Robot uses ‘claw machine’ design to sort stem cells for embryo model studies
A new stem cell-sorting robot is giving scientists their best shot yet at decoding the third week of human development. Originally published by Srishti Gupta , at Interesting Engineer, on Jun 10, 2025 Gastruloids are stem cell-derived models that replicate a key phase of early embryonic development: the third week of gestation (representative image). iStock/Rasi Bhadramani Researchers have just unveiled a new sorting machine that could kick-start our grasp of how human life comes into being in the first few weeks . The system , created at the University of Washington in tandem with the Brotman Baty Institute , allows scientists to isolate these cellular models more efficiently than ever before . Gastruloids are stem cell-derived models that replicate a key phase of early embryonic development : the third week of gestation , when the body’s three primary germ layers begin to form. Because the new model sidesteps the red-flagged ethical territory of working with real em...