Subhajit Nan, Amity University, Kolkata
Scientists seem to have discovered what exactly humanity needs to survive a post-apocalyptic scenario and the eventual destruction of the Earth: some ‘cryopreserved’ human embryo and ‘artificial’ wombs for their development.
Introduction
The advancement in science and technology has shown us that the Earth isn’t immortal. Over millions of years, the planet has witnessed mass-extinction events taking place on its surface as it evolved. They have been in form of both internal and external causes, such as violent volcanic eruptions, freezing ice-ages, environmental and climatic changes, and devastating asteroid impacts. Eventually, as the Sun burns and exhausts itself of its hydrogen fuel, it will grow into a red giant, consuming the Earth and the terrestrial planets in the process.
Fiction vs Reality
Surviving this doomsday has become a popular fiction genre, but unfortunately, a majority of these aren’t practical. Conventional ideas like taking refuge in an underground bunker or flying off to Mars or future human colonies would only be temporary means of survival. At best, we will be able to outlast a few centuries but not long-term extinction events lasting millions of years.
The Long-term Plan
Their theory is that while all living organisms like plants, animals and remaining humans will perish in a sufficiently powerful mass-extinction event, their cryopreserved embryos and plant seeds might survive. Underground bunkers can be used to store them in short-term disasters. For long-term disasters, they can be stored in orbiting automated spacecraft.
When Earth again becomes favorable for our survival after an apocalyptic event, the embryos would be defrosted out and raised using assisted reproductive techniques of ectogenesis. Ectogenesis refers to the development of embryos to healthy babies outside the natural female womb. The baby plants, animals, and humans would then be raised by AI, such as robots.
Comprehensive Scope of the Plan
Once the suitable artificial uterus or womb is available, the key to effective mission design is to plan for all possible future extinction events comprehensively in a single, unified scheme. In this way, maximal efficiency can be attained, as the same ground infrastructure can be used repeatedly in follow-up missions.
Plan Effective to Survive the ‘Red Giant’
As stated earlier, the Earth will become totally uninhabitable in a billion years from now due to the gradual expansion of the Sun and its eventual engulfment of the Earth. The cryopreserved embryos can then be packed in a spacecraft and sent off to faraway exo-planets and are subsequently raised by ectogenesis.
However, unlike what we have seen in the film ‘Interstellar’, space colonization of embryos largely avoids the technical hurdles of manned space travel. It doesn’t matter if the spacecraft containing the cryopreserved embryos, the future of humanity, take thousands of years to reach their ultimate destinations. They will be ‘dormant’ most of the time.
Conclusion
Using the integrated, embryonic approach combining Earth-based and exoplanet-based missions, humans can eventually colonize distant parts of our galaxy and potentially the wider universe beyond. The universe in infinite, and it is believed it will never cease to exist even if theories like the “Big-Rip” exist. In that case, there would be no theoretical limit as to how far humans and Earth life could go.
It is in humanity’s interests that we send such colonization missions when we still have time in our hands. The world won’t last forever, and neither will the next mass-extinction event wait for us. According to many scientists, it has already started due to human activities such as global warming and climate change. A grim future awaits us.
Also read: Applications of Single-cell metabolomics
References: Edwards, Matthew R. “Android Noahs and Embryo Arks: Ectogenesis in Global Catastrophe Survival and Space Colonization.” International Journal of Astrobiology, vol. 20, no. 2, Apr. 2021, pp. 150–58. Cambridge University Press, https://doi.org/10.1017/S147355042100001X.
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About the Author: –
Subhajit Nan is an aspiring biotechnologist, living in Kolkata. He is currently in his second year, pursuing a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in the field, from Amity University, Kolkata. He has completed his schooling at Calcutta Boys’ School in the Science stream. He has a keen interest in scientific research and writing. He likes debating, playing chess, and swimming in various competitions.
Other Publications of the Author: –
- https://bioxone.in/news/worldnews/treating-irritable-bowel-syndrome-with-low-fodmaps-diet/
- https://bioxone.in/news/worldnews/novel-strategies-for-clostridioides-difficile-infection-treatment/
- https://bioxone.in/news/worldnews/water-in-the-liquid-form-found-in-an-ancient-meteorite/
- https://bioxone.in/news/worldnews/fabrics-with-digital-capabilities-worlds-first-fibre-computer/
- https://bioxone.in/news/worldnews/manufacturing-synthetic-polymers-from-modified-virus-resistant-bacteria/
- https://bioxone.in/news/worldnews/h10n3-strain-of-bird-flu-and-its-first-human-infection/
- https://bioxone.in/news/new-structural-model-of-the-dna-protein-complex/
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