Biologically engineered body parts becoming reality

Someone's thread on this topic has been 404'ed. It's a wonderful topic. Apparantly science is either at or near the place where they can engineer body parts.

From the other OP's OP, this source: www.scienceworldreport.com...

Here is a summary,

Scientists from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center's Institute for Regenerative Medicine have successfully implanted human patients with laboratory-grown vaginas. Four teenage girls born with the rare genetic condition Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome were fitted with sex organs grown from their own cells that were cultured into tissues.

"This pilot study is the first to demonstrate that vaginal organs can be constructed in the lab and used successfully in humans," said Anthony Atala, M.D, director of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center's Institute for Regenerative Medicine, via Medical Xpress. "This may represent a new option for patients who require vaginal reconstructive surgeries. In addition, this study is one more example of how regenerative medicine strategies can be applied to a variety of tissues and organs."

Yeah, it was a fair 404.

In any case, this is pretty darn cool. It won't be long before we can practically build a cyborg. Kinda scary to be honest.

Reminds me of Blade Runner.

Since the organs are grown from the patients' own cells...this is pretty huge.

Replacement organs, limbs. Wow.

reply to post by Aleister


A lady had her trachea grown in a lab to replace a damaged section a while back also. It's all part of the stem cell era of medicine. My hope is that under the right guidance, this technique could be a way to mitigate the worst effects of several diseases, and offer new leases of life to patients suffering from a great many different ailments.

The potential of this sort of stem cell based medicine is just staggering, it's scope....it is quite simply one of the most important areas of biomedical science to have come to light for the last fifteen years in my opinion.

This will be a big step for the transgendered.

So, a larger question I've been considering lately, is given the advancement in medicine, in terms of extending life expectancy, what does this mean for the planet and society? I recently read an article suggesting there is a cure for cancer, at a small cost to your health (like chemotherapy), but what could that possibly mean. You think health care is slow and inefficient now...

Ack!

reply to post by jrflipjr

Are our modern woes due to the elimination of smallpox? Polio?
I think that, in general, easing human misery is a good thing.

Where can I buy one of these vaginas... for someone I know?

reply to post by Phage


That's a good question. I mean, I'm generally a big advocate of allowing mother nature to run her course - albeit cold hearted and impractical in terms of the survival of the species. But, I also believe nature has a way of stabilizing itself. I mean, apparently, birds have all types of flus and cows can go mad all the time, yet they do survive.

At the end of the day, I think replacement parts seems practical, ethical and acceptable...for now.

Phage
Since the organs are grown from the patients' own cells...this is pretty huge.

Replacement organs, limbs. Wow.

edit on 4/11/2014 by Phage because: (no reason given)

It will all be here in less than 30 years.

Yes, I know that's a big claim and I am no doctor. But I would bet everything on the reality of it.

Unless we blow ourselves up.

And well, I'd bet on that too.

MM

reply to post by jrflipjr

I mean, apparently, birds have all types of flus and cows can go mad all the time, yet they do survive.

It's not really a matter of survival of the species though, is it?

reply to post by Phage


Fair point.

I'm halfway through a bottle of wine, so I may not have a good example to offer.

Let me think on it a bit...

reply to post by jrflipjr


That last half bottle of wine might have put you down for the count, aye.....and I've finally come back to the thread too. I started it after you brought the subject to ATS, and some people took it too far in another direction so the 404 boot took over. I'm not a medical professional (although I was once a hand-model, which is close), but yes, this technology, if perfected, will create a brave new world, especially for the mega-rich who, if I were one, would be funding a lab for the pioneers of this tech in my basement.

Thanks for originally starting this thread and topic, and I'll do some more research on it as well.

reply to post by Aleister


Thanks Aleister! Yeah, a little too much of the 'ol nectar put me down last night. Oddly enough, this happens every weekend, about the same time I solve all of the world's problems...again. I really need to figure out a way to make this prosperous for me....

So we also have bionic technologies which are making an advancements and now this. So now the rich can regenerate their organs and live longer and ensure their point of view stays intact for as long as they can harvest body parts.

If I were a victim of an unfortunate accident or birth defect, which one would I choose? Bionic or biological? Guess it will depend on my bank account.

I smell a deeper division in humanity coming up because of these new "improvements". You can get me wrong all you want, you can only see the good side if you want, I know this wont be for the average joe and it will enable those who are in power to stay there and ensure their "advancements" are kept intact.

The black market. Guess you can take crack till your eyes bleed and then buy new ones or drink your liver into the garbage because you have new one in the freezer. Will make people even more sensible than they are. Not for everyone I know, but when there is a will...

Who gets to live forever?

The second deluge is nigh! What are the plans for the ark again? How long is a cubit?

reply to post by bitsforbytes

The black market. Guess you can take crack till your eyes bleed and then buy new ones or drink your liver into the garbage because you have new one in the freezer.

Dunno.
Which is cheaper? Organleggers or cloning your own?

reply to post by Phage


I would have no idea. For something as precious as an organ or a limb the cost could be considerable. If we look at this with our current capitalist mind set, we have to factor in how much energy it takes to produce either and how much material is needed. Then we have the cost for the R & D and finally profit.

How many limbs and organs would be needed given the current demand? This will be a HUGE business. With repeat customers. I think the cost will be very high to limit who and how many one can get.

I think organically grown organs would be "la creme de la creme" for it is living tissue with your ID on it. We also have the possibility of genetically modified organs, another aspect which could bring about the meshing of animal and human complexion. Bionic limbs or organs would have the advantage of being superior to its organic counterpart, example an arm could curl 200 pounds, legs that can make you leap over a house, a heart that doesn't get tired, a liver that never gets saturated with toxins. The possibilities are endless.

As long as you have money......or credit.

reply to post by bitsforbytes


Nah, if this tech becomes perfected to the point of assembly-line organs, I doubt if "the people" (who they?) will stand by as only the rich are given access to the technology. At some point health insurance will routinely cover it, and Ma and Pa organ medical-shops will be open in a shopping mall near you.