An Artificial Womb Successfully Grew Baby Sheep -- and Humans Could Be Next (theverge.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: Inside what look like oversized ziplock bags strewn with tubes of blood and fluid, eight fetal lambs continued to develop -- much like they would have inside their mothers. Over four weeks, their lungs and brains grew, they sprouted wool, opened their eyes, wriggled around, and learned to swallow, according to a new study that takes the first step toward an artificial womb. One day, this device could help to bring premature human babies to term outside the uterus -- but right now, it has only been tested on sheep. The Biobag may not look much like a womb, but it contains the same key parts: a clear plastic bag that encloses the fetal lamb and protects it from the outside world, like the uterus would; an electrolyte solution that bathes the lamb similarly to the amniotic fluid in the uterus; and a way for the fetus to circulate its blood and exchange carbon dioxide for oxygen. Flake and his colleagues published their results today in the journal Nature Communications.

Comments

Do we really need more people?

[Anonymous Coward]

Does this world really need any more people?

The populations in Africa and the Middle East have far exceeded the available resources in those regions, and they're now heavily dependent on handouts from Western nations. There's no sign of the reproduction rates slowing down in those regions, either.

India is not far behind.

Central and South America may not be as bad as India, but their population growth is now resulting in diminishing living standards in many nations there.

At least China has managed to get their population growth somewhat under control.

And at least most Western nations are only just breaking even, if not somewhat below replacement rates.

Finally, we have places like Japan and Russia, which are well below replacement rates.

Even without this technology, it's clear that humans can reproduce much faster than we should be, given the resources that are (or more correctly, aren't) available to us.

The focus should be on getting the reproduction rates in third-world regions back down to more reasonable levels, to prevent the never-ending stream of famines, wars, and disease outbreaks we've been witnessing in such regions lately.

Re:Do we really need more people?

[ArmoredDragon]

In most wealthy countries, kids are a liability because you have to feed, clothe, and shelter them without them delivering any kind of return on investment. In poor countries they tend to be an asset because they end up being extra farm hands, laborers, etc.

Having kids in western countries is thus a luxury, whereas in places like Africa it's a necessity.

Brave New World

[chromaexcursion]

Read the book.
too many implications.

This is excellent news!

[hyades1]

I have no doubt that in countries where abortion is legal, right-to-lifers will be lining up to crowd-fund this research, and to pay for women who would otherwise have an abortion to pop their fetuses into these artificial wombs and brought to term.

And then, of course, they will act boldly to ensure that the fetuses are adopted into loving families...perhaps even their own!

Yeah, right.

Immunity

[sheramil]

It is my limited understanding that the offspring gets part of their basic immune system from the mother while in utero. I didn't see any mention of where these lambs got theirs, if they have any.

If they're going to spend their brief lives in a steel box before being prepped for someone else's dinner, I guess an immune system doesn't matter that much.

Re:Yay for Men's rights... and other possibilities

[Anonymous Coward]

"Professional" women

What the fuck is this? Why the scare quotes?

Are you really that that small and insecure?