When George Orwell penned perhaps his most famous piece of fiction back in the 1940s, the English author and journalist foretold a revolutionary and futuristic 1984; an era of totalitarian regime, public mind control, and groundbreaking concepts.
As a social science fiction, Nineteen Eighty-Four would go on to become an iconic novel and cultural phenomenon.
But even the literary works of this social commentator and visionary couldn’t foresee the moment of marvel that would actually take place in 1984.
For March 1984 opened a whole new chapter in medical history, as the first baby born from a liquid nitrogen-frozen embryo came into the world. Baby Zoe was born in Melbourne, Australia and quite apart from the wonder of another new life on Earth, heralded a significant milestone in the field of cryobiology.
Now more than 25 years later and in a fast-paced modern society where around three million babies have been born through associated reproduction techniques, it seems fitting to reflect on a day when a few litres of liquid nitrogen ushered in a brave new world.
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