6 ms·

Would it be practical to keep the womb alive via a heart/lung machine and blood transfusions? Just remove human beings from the process altogether?

XorNot 8y ago
Really this is the question I'm interested in. Hopefully some animal models can be attempted in the near future. Given that we're getting better at growing body parts from stem cells, you could easily imagine in the nearish future being able to gestate an embryo in a womb grown from an individuals own stem cells and enough attached organs to provide the full environment.
- tspike 8y ago
  This is a bit horrifying to me. Babies are quite familiar with their mothers' voices by the time they are born, among other influences; would we also attempt to artificially simulate that sort of pre-birth bonding?
  - b_tterc_p 8y ago
    I presume that the children of mute mothers tend to turn out fine... but maybe not? Cursory search found nothing.
    - tathougies 8y ago
      Baby's also bond to the sound of their mother's hearts, and yes, every baby carried by a woman with no heart beat is disadvantaged.
  - tropo 8y ago
    Here, I'll crank it up a notch: instead of animal models, how about just gestating humans in animals? There is your artificial womb. It just requires a bit of anti-rejection drugs, or a bit of GMO effort for tissue similarity. Whales have the right body temperature. There is enough room to do dozens of babies at once. Cows are close enough. A cow can probably handle a half dozen babies.
    - chithanh 8y ago
      Fortunately or unfortunately, neither cows nor whales are close enough. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interspecific_pregnancy#Causes_of_failure https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interspecific_pregnancy#Causes...
      - tropo 8y ago
        They are close enough after "a bit of anti-rejection drugs, or a bit of GMO effort". We can suppress the immune response, one way or another. If the animal is unable to clear the placenta after the birth, we lose the animal, but we still get a baby.
mLuby 8y ago
The Bene Tleilax called; they want their Axlotl Tanks back. #Dune
- beaconstudios 8y ago
  the Axlotl Tanks were living Tleilaxu females (women? Can't remember if they were humanoid) though.
b_tterc_p 8y ago
The lack of hormones would probably create some very very weird effects. Food allergies, immunological effects, social habits... I bet there’s a market for a sci fi book in which a generation of test tube babies simultaneously develop a fetishization for some low quality diet supplement that happens to be present in the natal feeding fluid they were exposed to for their formative years.

XorNot 8y ago

Really this is the question I'm interested in. Hopefully some animal models can be attempted in the near future. Given that we're getting better at growing body parts from stem cells, you could easily imagine in the nearish future being able to gestate an embryo in a womb grown from an individuals own stem cells and enough attached organs to provide the full environment.

tspike 8y ago
This is a bit horrifying to me. Babies are quite familiar with their mothers' voices by the time they are born, among other influences; would we also attempt to artificially simulate that sort of pre-birth bonding?
- b_tterc_p 8y ago
  I presume that the children of mute mothers tend to turn out fine... but maybe not? Cursory search found nothing.
  - tathougies 8y ago
    Baby's also bond to the sound of their mother's hearts, and yes, every baby carried by a woman with no heart beat is disadvantaged.
- tropo 8y ago
  Here, I'll crank it up a notch: instead of animal models, how about just gestating humans in animals? There is your artificial womb. It just requires a bit of anti-rejection drugs, or a bit of GMO effort for tissue similarity. Whales have the right body temperature. There is enough room to do dozens of babies at once. Cows are close enough. A cow can probably handle a half dozen babies.
  - chithanh 8y ago
    Fortunately or unfortunately, neither cows nor whales are close enough. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interspecific_pregnancy#Causes_of_failure https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interspecific_pregnancy#Causes...
    - tropo 8y ago
      They are close enough after "a bit of anti-rejection drugs, or a bit of GMO effort". We can suppress the immune response, one way or another. If the animal is unable to clear the placenta after the birth, we lose the animal, but we still get a baby.

mLuby 8y ago

The Bene Tleilax called; they want their Axlotl Tanks back. #Dune

beaconstudios 8y ago
the Axlotl Tanks were living Tleilaxu females (women? Can't remember if they were humanoid) though.

b_tterc_p 8y ago

The lack of hormones would probably create some very very weird effects. Food allergies, immunological effects, social habits... I bet there’s a market for a sci fi book in which a generation of test tube babies simultaneously develop a fetishization for some low quality diet supplement that happens to be present in the natal feeding fluid they were exposed to for their formative years.