Artificial Womb Grows Life (Weird News Wednesday)

So it's the middle of the week, Hump Day, and to get over the apex and start the glorious way down the proverbial hill towards the weekend, I'm going to share with you some crazy news.  

I have a weird one for you. Growing life inside an artificial womb. According to the articles I've read, a Biobag keeps the animal in a womb-like situation while it comes to term. This could be helpful as an alternative for premature human babies. 

The lamb fetuses were able to continue to full term after caesarean deliveries, which is about the equivalent of 23 weeks of human gestation. 

The lambs were euthanized, except for one, to test how well they developed. 

If all goes well, they plan to start trials on humans in maybe 3 years. 

There are still a lot of hurdles to overcome--like lung development and other details--before it can fully get going. 

Alan Flake, a foetal surgeon at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and lead author says, "I don't want this to be visualized as humans hanging on the walls in bags," He continues: “This is not how this device will work or look." 

But doesn't it sound like a science fiction story? Imagine human bodies suspended in large vats of fluid. To take it a bit further, maybe this will even lead to an alternative to cryonic suspension. But I don't know this, I'm just a fiction writer. Just thinking big. (Smiles.) 

Here are some links about the subject: 
http://www.theverge.com/2017/4/25/15421734/artificial-womb-fetus-biobag-uterus-lamb-sheep-birth-premie-preterm-infant 

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/apr/25/artificial-womb-for-premature-babies-successful-in-animal-trials-biobag 

Maybe I'll try my hand at a flash piece about this subject soon. 

Until then, see you around. 

WCM

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