-
- "The task is, not so much to see what no one has yet seen; but to think what nobody has yet thought, about that which everybody sees." - Erwin Schrodinger
-
- visit starnesmusic.com
- Lijit Search
Pages
Archives
- March 2010 (2)
- February 2010 (2)
- December 2009 (3)
- October 2009 (2)
- September 2009 (16)
- August 2009 (4)
- July 2009 (2)
- June 2009 (37)
- May 2009 (51)
- April 2009 (52)
- March 2009 (58)
- February 2009 (18)
Artificial Ovary Now, Artificial Womb Next?
Artificial ovary matures human eggs – New Scientist
A HUMAN ovary grown in the lab from slivers of ovarian tissue has been able to turn an immature egg into one that is ready to be fertilised.
According to the article, an artificial ovary was created which allows immature human eggs to grow into mature eggs ex vivo, or outside of the body, which eggs can then be fertilized and ultimately transferred to the womb.
The next step will be to see if the ovary can mature even younger eggs, known as primordial cells, which women have in their thousands.
The article states that some women receiving cancer treatment may suffer damage to their eggs, so this method of “maturing” underdeveloped eggs outside of the body offers the hope of a child to such women.
How much longer until an “egg to baby” solution independent of a Mother, or at least a Mother’s womb, is accomplished? On the front end of this equation, in-body time has been reduced by maturing and fertilizing eggs ex vivo, and on the back end increasingly sophisticated medical care has allowed premature babies to survive after spending as few as 5 months in a human womb.
Apparently healthy at 21, James Gills was born 128 days premature and carries the distinction of being the most premature baby known to survive. He only required 153 days in his Mother’s womb, aided by 1980s technology after his early birth day.
For an almost human independent womb-free baby, an artificial womb or uterus is needed. This sounds like science fiction, but it has already been partially demonstrated with dwarf wobbegong sharks. It should be noted that the sharks did not develop totally free of a shark womb – they are removed after initial development only to further mature in an artificial shark womb. There has also been limited success with goat fetuses and even human embryos.
This field is referred to as ectogenesis and was famously featured in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and the motion picture The Matrix.
With any powerful technology there exists the potential for evil among the good. A population of factory-produced, segregated citizens or farm of enslaved entities serving as batteries certainly represents the dark and bizarre side of ectogenesis, but the quality of life for a baby delivered to loving parents either via a natural womb or an artificial womb should be the same.
It is my opinion that humanity should not let fear of worst-case scenarios stop the progress of profoundly beneficial science and medical technologies.
If you liked this story, please sign-up here to receive an email when I add new content to The Starnes. Don’t worry, you’ll never receive more than one update a day.
Similar Posts: