organism developing from a fertilized egg, before it graduates to fetus status.
from from greek embryon, meaning that which grows within, from en- (in) plus bryein (to swell) — ancient greeks watching eggs and wombs, correctly guessing something was swelling in there.
human timelineembryo stage lasts weeks 1 through 8 only
gill slitshuman embryos briefly grow structures like fish gills
twins momentidentical twins split from one embryo, timing varies
frozen oneshuman embryos survive decades stored in liquid nitrogen
for instance
dolly the sheep — cloned in 1996 from an adult cell, not embryo splicing, but sparked embryo ethics debates worldwide
louise brown — born 1978, first human from an ivf embryo
snowflake babies — embryos frozen since 1992, born as children decades later
zebrafish embryos — transparent, letting scientists watch organs form in real time