Motherless Child is “Barely Possible”

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 948, 15 April 1930, Page 10

Motherless Child is “Barely Possible”

ECTOGENETIC BIRTH DIFFICULTY OF PROBLEM Will generations of human beings In the d’stant future be motherless? Will they spring instead from laboratories where ectogenetic birth and development of children from fertilised cells is carried out by skilled scientists? The question is raised by one of Several predictions in the Karl of BirJvenhead’s astonishing book, “The World in 2030,” isxiracts from which v. err cabled to New Zealand and published yesterday. After referring to the synthetic production of food, Kord Birkenhead makes a startling prophecy, that of ectogenetic birth and development of children from fertislised cells and carried out in laboratories. Fantastic as this may sound, it may be within the bounds of possibility, according to Professor J. C. SperrinJohnson, of the Department of Biology, Auckland University College. ”1 will say this: ft is barely possible,” he told The Sun this morning. “Experiments of this kind have been made with lower animals, and although Lord Birkenhead appears merely to be speculating, in his predictions he has touched upon a problem that, in the future, may be «ii tern pted.”

The social and allied problems involved in such a proposition as this Jntrdly concern experimental scientists, admitted Professor Rperrin-Johnson. If they thought it possible to make progress they would endeavour to solve the many difficulties that lay in the y av. "The egg-cell or the sea-urchin when fertilised is liberated intft the sea and Jeft to its fate,” he said. “The eggs of yeptiles, after being laid in a fertilised condition, are left to themselves, hut birds, being warm-blooded, must incubate their eggs. Any interference ■with the processes of incubation and the stopping of the necessary warmth may result in the death of the embryo, although plenty of food materials exist jn the egg.” “But in the case of the higher Lnimals there is organic connection between the mother and the embryo bnd the nourishment and respiration of the embryo is arranged for through the maternal tissues. This is characteristic of the higher animals only. “Thus it may be seen that. the higher and more complicated the animal, the greater the degree of dependence of the embryo on the mother. The development of embryos in laboratories, therefore, would reprelent by far the most difficult phase of the problem of ectogenetic birth as i. whole. “The question involved would be the i omplieated bio-chemical reactions in the fresh secretions of certain glands of the mother. It seems difficult to imagine that these could be provided ior in artificial culture, especially toward the end of the embryonic period when the embryo was approaching human shape, although its food might be arranged for without such great difficulty. "In approaching the more difficult phases of the problem lower mammals such as rabbits and dogs might first be experimented on. “Many experiments have been done in tissue culture, and as a recent • :ampls we had wonderful movihg Pictures of cell changes in normal and morbid tissue —marvellous pictures of cancer tissue which had been produced under artificial conditions. “Nevertheless it must be stressed that the delicate bio-chemical reactions involved in the early stages of me embryology of the higher animals would be exceedingly difficult to provide tor in culture.”