Extreme preterm babies are currently given air through a ventilator and fed through tubes. “The first health challenges the very preterm babies face is actually surviving,” said Kevin Dysart, a neonatologist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. In a preclinical study, researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia found that artificial wombs could allow preterm babies to continue to develop naturally outside of their mothers' uteruses. (Nature Communications)The artificial womb also includes a circulatory system to deliver oxygen to the baby. That’s fairly impressive, given that when the researchers first thought of the artificial womb about three years ago, still thinking of it as “science fiction,” they didn’t yet have a grant — much less advanced equipment.

Source: Washington Post April 26, 2017 08:48 UTC