15 October 2023
By Seungwoo Song
A Japanese research team has made innovative achievements in shark culture. They used artificial womb technology to successfully breed and give birth to sharks for the first time ever. The Churashima Foundation Comprehensive Research Center in Okinawa collaborated on the project.
The scientists nurtured the shark embryo steadily for five months using an artificial womb designed to resemble a female shark's natural womb. Due to the fact that shark reproduction and birthing took place in a lab, the experiment is receiving interest from all around the world.
However, mature sharks have occasionally perished days after being introduced to the tank. This acknowledges the difficulties in adjusting sharks to the surroundings of a water tank as well as difficulties in long-term development and reproduction techniques.
There have been instances of shark culture failure utilizing artificial wombs, therefore the project has been ongoing since 2017 with the goal of protecting shark life and analyzing long-term development. The results of this study offer novel opportunities for future shark research.
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