The military's plan to regrow body parts

[kblood]

http://www.slate.com/id/2189468/

The regeneration of lost body parts has just moved from science fiction to U.S. military policy.

Yesterday the Department of Defense announced the creation of the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine, which will go by the happy acronym AFIRM. According to DOD's news service, AFIRM will "harness stem cell research and technology … to reconstruct new skin, muscles and tendons, and even ears, noses and fingers." The government is budgeting $250 million in public and private money for the project's first five years. NIH and three universities will be on the team.

I have mentioned before that cloning have been done for quite a few years now. Human cloning that is. Maybe even for several decades. Mostly it has been used the way shown in the movie "The Island", making clones to have replacement parts for the original. I dont think the clones actually had to be awake though, they just cloned a person and accelerated its growth so it became the same age as the person. It probably took days but worked.

This way had its flaws though. Takes too long time to grow a full grown person and there are many ethical issues with it as well of course. So they have been researching the alternative that this article mentions. I am surprised they have made it public, but I guess that since it isnt in conflict with todays moral standards or the law, they dont need to keep it secret.

I dont see any downsides to this, so it might be a breakthrough that we will all benefit from. Well, at least those of us who might end up needing a new liver, brain or other body parts :cool:

[red_ram]

From one report I read, it's possible we might have the ability to regrow our limbs lying dormant in our DNA.

[shodan]

I have nearly 6 toes on one foot. on my left foot the toe next to the big toe has two bones and two toenails but the the skin covers the two. I have to cut 6 toenails on that foot :D
It grew as a child, then the doctor told me outright that it had stopped growing. I'll never know if had he told me it was still growing, whether it would have fully grown apart, I believe my total belief in the doctor at that young age stopped it growing.

[romas]

I have nearly 6 toes on one foot. on my left foot the toe next to the big toe has two bones and two toenails but the the skin covers the two. I have to cut 6 toenails on that foot :D
It grew as a child, then the doctor told me outright that it had stopped growing. I'll never know if had he told me it was still growing, whether it would have fully grown apart, I believe my total belief in the doctor at that young age stopped it growing.



Though art alian! :eek:

On serious note this reminds me of movie Starship troopers, where main character gets mutilated by bugs then rescued and rebuilt in a giant jar. ;)

[hagbard_celine]

Interesting.

Have any of you read The Body Electric by Robert O Becker?