The concept of lab-grown babies sometimes referred to as artificial wombs or ectogenesis, has been the subject of intense scientific exploration and ethical debate.
While we are not yet capable of creating a completely lab-grown human baby, advancements in bioengineering and reproductive medicine are inching us closer to this reality. The process would theoretically involve creating human gametes (eggs and sperm) in a laboratory, often from stem cells, which would then be used to create a human embryo via in vitro fertilization (IVF).
This embryo could then be grown in an artificial womb, a bioengineered uterus, for the duration of a standard pregnancy. The technology currently being explored by researchers like Professor Hayashi, known as in vitro gametogenesis (IVG), is a significant part of this equation.
IVG involves reprogramming adult cells into pluripotent stem cells, which can then be transformed into eggs or sperm.
The development of IVG could address a…
