Artificial womb passes animal trials

[StGermain]

An artificial womb has kept lambs alive and healthy for weeks, after being delivered at the equivalent gestation as a 23 week baby.

The team is in discussions with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and predicts that babies could be incubated in the system within three years in the first clinical trial.

…

In the biobag, the lambs were immersed in a substitute amniotic fluid containing nutrients and chemicals designed to stimulate growth. While floating inside the transparent plastic vessel – in some cases for four weeks – the lambs appeared to develop normally, transforming from bald, pink foetuses into fleecy, white newborns.

Tests on the animals revealed their lung function matched that of age-matched controls and the oldest lamb, which is now more than a year old, appears completely normal.

Wow!

StG

[USCDiver]

That’s amazing!

Reminds me of a sous vide machine.

[Chronos]

Minor nitpick: There’s no such thing, among non-human animals, as “the gestational equivalent of a 23 week baby”. Human gestational milestones are sufficiently different from other mammals’ that no equivalence is possible: By the standards of most mammals, we’re all born premature, because that’s the only way to fit our big heads through upright-walking pelvises.

[StGermain]

Chronos - I think they were using metrics such as lung and organ development.

StG

[Weisshund]

@Chronos

we’re all born premature, because that’s the only way to fit our big heads through upright-walking pelvises.

I am sure human mothers the world over are very thankful for this too

[snfaulkner]

@Chronos

Minor nitpick: There’s no such thing, among non-human animals, as “the gestational equivalent of a 23 week baby”. Human gestational milestones are sufficiently different from other mammals’ that no equivalence is possible: By the standards of most mammals, we’re all born premature, because that’s the only way to fit our big heads through upright-walking pelvises.

So if this new device can be used for humans, could we then bypass a uterine pregnancy and artificially gestate a fetus for longer? Thus bypassing the very annoying wee baby stage… like until they hit puberty? Just thoughts…not real questions.

[Projammer]

Development shadow funded by Skynet Corp.