A newly-developed artificial womb could save lives

A newly-tested artificial womb could change the way doctors care for babies born prematurely, according to new research. 

The new study, published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications, details the testing of a "womb-like device" on fetal lambs, which develop lungs in utero much the same way humans do.

The lambs involved in the study lived inside the device — which uses a container filled with liquid — for about four weeks, breathing amniotic fluid inside of a temperature-controlled environment.

While video footage of the lamb within the artificial womb may look startling at first, the device could one day be a "bridge between the mother's womb and the outside world," said Dr. Alan Flake, co-author of the study, n a statement.  Read more...