The Science of Baby Making

39 snips

Dec 4, 2024

Join Professor Joyce Harper, an expert in fertility treatments, and comedian Sara Pascoe, who shares her IVF journey. They delve into the amazing process of embryo development and the potential for synthetic wombs. The conversation highlights ethical dilemmas surrounding reproductive technologies, like genetic manipulation and the concept of 'designer babies.' With humor and insight, they explore the complexities of reproduction and the future possibilities for parents, balancing serious discussions with light-hearted anecdotes.

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ANECDOTE

Cloning Anecdote

Joyce Harper recalls a peculiar encounter with an Italian professor.
He claimed to have cloned humans 20 years prior, prioritizing male DNA due to perceived anxieties.

INSIGHT

Fertilization Process

Human fertilization involves a "swim journey" of the sperm to the much larger egg.
The egg hardens after one sperm enters, preventing multiple fertilizations.

INSIGHT

Early Embryonic Development

Embryonic development progresses from zygote to blastocyst with increasing cell divisions.
Gene activation differentiates cells, leading to a multi-layered structure during gastrulation.

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Brave New World

Aldous Huxley

Written in 1931 and published in 1932, 'Brave New World' is a dystopian novel set in a futuristic World State where humans are bred in vitro and predestined into a rigid social hierarchy. The novel explores themes of technological advancement, social conditioning, and the loss of individuality and freedom. The story revolves around characters such as Bernard Marx, an Alpha who questions the society, Mustapha Mond, the World Controller, and John, a 'Savage' from a reservation who introduces elements of emotion and individuality into the highly controlled World State. The novel critiques the optimism of technological progress and its potential to create a society that values stability and happiness over humanity and freedom[2][4][5].

Lady Chatterley's Lover

D.H. Lawrence

The novel centers around Lady Constance Chatterley, who is married to Sir Clifford Chatterley, a wealthy and paralyzed war veteran. Constance's marriage is emotionally and physically unfulfilling, leading her to an affair with Oliver Mellors, the gamekeeper on her husband's estate. The relationship between Constance and Mellors highlights the class differences and the search for integrity and wholeness through a balance of mind and body. The novel is known for its explicit descriptions of sexual intercourse and its reflection on the impact of industrialization on modern society. It ends with Constance and Mellors separated but hopeful for a future together once their divorces are finalized.

Human embryology

William James Hamilton

Animal

Sara Pascoe

The Complete Works of Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

This volume includes all of Shakespeare's comedies, histories, tragedies, and complete poems. The works are often categorized into comedies such as 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' and 'Twelfth Night', histories like 'Henry IV' and 'Henry V', tragedies including 'Hamlet', 'Macbeth', and 'Romeo and Juliet', and his complete poems such as the 154 sonnets and other narrative poems like 'Venus and Adonis' and 'The Rape of Lucrece'. Different editions may include collaborative works and varying editorial notes.