Born in the 21st century

As both a personal project and a medical event, the act of birth generates increasing tensions between the wish for “natural” childbirth and the pressure to minimize the risks. Medical progress and in vitro fertilization succeed in overcoming cases of infertility, and restore hope in those who want to start a family. However, these new techniques raise inevitable ethical questions: should the pre-implantation diagnosis or the “savior baby” be allowed, or should they be banned as is the case in Switzerland? Two renowned bioethicists, Axel Kahn and Alex Mauron, express marked differences in their vision of human beings and the limits that should be imposed on their freedom. “Designer” babies will not of course be with us tomorrow, but the rapid increase in our knowledge of genetics and the refinement of medically assisted procreation techniques already oblige us to examine our attitudes in this respect.

Apart from the special report, the EPFL magazine explains how artificial tissues and organs on a chip could one day substitute for using mice in medical research. In an extensive interview, Dieter Imboden, former president of the Swiss National Science Foundation, advocates free science and committed scientists. For him: “Remaining in your office equates to being indifferent!”. Finally, Reflex encounters an amazing foundation which wants to save the Earth from meteorites, and unveils the challenges that have to be met in both the development of wind power and the hi-tech toilets of the “Reinvent the Toilet Challenge”, launched by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Daniel Saraga

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