Be warned, things are about to get a little freaky.
Every once in a while, science crosses the thin line between ‘amazing’ and ‘down
right freaky’, and this is definitely one of those times.
Introducing EctoLife, a facility reportedly able to “incubate up to 30,000 lab-grown
babies per year.
Yeah you heard that right, lab-grown babies.
Hashem Al-Ghaili is credited with creating this concept, according to his website, he
is a producer, filmmaker, science communicator, and molecular biologist by profession who
lives and works in Berlin.
Through the use of synthetic wombs, it allows parents to "create" customized babies.
This crazy concept will enable people to edit their babies.
You can select your baby's IQ level, height, eye color, skin tone, hair color, and physical
attributes through a "Elite Package."
So, what exactly is this concept?
What is the ‘artificial womb facility’?
What are its features and why is EctoLife needed?
Let’s take a look.
It may seem like science fiction to see a human fetus growing outside of a human uterus,
but artificial wombs are soon becoming a reality.
An artificial womb could be used to nurture an undeveloped fetus until it is strong enough
to thrive outside the womb on its own.
For instance, eight lambs that were born preterm in 2017 were successfully developed by researchers
at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia by placing them in artificial wombs for four
weeks.
The "Biobag," also referred to as an artificial womb, is a sizable plastic bag that encloses
the fetus and is filled with an electrolyte solution that is comparable to amniotic fluid.
A lamb that was born prematurely can continue to grow within the Biobag, where it can open
its eyes, expand its brain and lungs, move about, and produce wool.
It’s not so crazy that we can grow lambs in artificial wombs, but what about real human
babies?
That’s what EctoLife is all about.
According to Al-Ghaili, the EctoLife concept is based on over fifty years of “groundbreaking
scientific research.”
According to the UK's Metro newspaper, the facility, which would be powered by renewable
energy, would have 75 labs with up to 400 development pods or artificial wombs in each.
The environment within these pods is intended to be similar to that found in a mother's
womb.
According to Metro, parents can monitor their child's growth and development through a screen
on the pods that shows real-time data.
This data can also be monitored by the parents on their phones through an app.
Al-Ghaili was quoted by Mirror.co.uk as saying, "The artificial intelligence based system
also monitors the physical features of your baby and reports any potential genetic abnormalities."
You can deliver your baby stress-free with the help of EctoLife, which offers a painless,
safe alternative.
Pushing a button is all that is required to complete the simple, convenient delivery process.
You will be able to effortlessly remove your child from the growing pod after the artificial
womb has released its amniotic fluid.
Every growing pod has sensors that keep an eye on vital signs including heartbeat, oxygen
saturation, temperature, respiration, and blood pressure.
An AI system also keeps an eye on physical characteristics and looks for any potential
genetic anomalies.
Babies are also steadily and sustainably "maintained" by two central bioreactors to ensure and encourage
good growth.
In the first bioreactor, a synthetic umbilical cord is used to pump nutrients, essential
hormones, antibodies, growth factors, oxygen, and a liquid solution resembling amniotic
fluid.
Additionally, each baby "receives personalized nutrients customized to their needs" owing
to an AI-run system.
The waste materials that the infant releases through the artificial umbilical cord are
absorbed and recycled in the second bioreactor.
EctoLife's operations are all center on technology.
On the one hand, a screen attached to the growth pod shows every vital sign and transmits
real-time data to the parent's phone so they can monitor their child's health from afar.
Parents can see a high-resolution live view of each developmental stage through the app,
which also includes a growing time lapse that can be shared with loved ones.
Additionally, each artificial womb is equipped with speakers that play music or transmit
the voices of the parents to the "unborn" child.
On the other hand, a parent's VR headset can also be connected to a 360-degree camera within
the development pod, enabling them to see and hear everything the baby sees and hears.
And that's not all—parents will also be able to share their experience of feeling
their baby kick in the womb with their friends and family members through a wireless haptic
suit connected to the baby's development pod.
Last but not least, solar and wind energy, specifically, power the entire operating system.
As a result, there won't be any unanticipated problems during the baby's entire growth and
development.
The sci-fi experience can also be offered outside of a lab setting.
In this surreal yet future-proof scenario, parents who prefer a more personal option
can build their own growing pods at home, backed by miniature bioreactors with long-lasting
batteries.
This will add an added layer of comfort and protection.
You can also choose the "Elite Package," which enables genetic engineering of the embryo
prior to implantation into a synthetic womb.
You can choose your genetic predispositions for traits like IQ, height, strength, and
even hair and eye color.
EctoLife, according to Hashem, is the first artificial womb facility in the world and
is totally powered by renewable energy.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), pregnancy-related problems account
for about 300,000 fatalities each year.
EctoLife will contribute to a decrease in both C-sections and human suffering.
Premature births and C-sections could also be history thanks to the EctoLife concept.
Hashem continued by saying that EctoLife will provide solutions for women who needed to
have their uterus removed as a result of difficulties.
It would benefit populace-declining nations like South Korea, Bulgaria, Japan, and so
on.
According to Al-Ghaili, If ethical constraints are lifted, artificial womb facilities could
be a reality in around 10 years.
According to him, every single element specified in the concept is wholly founded on science
and has already been accomplished by engineers and scientists.
The only thing left to do is construct a prototype by fusing every feature into a single device.
According to him, once ethical restraints are lifted, individuals will be willing and
open to utilizing the technology in the near future.
Nevertheless, despite the fact that the video presents an ambitious and utopian vision,
viewers cannot help but notice the ominous undertones that appear in every frame, leading
them to consider the ramifications of such a concept.
This user on Twitter for example said: “They are making artificial baby’s in artificial
wombs, like a farm.
Remember they have cloning facilities, this is only the tip of the iceberg.
They are trying to be god..I wonder what’s next?”
(Tweet)
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So, what do scientists really think about this concept?
According to Professor Joyce Harper, director of the UCL Institute for Women's Health's
Reproductive Science and Society Group, this is a very real possibility.
What the future of reproduction might eventually be is covered in great detail in one chapter
of her book, Your Fertile Years.
She tells HuffPost UK: “I have no doubt that at some point, most people will be produced
by IVF.
And that this [EctoLife] would be a possibility.
In science, I think you should never say never, if you just think of the last 50 years and
what we’ve achieved that you would never have thought of.
I’m quite old, so I remember watching Star Trek, where they were doing video calls, and
you know, I never thought I’d be video calling my kids on FaceTime.”
She points out that an IVF lab can effectively complete the first four weeks of pregnancy
(women are typically four weeks pregnant when an embryo is transferred).
And today, preterm babies can begin receiving care in an incubator within a neonatal unit
as early as 21 weeks.
Andrew Shennan, a professor of Obstetrics at King's College London, told HuffPost that
it is very possible from a theoretical standpoint, and that It's just a matter of providing the
right environment with fuel and oxygen, and he believes the technologies are in place
to do so.
“There are lots of examples where babies come out extremely early and are very well
looked after in incubators, which is a very naive form of what you’re talking about,
and they’re being fed by tubes down to their stomach.
“When we put people on things like heart bypasses or other organ bypasses, we are theoretically
giving them what they need from a machine.”
The EctoLife concept video mentions providing a "elite package" in which babies' genomes
will be modified to change their intelligence level, height, physical strength, and skin
tone.
It's interesting that Prof. Harper believes that this won't have any ethical impact on
future generations.
She once participated in a discussion at the Oxford Union over whether genome editing would
"undermine the nature of humanity."
What do you think about this concept?
Let us know down in the comments section.