Shades of "Brave New World"

[Tuckerfan]

Artificial ovary developed.

Researchers at Brown University and Women & Infants Hospital have invented the first artificial human ovary, an advance that provides a potentially powerful new means for conducting fertility research and could also yield infertility treatments for cancer patients. The team has already used the lab-grown organ to mature human eggs.

How long until we get artificial wombs?

[jali]

And Alpha children.

[Sarahfeena]

These kinds of stories always make me wonder when the tipping point will be from "oh, neat, another new medical technology that will really help humankind" over to, "yikes, should we really be doing this?" I mean, sure, there's always some grumbling about it, and the Catholic Church will tell you we shouldn't be messing around with it, but progress still marches on. We were all twenty years ago about the first test tube babies, and now we all know kids who were conceived that way, and no one thinks it's a big deal. When we are at the point where children are cloned or otherwise "created" artificially, and as you say, Tuckerfan, gestated in artificial wombs, will that end up being just another way to have a baby? It seems kind of crazy, but I'll bet society will take it in stride.

[ivan astikov]

I don't want to live in a world where you can pick a child's characteristics from a catalogue! That'd be way too much "freedom".

[Tuckerfan]

These kinds of stories always make me wonder when the tipping point will be from "oh, neat, another new medical technology that will really help humankind" over to, "yikes, should we really be doing this?" I mean, sure, there's always some grumbling about it, and the Catholic Church will tell you we shouldn't be messing around with it, but progress still marches on. We were all twenty years ago about the first test tube babies, and now we all know kids who were conceived that way, and no one thinks it's a big deal. When we are at the point where children are cloned or otherwise "created" artificially, and as you say, Tuckerfan, gestated in artificial wombs, will that end up being just another way to have a baby? It seems kind of crazy, but I'll bet society will take it in stride.

I'm betting celebrity types will embrace the artificial womb so that they can have kids which are biologically their own, but they don't have to sacrifice their figure to get them. Even more disturbing, however, will be the showbiz mom who has "ready-to-go" clones of their kid on ice, and pops out a new one, timed so that just as one starts getting "too old" for certain roles, there will be another one waiting to take its place. Imagine, an army of Lindsay Lohan's, Culley McCulkan's, and Justin Beiber's dominating the entertainment industry for decades.

[Exy]

Eww. Also, I don't quite get what the purpose is. What does an ovary do for you? It's not like it can create its own ova so I'm not sure what the point is.

Even more disturbing, however, will be the showbiz mom who has "ready-to-go" clones of their kid on ice, and pops out a new one, timed so that just as one starts getting "too old" for certain roles

That would actually be a good concept for a sci-fi film.

[Cluricaun]

Good. Grow me a bigger dick and six more arms as soon as possible.

[Exy]

Oh, your dick isn't big enough?