Post B2bIrsvGTPxy3jswee by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
(DIR) More posts by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
(DIR) Post #B2XVAqehY4cNLc6hOq by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2026-01-22T09:50:39Z
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"A Chinese tech company is building a humanoid robot that can get pregnant and give birth. It has a synthetic uterus, fake amniotic fluid, and a plastic umbilical cord. The goal is to grow a baby inside it—from embryo to delivery. No human body required."#AshleyFike, 2025https://www.vice.com/en/article/robot-with-artificial-womb-could-give-birth-to-humans-by-next-year/(1/2)#robots #ReproductiveTechnology
(DIR) Post #B2XVArQYg8tnk2Uuzg by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2026-01-22T09:51:25Z
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"Dr. Zhang Qifeng, CEO of Kaiwa Technology, told Kuai Ke Zhi (via Chosun Biz) that his team is close to finishing the prototype. The robot, called GEAIR, is expected to hit the market within a year, with a price tag of 100,000 yuan (around $14,000). It’s not meant to assist human pregnancy. It’s meant to replace it."#AshleyFike, 2025https://www.vice.com/en/article/robot-with-artificial-womb-could-give-birth-to-humans-by-next-year/(2/2)
(DIR) Post #B2YcbQWLibjuwqmUAS by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2026-01-22T22:49:51Z
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@jasper> the idea that they might cut away the parents and make a completely synthetic culture is completely terrifyingThis is literally the core premise of Brave New World *shudder*@CatherineOrganic1
(DIR) Post #B2Z1IvMtImaJyJdBho by Iveyline@mastodon.nz
2026-01-23T03:26:39Z
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@strypey Good grief. The world is already overpopulated!
(DIR) Post #B2afW5rpli19chtmgS by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2026-01-23T22:31:58Z
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(1/2)@Iveyline> The world is already overpopulated!This is a controversial take, which I'll address in a second post. Putting aside any issues created by overall human population growth though ...China - like many postindustrial countries - is facing an imminent demographic collapse, which is driving a highly pro-natalist policy environment. They finished phased out the one-child policy in 2015, and have been looking for ways to encourage families to have more children ever since.
(DIR) Post #B2afasWUoEQBgXCR9s by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2026-01-23T22:32:50Z
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(2/2)I tend to agree that the current human population is at risk of overshooting the carrying capacity of Earth's biosphere. We need to at least stabilise the human population, if not reduce it.That said, a more just and efficient distribution of Earth's resources would alleviate many of the ills that are blamed on overpopulation. Especially in the Global South.
(DIR) Post #B2bDC4InH6stQ28EQS by Iveyline@mastodon.nz
2026-01-24T04:49:17Z
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@strypey The current global population is already exceeding the world's carrying capacity by using up resources at 175% of the rate they are being replaced (Check out World Overshoot Day). Clearly if we are using them up faster than they are being replaced the day will come when the planet is unable to sustain the current population medium to long term. Water is just one resource which is under real stress globally. Biodiversity is another. Clean breathable air in some cities is another. Soil degradation and desertification are growing problems. Deforestation too. There are numerous other resources under stress. All these are well documented. If humans are to survive long term they are going to need to make some major changes in their lifestyles.
(DIR) Post #B2bIrsvGTPxy3jswee by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2026-01-24T05:52:54Z
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@Iveyline> If humans are to survive long term they are going to need to make some major changes in their lifestylesThis is the coalface of the contemporary population debate. Could we sustain the current human population if its stops growing, and those in the Global North using the most resources per capita transition to more sustainable practices across the board. Not just lifestyles, but more importantly, land use, manufacturing practices, etc.
(DIR) Post #B2ejuaKZ3FYmotelge by Iveyline@mastodon.nz
2026-01-25T04:37:37Z
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@strypey I guess the challenge is would those in the wealthy countries be willing to give up 75% or more of what they currently consume so that there is more equity for the world's 8+ billion people? I personally don't think that would ever happen as humans are inherently selfish. Just look at Bezos, Musk, Trump, Zuckerberg, Putin and so many othe billionaires. Many want even more, not less. The ideal is wonderful. The reality a mission impossible.
(DIR) Post #B2ejubdOCkDErZTJfU by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2026-01-25T06:37:19Z
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@Iveyline> would those in the wealthy countries be willing to give up 75% or more of what they currently consumeThis is a common but completely misleading framing. The vast majority of resource use by industry, not households, and the same is true for the vast majority of pollution. As I said, the change that's needed is ...> Not just lifestyles, but more importantly, land use, manufacturing practices, etc.
(DIR) Post #B3Ea89UFeFPlliZk9I by CatherineOrganic1@gigaohm.bio
2026-02-11T18:05:52.202648Z
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if they want humans on mars this is how they would have to do it. But I do believe it's a lot of investment hype. They can get an embryo so far... and then they can take a foetus from a later gestation date to viability. The bit in the middle they can't do... a lot of differentiation, dependant on fluctuating microRNA and other cues. I have often thought that if modified mRNA acts like a microRNA sponge [which i think it does) then that would yield them a lot of microRNA knockout data to fuel their experiments. Owning that data, from vaers and medical reports on deformities caused by transfecting with modified mRNA in the 2nd trimester would be priceless.
(DIR) Post #B3Ea8AafXs8tBuaNn6 by cement_angel@gigaohm.bio
2026-02-12T02:41:08.016699Z
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I think it's more than hype it's a pipe dream!The Human Placenta Project began in 2014 and continues today.(Human Placenta Project 2014)https://videocast.nih.gov/summary.asp?Live=14256 In the first 3 yrs they learned that 'many preterm births have no clear-cut cause. IN FACT, SCIENTISTS DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT TRIGGERS A NORMAL BIRTH at the END of PREGNANCY, one of the MAJOR UNSOLVED QUESTIONS in HUMAN BIOLOGY.' And that 'PRESUMABLY A “CLOCK ” COUNTS DOWN the 280 days of human gestation. ... BUT WHERE IS THE CLOCK TICKING? IS IT IN THE FETUS, PLACENTA or UTERUS?'https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8280254/ In 2020, 6 yrs after beginning the HPP, they say that 'ADVANCES IN TECHNOLOGY have allowed us to attain a clearer understanding of many physiologic processes. DESPITE THESE IMPRESSIVE GAINS in knowledge, THE CAUSE of the INITIATION OF the PROCESS of HUMAN LABOR REMAINS UNCLEAR.' Despite spending all of that money they still don't understand what initiates labor!https://www.researchgate.net/publication/12299102_The_onset_of_human_labor_Current_theories ]But they are not discouraged! In 2021, they realize that 'ANOTHER LIMITATION IN the STUDY of SYNCYTIOTROPHOBLAST (STB) IS ITS CHARACTERISTIC MORPHOLOGY and FRAGILITY THAT COMPLICATES CELL ISOLATION for ex vivo analyses. IT is NOT YET POSSIBLE TO ISOLATE and CULTURE INTACT, PURIFIED STB (syncytiotrophoblast) FROM PLACENTAS, EXPLANTS, or ORGANOIDS to study STB in ISOLATION or FOR USE in FUNCTIONAL STUDIES.'WTH? More money, lots of money, please.https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8240757/ In 2022, 8 years after beginning the HPP, they realize that 'THREE VERSIONS of SYNCYTIOTROPHOBLAST EXIST in the human placenta: an invasive type associated with the implanting conceptus, non-invasive villous type of definitive placenta, and placental bed giant cells.' Finally getting some payoff for the dollars spent! Well, almost: 'SYNCYTINS are encoded by modified env genes of endogenous retroviruses (ERV), but HOW THEY CONTRIBUTE FUNCTIONALLY to PLACENTAL SYNCYTIAL STRUCTURES IS UNCLEAR.' They go on to say: 'THERE is a THIRD, SOMEWHAT CURIOUS and POORLY UNDERSTOOD TYPE of syncytiotrophoblast in the human placenta, CALLED PLACENTAL BED TROPHOBLAST GIANT CELLS . ... The ORIGIN and FUNCTION of the GIANT CELLS, ARE NOT CLEAR.https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8280254/ Eleven years after the start of the Human Placenta Project, in 2025, I think they have realized that this Sh$T is just not working out like we expected! So they just decide to make a model: 'A CRITICAL BARRIER to UNDERSTANDING HUMAN GESTATION has been the LIMITED NUMBER of ACCESSIBLE MODELS for the placenta. ... Together, THESE RESULTS draw IMPORTANT IMPLICATIONS for OUR UNDERSTANDING of STB nuclear differentiation and show how TOs CAN SERVE as RELEVANT STB MODELS.https://elifesciences.org/articles/101170 And THEY STILL DO NOT KNOW WHAT INITIATES LABOR!
(DIR) Post #B3Ea8BIyt7aVPLJlrM by strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz
2026-02-12T04:40:00Z
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@cement_angel Not sure how this relates to the OP;https://mastodon.nzoss.nz/@strypey/115938128024247454@CatherineOrganic1 @jasper