And I thought finding a sperm donor through a search engine was pretty high-tech:
Scientists at the University of Tokyo are building a “womb-on-a-chip” to increase the success of in vitro fertilization (IVF). The two-by-one-half millimeter device is similar to a computer chip, but its microscopic channels conduct fluids, not electricity. The ultimate goal is “to create a fully automated artificial uterus in which egg and sperm are fed in at one end and an early embryo comes out the other, ready for implanting in a real mother.” The chip also grows endometrial cells, to better mimic the environment of a real womb.
Experiments in mice indicate the chip has a better success rate than traditional IVF, not only in creating implantable embryos, but also in creating ones that develop into healthy fetuses.
Gives the phrase “a chip off the old block” a whole new meaning.
(And yes, my partner is a semiconductor engineer. No, we’re not expecting again.)