Found this on the Drudge Report.--Jana

THURSDAY MAY 24 2001
Human hatchery fears raised
BY MARK HENDERSON, SCIENCE CORRESPONDENT

A TEST tube baby microchip that carries out every stage of in-vitro fertilisation automatically is being developed by
American scientists.

The device, which allows a computer to control fertilisation of eggs and to prepare the resulting embryo for implantation
in the womb, promises to enhance the success of fertility treatment, first in livestock, and eventually in human beings.

It has, however, prompted fears among some scientists that it could bring closer the production line ÒhatcheriesÓ
envisioned by Aldous Huxley in Brave New World, and make IVF the normal means of

human reproduction.

American researchers have already built several prototype chips,
which can carry out a single stage of IVF, such as the fertilisation of an egg, though not all the steps at once.

Mouse embryos conceived using the prototypes are much more likely to develop than those created by standard methods.

Eventually the scientists, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,
plan to integrate all the steps on to a single chip and expect even better results, New Scientist magazine reports.
Screening embryos for genetic disorders may also be done with the chip.

Copyright 2001