|
 |
|||||
| home : pages : what's new in medicine vol. 3 : news from japan : | |||||
|
|
 |
NEWS FROM JAPANA team lead by Yoshinori Kuwabara, Professor of Obstetrics at Juntendo University, Tokyo, removed a goat embryo from its 17- weeks pregnant mother. The embryo was then placed in an artificial womb, an acrylic tank, where it grew and developed until the end of the normal 20-week goat gestation period. A number of baby goats have been born from the tank. The oldest one is now 6 years old.Professor Kuwabara said "this system should be used on behalf of the mother who can not keep the fetus in her uterus." He believes that in ten years he will have made the move from animals to humans. The tank was filled with liquid at blood temperature, simulating the amniotic fluid in the real womb. The placenta was replaced by a machine to pump oxygen and nutrients into the embryo blood. The embryo was monitored by the open top and transparent sides of the tank. The researchers are now working to sustain life in the tank using younger embryos. Dr. Winston, the British fertility expert from Hammersmith Hospital in London, told Sky News "the first impression is rather gruesome. When you think about it, it's really rather important. Let's make it quite clear, there's no way you could do this to a very early fetus. You could only do this towards the end of development when you are in the growth phase. A technique like this may well save many babies that would otherwise die." The breakthrough conjures up visions of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, where motherhood is rendered redundant by artificial conception and birth. As reported by John von Radowitz, Medical correspondent, PA News --> return to menu / back ... (click) --> return to top of the page (click) |
|||
 |
| (T) 212.439.1958 | 14 East 69th St, New York, NY 10021 | (F) 212.439.6718 |
| 2000-2008 © Mary Wilson M.D., P.C. All rights reserved. | ||
| Site Designed & Maintained by Delamain IT Web Design & SEO. |