SPRINGFIELD, Illinois, May 24, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Researchers in the United States have developed a microchip that automatically carries out portions of the in vitro fertilization process and hope to be able to automate the entire process soon. The New Scientist reported yesterday that “in a move recalling Aldous Huxley’s famous production lines for making babies in Brave New World” researchers David Beebe and Matthew Wheeler have found, with experiments on mice, that the automated procedures are superior to the traditional methods which involve human manipulation of sperm and egg and eventually human embryos.
The researchers say they expect the technology will first be used for livestock production, but their eventual aim is to use it for human embryos. Moreover, the device could also eventually be used to screen embryos for genetic disorders and destroy them. George Seidel, a reproductive physiologist at Colorado State University told the magazine that the work could be the first step towards a future in which IVF becomes the norm.
See the full report in the New Scientist at: https://www.newscientist.com/dailynews/news.jsp?id=ns9999781