This Fluid-Filled Bag Lets Lambs Develop Outside the Womb. Humans Are Next. – Futurism

In Brief Physicians at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia worked with 23 week-old lambs to in order test a synthetic device that imitates a woman's uterus, hoping to limit mortality and disease in premature children that are born before 37 weeks. Synthetic Wombs

Creating an artificial womb would be a feat of monumental proportions, as premature birth is the leading cause of death for newborns.And this week,Philadelphia physiciansmade significant strides towards a world where synthetic wombsare a reality. While the new development isnt exactly an artificial womb tank, physicians have created a uterus-like biobag that is capable of sustainingpremature fetal lambs very soon after they begin development.

Before toolong, the same technologies could be used on humans.

Ultimately, the lambs were placed in the transparent biobagsjust 105 days after they started development, whichis equivalent to about 22 weeks of humandevelopment. At that point in their development, neither lambs nor human babies can survive outside the womb on their own.

The lambs were kept in the biobags for four weeks. During this time, they grew hair; their lungs developed; and they reached the point where they could survive on their own.

Remarkably, the eight lambs in the trial developed normally in the artificial womb and each survived, proving that the biobagsuccessfully mimicked the natural conditions found in the uterusand paving the way for a new life-saving device for humans.

The results of their study are published in Nature Communications.

Ultimately, aninfant is considered premature when they areborn before 37 weeksof development. Globally, millions of babies are born prematurely each year. This exposes them to a host of chronic health conditions, as their lungs and brains are still in very early stages of development.

While current therapies incubate preterm children, this new device could do them one better by allowing them to complete development in natural conditions.

Although the fluid-filled plastic enclosure cant develop a child for an entire nine-month term, it can allow us to incubate them remarkably soon after conception. The team of physicians is already in talks with theU.S. Food and Drug Administration(FDA), and clinical trialsare slated to begin in the next 3 to 5 years.

In light of this progress, experts assert that artificial wombsmay be areality in the next few decades.

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This Fluid-Filled Bag Lets Lambs Develop Outside the Womb. Humans Are Next. - Futurism