where parents can pick their baby's traits-not scifi no more
Science fiction is about to match up with reality as the world's first ' artificial womb facility ' has been announced - where you'll be able to choose your baby's characteristics from a menu.
EctoLife, the brainchild of Berlin-based Hashem Al-Ghaili, a biotechnologist and science communicator, is a concept based on over fifty years of groundbreaking scientific research.
In theory, they will be able to grow 30,000 babies a year in their lab, and Al-Ghaili believes the facilities would allow infertile couples to conceive a baby and become the true biological parents of their own offspring.
But they also plan to offer an 'Elite Package', that would allow you to genetically engineer the embryo before implanting it into the artificial womb - with everything from eye and hair colour to strength, height, and intelligence as choices.
Hashem explains: "Introducing EctoLife, the world's first artificial womb facility, which is powered entirely by renewable energy.
"According to the World Health Organization, around 300,000 women die from pregnancy complications.
"EctoLife artificial womb is designed to alleviate human suffering and reduce the chances of C-sections.
"With EctoLife, premature births and C-sections will be a thing of the past."
Hashem claims it also offers a solution for women who had their uterus surgically removed due to cancer or other complications.
He also thinks it could 'help' countries that are suffering from severe population decline, including Japan, Bulgaria, South Korea, and many others.
Hashem believes the technology is available already, and only ethical constraints are holding the concept back from reality.
He says: "Every single feature mentioned in the concept is 100% science-based and has already been achieved by scientists and engineers.
"The only thing left is building a prototype by combining all the features into a single device.
"In terms of timeframe, it really depends on the ethical guidelines. Right now, research on human embryos is not allowed beyond 14 days.
"After 14 days, embryos must be destroyed due to ethical concerns.
"If these ethical restrictions are relaxed, I give it 10 to 15 years before EctoLife becomes widely used everywhere.
"Add to that five years of public awareness and education to help people become more receptive to the technology."
The facility features 75 highly equipped labs, with each able to accommodate up to 400 growth pods or artificial wombs.
Every pod is designed to replicate the exact conditions that exist inside the mother's uterus. A single building can incubate up to 30,000 lab-grown babies per year.
The pods are equipped with a screen that displays real-time data on the developmental progress of the baby. The data can also be viewed via a phone app.
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