Scientists: 'Women aged 100 can give birth within the next 30 years'

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Louise Brown, the first test tube baby, was born 30 years ago. To mark this special anniversary, leading scientists were asked to write a report on what advances they expect in the medical field over the next 30 years.

In the journal Nature, scientists predict that within the next three decades, medical techniques will be perfected and infertility will be eradicated. The new techniques will enable any woman to give birth, even women who are 100 years old.

The techniques are not yet developed, but scientists believe they can create sperm and eggs from skin cells and combine them to form hundreds of embryos. Parents can then choose a "designer" baby and have specific characteristics such as hair color, height, intelligence and disease free genes.

Davor Solter, of the Institute of Biology in Singapore told The Telegraph:

It means every person regardless of age will be able to have children. Newborn children could have children and 100-year-olds could have children. It could easily happen in the next 30 years.

Scientists also predict gestation can take place in an artificial womb and the cost of In vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment is expected to fall.

My question is: Why would scientists want a 100-year-old woman to have a baby? The mother will only die soon afterward and deprive the child of a parent. I love science, but sometimes science can get scary.