Concept for the world's first artificial uterus unveiled

Over the course of a century, the fertility rate has been declining. Scientists describe the result as a "worldwide infertility crisis". But a solution looms on the horizon - artificial wombs.

Musk's claims have brought the world's falling birth rate to the forefront of public consciousness. In 2017, scientists created the BioBag, which functioned as an artificial womb, and used it to raise a baby lamb. Now a new concept has been introduced, showing how this is possible for humans. In a recently published story, Hashem Al Ghaili shows the way in which an infant can be brought out. Hashem has demonstrated an artificial womb called EctoLife, which Reddit tells us.

In the interview, Al-Ghaili says that the concept of EctoLife could one day supplant traditional birth. In doing so, he says society will finally be able to meet the needs of parents who are "tired of waiting for an adoption agency to respond" and those who are "concerned about pregnancy complications". But the key takeaway from his words is that EctoLife can enable the infertility crisis to be confronted head-on. The EctoLife artificial uterus concept promises to help babies develop preterm "without any biological obstacles".

"Synthetic uteruses" sounds like the stuff of science fiction, but the trend itself comes from a long line of advances in reproductive technology. On 25 July 1978, a baby girl named Louise Brown was born at Oldham County General Hospital in Manchester, England. What made the birth memorable was that Louise was 'conceived' in a petri dish. Brown was the first child to be fertilised by in vitro fertilisation (IVF). Today, more than 8 million babies are conceived each year through IVF.