Scientists have created an "artificial womb" in the hopes of someday using the device to save babies born extremely prematurely.
So far the device has only been tested on fetal lambs. A study published Tuesday involving eight animals found the device appears effective at enabling very premature fetuses to develop normally for about a month.
For a study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications, Partridge and other researchers from Philadelphia suspended premature lambs, a close animal model for human fetuses, in a liquid-filled, artificial womb, allowing them to further develop for four weeks-longer than in past similar attempts.