Artificial womb

[Flash Fire 386]

" The artificial womb exists. In Tokyo, researchers have developed a technique called EUFI — extrauterine fetal incubation. They have taken goat fetuses, threaded catheters through the large vessels in the umbilical cord and supplied the fetuses with oxygenated blood while suspending them in incubators that contain artificial amniotic fluid heated to body temperature."

 

http://www.natureknows.org/2013/11/the-artificial-womb-is-born-and-world.html

 

What do you think about this advance in technology? Is this a good thing or are we playing god?

Myself? I'm on the fence. The implications can be terrifying matrix stuff, and I don't know how I feel about eating test tube meat. I'm having a hard time thinking of applications of this I feel okay about.

 

Discuss.

[Malinter 3,064]

Its interesting. The ability to have kids but remove all the dangers to the mother. It could also help people who cannot have kids or save speices which due to low birth rates are on the verge of extinction.

 

Ofc I'd understand the concerns. Only takes one mavarick scientist to go apeshit with the technology before we have super-beasts up and about.  Using this tech with hybrid embryos? The furries are coming XD

[WhiteGuardian 168]

I am honestly not so sure I see the point to inventing something like that. It seems kind of unnecessary. Are scientists these days just bored? "Hey what do you want to do today?" "Not sure. Hey, I know, lets find a way to grow floating baby mammals in a tube."

Its interesting. The ability to have kids but remove all the dangers to the mother. It could also help people who cannot have kids or save speices which due to low birth rates are on the verge of extinction.

 

I see your point but also our medicine technology these days is such that the survival rate of mothers giving birth is at an all time high. Edited January 13, 2014 by WhiteGuardian

[GrimCW 658]

Interesting, but not entirely unexpected. As it is people still claim that KFC does this already with their chickens. Growing them without heads and such..

 

 

 

due to low birth rates are on the verge of extinction.

I still see that as a catch 22 though.. theres all the talk of "saving a species" but theres also the thing known as "nature"

and when your time is up, its up. You're meant to go..

There could be severe adverse affects to saving a species thats meant to just go.  

 

Of course, the other hand is how humans over hunting, genetic manipulating (Killer bees anyone?), and polluting, has actually caused a lot of this problem... 

[Shanks 10,816]

This technology could potentially save lives by one day allowing us to implant unborn babies from problem pregnancies into artificial wombs where they could grow without a threat to the mothers health and safety. Certain complications like ectopic pregnancies where the only solution is abortion could have a much more compassionate, humane solution but I do have some concerns about this as well. I am not usually one to advocate regulation but this should only be used in very limited circustances and not just some perverse way to recreate Frankenseteins Monster.

[Flash Fire 386]

Its interesting. The ability to have kids but remove all the dangers to the mother. It could also help people who cannot have kids or save speices which due to low birth rates are on the verge of extinction.

 

I can get behind the saving species with it idea, but I worry about use with humans at all. The experience of being pregnant bonds the mother to the child, triggering maternal instinct. Been there, done that. Removing that from the equation removes some of the emotion of it.

[Malinter 3,064]

Interesting, but not entirely unexpected. As it is people still claim that KFC does this already with their chickens. Growing them without heads and such..

 

 

 

I still see that as a catch 22 though.. theres all the talk of "saving a species" but theres also the thing known as "nature"

and when your time is up, its up. You're meant to go..

There could be severe adverse affects to saving a species thats meant to just go.  

 

Of course, the other hand is how humans over hunting, genetic manipulating (Killer bees anyone?), and polluting, has actually caused a lot of this problem... 

 

Ofc, if a spieces dies to a natural event that wasn't due to human intervention I'd understand. But even here. This tech could possibly be used to bring extinct spieces back from the dead.

[ghostfacekiller39 23,860]

I hope they have a generic brand you can buy at Walmart. The name brands are probably gonna be costly

[Malinter 3,064]

The experience of being pregnant bonds the mother to the child, triggering maternal instinct. Been there, done that. Removing that from the equation removes some of the emotion of it.

 

Thats true. But i'm sure any woman who until now pregnancy was an impossiblity would more than work to compensate for this.

[Shanks 10,816]

Removing that from the equation removes some of the emotion of it.

If a Mother loves her child than she will love her child, I was adopted and have a brother who wasn't but with the way my own Mom treats me you wouldn't know that. My Mom always looked out for both of us and always tried to be there no matter what.

[WhiteGuardian 168]

This technology could potentially save lives by one day allowing us to implant unborn babies from problem pregnancies into artificial wombs where they could grow without a threat to the mothers health and safety. Certain complications like ectopic pregnancies where the only solution is abortion could have a much more compassionate, humane solution but I do have some concerns about this as well. I am not usually one to advocate regulation but this should only be used in very limited circustances and not just some perverse way to recreate Frankenseteins Monster.

You make a fair point here. If it could save a childs life and future I'm all for it. But I cant help but feel the government will see this as a shiny new toy and take it to levels it shouldnt be taken too. I also see the point of saving a species, but at the same time, if we are the cause of the species going extinct it almost seems like we could make it worse by tampering with it further. Now I am not saying we should just let them die off, but , maybe growing them in a tube is not the best option.

[Flash Fire 386]

Thats true. But i'm sure any woman who until now pregnancy was an impossiblity would more than work to compensate for this.

We then have to look to see if it is morally ok. Bringing children into this world artificially when so many suffer in orphanages or the foster system.

[GrimCW 658]

This tech could possibly be used to bring extinct spieces back from the dead.

 

But would we really want to do this?

Even hollywood has toyed with this idea, and often.. its not pretty... not in their variants. Despite theirs is a "What could go wrong" design, much like they do with the concept of rogue AI. Something that people still play with despite the obvious flaw in removing the human factor...

 

We really don't know what we'd be in for, let alone if the current geological state could even support these deceased creatures at current. Would reintroducing them to the world benefit or wreak havoc? Nature has likely adjusted to the loss, bringing them back could upset that.

This is actually one thing that always made me wonder too... They always whine about balances and such and why we shouldn't move one species from one place to another.

And yet you'll see these genius "Scientists" do it all the time.. Yet in nearly EVERY case they screwed it up and as a result they wound up with more problems than they began with.

Edited January 13, 2014 by GrimCW

[Shanks 10,816]

You make a fair point here. If it could save a childs life and future I'm all for it. But I cant help but feel the government will see this as a shiny new toy and take it to levels it shouldnt be taken too.

And that is exactly one of my main concerns, it is unfortunetely like Martin Luther King once said "our scientific progress has outrun our moral progress, we have guided missiles and misguided men." This is why I said it should only be used in limited circumstances, governments will always abuse power but it is the responsibility of us the people to keep them accountable and it is now that a lot of people are finally starting to understand the consequences of not doing this.

[WhiteGuardian 168]

But would we really want to do this?

Even hollywood has toyed with this idea, and often.. its not pretty... not in their variants. Despite theirs is a "What could go wrong" design, much like they do with the concept of rogue AI. Something that people still play with despite the obvious flaw in removing the human factor...

 

We really don't know what we'd be in for, let alone if the current geological state could even support these deceased creatures at current. Would reintroducing them to the world benefit or wreak havoc? Nature has likely adjusted to the loss, bringing them back could upset that.

This is actually one thing that always made me wonder too... They always whine about balances and such and why we shouldn't move one species from one place to another.

And yet you'll see these genius "Scientists" do it all the time.. Yet in nearly EVERY case they screwed it up and as a result they wound up with more problems than they began with.

This makes me think of the exponential growth theory that eventually technology will develop so fast that we wont be able to keep up it it and therefore not be able to meet the consequences

Edited January 13, 2014 by WhiteGuardian

[That One Techpriest You Used To Know 2,286]

While the potential to this is amazing... I'm combining this with genetic modification and it's coming up in my head as some dark and scary...

 

 

We then have to look to see if it is morally ok. Bringing children into this world artificially when so many suffer in orphanages or the foster system.

 

... and there's this, too. Why not adopt a kid rather than spend millions and artificially grow one? It seems ridiculous and, to an extent, it's immoral as well.

 

This is going to end badly.

[ChoroChii 284]

I can think of many good and bad things that could come from this but they've all mostly been stated.

 

So I'll just respond to the "Is it playing God" question. 

I do not think there is such a thing as "playing God", if the scientific advances are put infront of us, then we discovered them on our own and were allowed to. [Assuming God actually exists.] I don't believe we are capable of doing anything that would be considered playing God. That's not to say that I agree with this because I have mixed feelings overall. 

[Scootalove 10,689]

I can see something good coming from this, it could prevent the damage to the health of the fetus and the health of the mother where the mother smokes or drinks it can prevent the baby from having brain damage or any effects that can harm the fetus. The government might take it to heights where the extreme measures shouldn't be taken, that's the problem that I see.

[Flash Fire 386]

I can see something good coming from this, it could prevent the damage to the health of the fetus and the health of the mother where the mother smokes or drinks it can prevent the baby from having brain damage or any effects that can harm the fetus. The government might take it to heights where the extreme measures shouldn't be taken, that's the problem that I see.

Any mother who would do these things while pregnant doesn't deserve a child. I also highly doubt that it would be applied in such cases.

[Scootalove 10,689]

Any mother who would do these things while pregnant doesn't deserve a child. I also highly doubt that it would be applied in such cases.

 I wouldn't go that far, but say what you will.

[notdog1996 315]

I'm actually looking forward to that, honestly.  Having a child without the help of another person is something I wish was possible.  Since I cannot have a child, I would love it if this was possible.  I know some of you talk about adoption, but, when people like you are told ''you're a the bottom of the list, you might have a child in ten years, if you're lucky.'', you don't have much hope for this :\.  The adoption system certainly needs improvement.

[DJ Legionpony 5]

I do believe that this is an excellent opportunity. There are many women who are infertile, and like a chance to raise a child from birth to adulthood, yet, the costs for having a surrogate mother ranges in the thousands and it is difficult to find a surrogate mother in the first place. If this research is successful, there would be a lot higher success rate for birth, as frail-bodied mothers wouldn't have to risk it.

 

Hoping for the best!

[Acchan 232]

All I can say is-

Welp, we should have expected something like this. It is Japan.

[Bucky McGillyCuddy 956]

For science! I think this is great, although I wish I hadn't read the part about goat fetuses as I was eating dinner.

[ReverseFaller 2,483]

That's actually pretty cool.

 

Ah, the joys (and horrors) science can bring upon humanity.