Scientists Create Artificial Womb, Opens Doors To Miracles And Abominations

Science has given way to both some of the most useful and atrocious advancements in human history. The artificial womb that scientists just successfully created has the potential for breeding both. Not only does it offer the chance to help premature babies survive outside of their mothers’ wombs, it also paves the way for the creation of human clones and other abominations.

The idea of an exterior container to breed organisms is not a new concept. Scientists have been trying to create artificial chambers to host and grow living beings such as animals and even humans. A recent example sees lambs being grown in a womb-like structure with huge success, CBS News reports.

Being the first of its kind, the wombs didn’t just keep the lambs alive, the subjects were actually developing close to how they normally would if they had been growing inside their mothers. The labs were growing hair, developed healthy lungs and other internal organs, and were stable.

This huge scientific breakthrough is courtesy of scientists from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, which strived to find gentler solutions to keeping premature babies alive. Right now, mechanical incubators with tubes and plastic are the most viable options, and those can have some severe side-effects in terms of the development of the fetus.

Of the eight lambs, all survived and are now thriving over the course of four weeks, Business Insider reports. However, this is simply the beginning. The scientists still need to actually test the artificial womb on premature human babies and that can be a tricky prospect.

If the doctors can actually get permission to test out the technology on live, human subjects, it could mean everything to parents who are on the verge of losing their children. On that note, the doctors do stress that only babies 23 weeks in their mothers’ wombs are eligible for the artificial option.