<![CDATA[Where Is My Uterine Replicator (AKA Artificial Womb)? - io9 Comments]]> <![CDATA[Where Is My Uterine Replicator (AKA Artificial Womb)? - io9 Comments]]> <![CDATA[Where Is My Uterine Replicator (AKA Artificial Womb)?]]> @ndgmtlcd: Actually, in the Bujold books, the placenta is included in the uterine replicator.

Y Duras

]]> <![CDATA[Where Is My Uterine Replicator (AKA Artificial Womb)?]]> Tsk tsk. No mention of the placenta. You have no idea what the placenta does.

ndgmtlcd

]]> <![CDATA[Where Is My Uterine Replicator (AKA Artificial Womb)?]]> Jadedusoliel says, "I don't however find anything comforting about mothers doing that instead of actually being pregnant."

Well get ready for disappointment. I'm betting a lot of women and men will use these once the technology is there and relatively cheap.

Bioconservatives will resist and try to prevent others from using artificial wombs but I'm betting they'll only slow down the widespread use of the technology a few jots.

corpore-metal

]]> <![CDATA[Where Is My Uterine Replicator (AKA Artificial Womb)?]]> "compare the size of the infant cranium (black rectangle) to the pelvic inlet (white rectangles) for humans and a few of our primate cousins" - I am so dumb, I actually though the birth canal and the babies' heads were ROUND! So funny, I crack myself up!

geekzilla

]]> <![CDATA[Where Is My Uterine Replicator (AKA Artificial Womb)?]]> @Jeff-Minor: You use organic avatars? Tack-Eee! But hey, whatever floats your GCU.
Call me a traditionalist but I'm currently running a dozen slaved drones in the shape of lawn flamingoes--gunmetal grey, of course. With frikkin' laser beams strapped to their heads.


Grey_Area

]]> <![CDATA[Where Is My Uterine Replicator (AKA Artificial Womb)?]]> @Grey_Area:
I always keep a few blanks growing in the lab; you never know when you'll need to be reanimated with a back-up. I'm thinking that custom body-shop using these baby-pods has a lot of potential, a real growth industry. Seriously, I'd love to look forward to a new body, because the one I'm in is a pain.


Jeff-Minor

]]> <![CDATA[Where Is My Uterine Replicator (AKA Artificial Womb)?]]> re: the birth canal/cranium problem. Solution: GenEngineer long, tapered skulls.

@eris404: That would be fun. You could get a little toy castle or a treasure chest to put at the bottom of the tank. It would be best to keep it out of direct sunlight or you might get algae problems. I suppose you could throw in some snails or a pleco--baby's first pet! awwwww.

Grey_Area

]]> <![CDATA[Where Is My Uterine Replicator (AKA Artificial Womb)?]]> Normally things like this would give me creepy images of the Matrix and A Brave New World but the only thoughts that come to mind are about my daughter's premature birth. How instead of watching small little babies be whisked away to never come back while mine lay in the box right next to where they were covered in tubes and wires all those babies could wrapped up an environment so much closer to the one they need and instead grow to full term. It's not a perfect solution and who knows how well it would go but just the thought of no other parent suffer the fear and heartache of having a premature baby makes me cross my fingers.

I don't however find anything comforting about mothers doing that instead of actually being pregnant. We have yet to make anything that is as beneficial as what the human body can do (as far as I'm aware) and I think the risks would outweigh the benefits when the mother is able to have a healthy pregnancy, especially since the first trimester is such a vital development point.

So that's my two cents.

Jadedusoliel

]]> <![CDATA[Where Is My Uterine Replicator (AKA Artificial Womb)?]]> @Brock:

Planet of the Big-Brained Bonobos

russdanger

]]> <![CDATA[Where Is My Uterine Replicator (AKA Artificial Womb)?]]> @Smeagol92055:

BwaAH-ha-ha!

I was glad to see Muad D'ib in there...Even if he was the dreaded David Lynch version...

russdanger

]]> <![CDATA[Where Is My Uterine Replicator (AKA Artificial Womb)?]]> @Brock: Mother's love shouldn't need a shot. Else adoptive parents would be less successful. Breastmilk would need a shot (assuming that the tech for artificial milk wouldn't be in place), but that's not too hard. There are cases of women who were not pregnant starting to lactate just because they spent a lot of time around pregnant women. It's the same sort of phenomenon as the tendency of women who live together to synchronize cycles.

For that matter, how about shots for the daddies so that they, too, can experience the bonding of feeding?

Y Duras

]]> <![CDATA[Where Is My Uterine Replicator (AKA Artificial Womb)?]]> I just look forward to the impact this technology will have on the reproductive "rights" debate, especially if a naturally conceived fetus can be harmlessly (both to fetus and mother) transferred from the womb to the UR. Soooo much potential for amusement:-)

jabrwok

]]> <![CDATA[Where Is My Uterine Replicator (AKA Artificial Womb)?]]> I wonder what Shulamith Firestone has to say about this.

Rasselas

]]> <![CDATA[Where Is My Uterine Replicator (AKA Artificial Womb)?]]> @taxbaby: Just make sure you and your significant other are on the same page first. I didn't, and Christ, did I ever hear about it for the next week.

@apronk: Just remember: It's cool when you're glowing, but not cool when you're glowing green.

moff

]]> <![CDATA[Where Is My Uterine Replicator (AKA Artificial Womb)?]]> You guys are killing me. Especially moff w/ the "crappy baby" line. Good stuff.

Anyway, I'm actually about 6 months along in pregnancy myself. Never had sickness issues, so to me pregnancy is all cool w/ me until...shortly after now, when I feel like I'm as big as a whale, as awkward and ungraceful as ever.

And honestly, labor/childbirth was a breeze for me with my first child. Maybe this next time will be different, who knows. Viva la epidural.

I would, however, consider porting the female fetus inside me to a jar just so I could take some decent allergy medicine. :)

apronk

]]> <![CDATA[Where Is My Uterine Replicator (AKA Artificial Womb)?]]> @moff: You know, I don't think I have a problem with that now. If the Spartans could do it, why can't I?

taxbaby

]]> <![CDATA[Where Is My Uterine Replicator (AKA Artificial Womb)?]]> @eris404: Baby GroBags!

AmishJohn

]]> <![CDATA[Where Is My Uterine Replicator (AKA Artificial Womb)?]]> I hope that when they make these you can actually see the baby -how interesting would it be to watch her actually grow! What a conversation piece. :)

eris404

]]> <![CDATA[Where Is My Uterine Replicator (AKA Artificial Womb)?]]> @russdanger:
To which I direct you here:
[www.dresdencodak.com]



Smeagol92055

]]> <![CDATA[Where Is My Uterine Replicator (AKA Artificial Womb)?]]> @Gyrus: that sounds like a pretty decent idea

jp182

]]> <![CDATA[Where Is My Uterine Replicator (AKA Artificial Womb)?]]> @russdanger: "Then everyone will kill everyone they know for having such horrible thoughts..."

More like, "Then we'll all realize just how perverted everyone is (even the Pope!) and we'll finally be able to leave any remnants of the Puritan ethos in history books."

Brock

]]> <![CDATA[Where Is My Uterine Replicator (AKA Artificial Womb)?]]> On the upside, once we get all this figured out, bioreactors don't drink alcohol, do drugs, have weird diseases, etc. We'll be able to remove all the donwsides of having natural mothers.

I bet though we'll have to do something to the intended mother (like give her a shot) to trigger all the "I'm a Mommy now" systems, like breastmilk and mother's love.

Brock

]]> <![CDATA[Where Is My Uterine Replicator (AKA Artificial Womb)?]]> Phase-1 in our evolution toward giant-headed brainiods. Humans will have telepathy within ten generations!

Then everyone will kill everyone they know for having such horrible thoughts...

Sounds like "Forbidden Planet". The ultimate sci-fi film...

russdanger

]]> <![CDATA[Where Is My Uterine Replicator (AKA Artificial Womb)?]]> @DocGratis: You truly are what you eat.

Gann

]]> <![CDATA[Where Is My Uterine Replicator (AKA Artificial Womb)?]]> @moff: @Belabras: @Gyrus:

You people are either very sick or very hungry

or a little of both..

Soylent baby... we don't even bother to cover it up, and pass the savings on to you..

DocGratis

]]> <![CDATA[Where Is My Uterine Replicator (AKA Artificial Womb)?]]> @Gyrus: Then come the external reproductive system fetishes. Why artificially inseminate when you can naturally inseminate?

Would it be possible for a male to clone a female reproductive system from his own DNA?

Gann

]]> <![CDATA[Where Is My Uterine Replicator (AKA Artificial Womb)?]]> @Belabras:

"The Other White Veal"

-Kle.

Klebert L. Hall

]]> <![CDATA[Where Is My Uterine Replicator (AKA Artificial Womb)?]]> @Gyrus & Belabras: We're all more or less on the same page here.

moff

]]> <![CDATA[Where Is My Uterine Replicator (AKA Artificial Womb)?]]> @moff:
And according to Swift, those cast off babies make a tasty snack!

Belabras

]]> <![CDATA[Where Is My Uterine Replicator (AKA Artificial Womb)?]]> This is where stem Cell research and cloning comes in: clone an external reproductive system form your own stem cells and then artificially inseminate a baby in it. Sort of like the vat grown meat discussed previously.

Gyrus

]]> <![CDATA[Where Is My Uterine Replicator (AKA Artificial Womb)?]]> Something like this would be pretty handy because then if you got a crappy baby, you wouldn't feel so bad about throwing it away and starting a new one.

moff

]]> <![CDATA[Where Is My Uterine Replicator (AKA Artificial Womb)?]]> then adoption it is!

CMG

]]>