This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: On a sunny spring day at Penn State, Cristin Millett, professor of art in the College of Arts and Architecture's School of Visual Arts, inserted a catheter needle into the umbilical vein of a placenta. Wearing a white lab coat and dark-rimmed protective glasses, the sculptor by trade and longtime visual arts educator peeled apart the plastic wrapping of the 2-inch-long (5 cm) needle and skillfully inserted it into the umbilical vein.
The procedure, called cannulation, is one she has done dozens of times as part of the Ex-Utero Project, an interdisciplinary global research project situated at the intersection of art and human reproductive sciences. For the last five years, the project has brought together collaborators from the College of Arts and Architecture, the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, the College of Engineering, all at Penn State, and the University of Western Australia's School of Human Sciences. Together, the project participants are opening an artistic and scientific inquiry into the future of human reproduction that probes the biological and sociopolitical possibilities of ectogenesis, the as-yet unrealized development of an embryo outside the uterus.
Along the way, and with the help of biomedical engineering students and scientists from the College of Engineering and Huck's Sartorius Cell Culture Facility, the team has developed a system to convert a section of umbilical cord into a biological scaffolding material that could eventually be used in tissue regeneration, pushing the frontiers of regenerative medicine. Employing decades of skills learned as an artist, Millett is creating and exhibiting sculptures that explore ectogenesis, building a bridge between the scientific and artistic aspects of the project. By her side throughout the journey has been Cindy White, an award-winning documentary filmmaker who is a researcher affiliated with the College of Arts and Architecture as well as the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences.
Together, using approved scientific protocols, the duo studies the human placenta to create multimedia installations, including visual documentation of the scientific and artistic process, sculptural elements and experimental films. They often present their work at scientific and artistic conferences, where they discuss the unique biological traits, scientific importance and cultural significance of the placenta—and the potential of such a critical reproductive organ becoming a vestigial organ as technologies advance. "Although ectogenesis exists in the realm of the impossible, in a rapidly evolving world its ethical, cultural, political and philosophical implications are worth exploring," Millett said.
"From my perspective, this project is a unique example of how art and science can come together to build community, explore a complicated topic and along the way foster discovery," said Millett, professor of art and co-founder of the Ex-Utero Project. Provided by Pennsylvania State University BSc Life Sciences & Ecology. Microbiology lab background with pharmaceutical news experience in oil, gas, and renewable industries.
Full profile → Master's in physics with research experience. Long-time science news enthusiast. Plays key role in Science X's editorial success.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
