Replacing zesty coitus...

[DigitalBuddha]

He fixes the cable?

Scientifically, it's called ectogenesis, a term coined by J.B.S. Haldane in 1924. A hugely influential science popularizer, Haldane did for his generation what Carl Sagan did later in the century.

WTF?!! https://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/2015/06/12/artificial-wombs-the-coming-era-of-motherless-births/#.VOFuMhtm-Fk.facebook

[Reverend Al]

Wave of the future, Dudes?  I sincerely hope not.

[jgiffin]

Sounds all fine and good. But I'm not sure artificial wombs are going to be as, ahem, comforting as the natural thing.

I knew of Haldane from his work with genetics but hadn't heard of this. After wikipedia-ing him, it turns out he was also a "socialist, Marxist, atheist, and humanist." Well, shit. He was right on two-out-of-four.

[ZoeAbides]

Clearly all those babies in those robo-wombs are from unprotected sex with fleshlights.

[Reverend Al]

Sounds all fine and good. But I'm not sure artificial wombs are going to be as, ahem, comforting as the natural thing...

It's arrogant human egotism once again believing we can improve on nature, as if there's something wrong with procreating the old-fashioned way.  Surely there will also be some form of tampering in an effort to eliminate birth defects, genetic deficiencies, and whatever else they can think of to "improve" the human race.  It's just another entrance to the slippery slope.

[ZoeAbides]

Sounds all fine and good. But I'm not sure artificial wombs are going to be as, ahem, comforting as the natural thing...

It's arrogant human egotism once again believing we can improve on nature, as if there's something wrong with procreating the old-fashioned way.  Surely there will also be some form of tampering in an effort to eliminate birth defects, genetic deficiencies, and whatever else they can think of to "improve" the human race.  It's just another entrance to the slippery slope.

If by slippery slope you mean robo vaginas...

But seriously, don't get hung up on the spooked out luddite post-apocolyptic aspect of this.  It can do some real good as well.  Women who've had to get complete hysterectomies and other issues can have children.  Gay male couples and transgender women could also have their own children, no surrogates required.

It's not all doom and gloom.

But then, it could be the beginning of the Matrix.

[Reverend Al]

If by slippery slope you mean robo vaginas...

Actually, I was referring to the inability of scientists to resist tinkering with things while the fetus' are in the robo womb.  Oh, sure, they'll start with detecting and fixing birth defects or genetic abnormalities.  Then they'll decide they can improve someone by making them smarter, stronger, bigger, whatever.  Then they'll decide freckles and toe nails serve no useful purpose, so they'll get rid of them too.  What's next to go?  Red hair?  Green eyes?  An entire race?  Slippery slope.

...But seriously, don't get hung up on the spooked out luddite post-apocolyptic aspect of this.  It can do some real good as well.  Women who've had to get complete hysterectomies and other issues can have children.  Gay male couples and transgender women could also have their own children, no surrogates required...

But what if the inability to procreate, for whatever reason, is one of nature's methods of controlling Earth's population so that it doesn't grow even more out of control than it is now?  Until we find another Earth-like planet to inhabit and devise a means to get there, we have a limited amount of space on this rock and we're already filling it up rapidly.  No, I think some things are best left alone.

[jgiffin]

I have absolutely no scientific basis for this, but the thing they're doing (or propose doing) where a kid would have three genetic parents freaks me out.

I'm just a little afraid that we're about to outsmart ourselves.

[RandoRock]

I love the quest for knowledge and typically new discoveries are exciting but I find this to be concerning. We've become obsessed with trying to improve on nature but nature has proven time and time again that it knows what it's doing and we should just let it do it's thing.

I agree that there could be benefits to it but like others have said, where do we draw the line? Once we start picking and choosing what traits to keep and which ones to lose we start to destroy the very things that make us human.

[DigitalBuddha]

"Yeah well, I still jerk off manually."

- The Dude

[Reverend Al]

"Yeah well, I still jerk off manually."

- The Dude

They're just trying to help their lady friends conceive.

[DigitalBuddha]

"Yeah well, I still jerk off manually."

- The Dude

Vagina?

They're just trying to help their lady friends conceive.

[BikerDude]

There are many things that need improving.
Sex is not one of them IMO.

[Reverend Al]

There are many things that need improving.
Sex is not one of them IMO.

Maybe, but some practice every once in a while couldn't hurt. 

[Liam_123]

There are many things that need improving.
Sex is not one of them IMO.

Maybe, but some practice every once in a while couldn't hurt. 

Practice does make perfect