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Friday, July 3, 2009

Health Today in Posthumanism

Posted by on Fri, Jul 3, 2009 at 10:46 AM

The future of human health:
7706/1246642185-481900448_875df29df9-1.jpg

The salamander is a superhero of regeneration, able to replace lost limbs, damaged lungs, sliced spinal cord — even bits of lopped-off brain.

But it turns out that remarkable ability isn't so mysterious after all — suggesting that researchers could learn how to replicate it in people...

...Based on experiments on genetically modified axolotl salamanders, the researchers show that cells from the salamander's different tissues retain the "memory" of those tissues when they regenerate, contributing with few exceptions only to the same type of tissue from whence they came.

Standard mammal stem cells operate the same way, albeit with far less dramatic results — they can heal wounds or knit bone together, but not regenerate a limb or rebuild a spinal cord. What's exciting about the new findings is they suggest that harnessing the salamander's regenerative wonders is at least within the realm of possibility for human medical science.

The motto of a future biotech corporation: Less Human than Human.

Pic by furryscalyman.

 

Comments (7) RSS

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jimmy 1
Frank Herbert derived the idea of the 'axlotl tank', which could regenerate living tissue from cadavers, from these creatures.
Posted by jimmy http://www.mybigfatlazyblog.blogspot.com on July 3, 2009 at 10:55 AM
Fifty-Two-Eighty 2
What's a "moto?"
Posted by Fifty-Two-Eighty http://www.nra.org on July 3, 2009 at 11:11 AM
Charles Mudede 3
"moto" means "fire" in shona.
Posted by Charles Mudede on July 3, 2009 at 11:18 AM
Fifty-Two-Eighty 4
Oh, good. There for a minute I thought you were trying to say "mofo" and made a typo.
Posted by Fifty-Two-Eighty http://www.nra.org on July 3, 2009 at 11:32 AM
5
Good, but please don't let the writer get away with the revoltingly ignorant pleonasm "from whence." Whence means "from where," so when ignorati say "from whence," they're saying "from from where." Report them to the Department of Redundancy Department for their Redundancy Dunce Caps.
Posted by Tim Appelo on July 3, 2009 at 11:39 AM
Vince 6
Can it be far off before we generate extra sex organs. Someday you too can fuck your own pussy!
Posted by Vince on July 3, 2009 at 2:08 PM
7
it's called transhumanism
Posted by h+ on July 3, 2009 at 5:43 PM

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