1. A method for identifying cells differentiating into trophectoderm, neurectoderm, or progeny cells thereof, comprising: (a) obtaining an image of one or more cells; (b) representing the image as a multiplicity of pixels; (c) using a processor to extract one or more image features from said multiplicity of pixels; and (d) identifying stem cells differentiating into trophectoderm, neurectoderm, or progeny cells thereof by comparing the one or more image features with image features derived from one or more reference stem cells, wherein the processor applies one or more statistical comparison methods to determine a presence of discrete objects within cell borders of the one or more cells, as compared with absence of discrete objects, within the cell borders of the one or more reference stem cells.