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Scientists Can Now Grow Brain Cells In The Lab
H_Fisher writes "Scientists in Florida have grown mature brain cells in the laboratory, a scientific first. The Independent reports that "[...]they were able to produce virtually unlimited quantities of brain cells, which could revolutionise transplant medicine as well as leading to new drugs to stimulate the regrowth of damaged nerves." This could be a milestone in the treatment of Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's, and many other illnesses and injuries."
...to my acid flashbacks!!! Bye bye holes in my brain. Soon I'll be able to fly my jet again.
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The first application that leaps to mind is that regenerated cells could be used to replace damanged or aged cells somehow, but is that really possible?
Other types of tissue have been reproduced before, but I've never heard of it being applied such a way. For instance, if you suffer liver failure, your still dependent on an organ doner..
Or are are there already some types of organ regeneration procedures already in practice? I would guess that the brain would be one of the most difficut types of tissue to do things like this.
Seriously, if they're making "virtually unlimited quantities" they should at least shove a bunch together and wire up some sort of interface. It'd be interesting to see if it'll learn how to interact with whatever inputs it's given and maybe learn to respond.
We could then start teaching it stuff. Much fun.
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Within the limitation that some mechanism for simulating the blood/brain barrier will have to be devised, this should lead to a new generation of drug screens. Now you can test the effect of new drugs at physiological concentrations on real brain cells. This potentially means no more guess-work based on rat models, and less endangering of real patients during the phase three trials.
Of course, people with more vision than I have will undoubtedly be using this as a way of testing their Borg prototypes, but that's progress of a sort as well. Seriously enough, this will allow you to do the necessary tests to make sure that human cells interface correctly with cybernetic implants, thereby speeding development of bionic eyes, neuro-muscular interfaces, etc.
So, how long until, "we can remember it for you wholesale", or "johnny mnemonic"?
the more accurate the calculations became, the more the concepts tended to vanish into thin air. R. S. Mulliken
Treating disease? We should be using these new brain cells to augment existing brilliance!
It seems almost like a waste to repair an alzheimers damaged brain which will be dead in 10 years anyway when you could, instead, augment, say... mine, and I've got a good 60 or 70 years to go.
Selfish old people, hmph.
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Am I the only one wondering how many of these brain cells will be needed to have a brain with feelings? Am I the only one concerned about the moral implications of these experiments? If embryos aren't human because they don't have a brain and can't have human emotions, then what do we say about something that consists of only a human brain and is capable of emotion, but has has no way of expressing to us what those emotions are?
I often don't like the choices people make, but I like the fact that people make choices. That's why I'm a conservative.
With rat brain cells, in a suspesion, with lots of tiny wires on a core placed into them, they found that patterns emerged.
But our brains have built in abilities, for instance, we do not learn to smell or process visual cues, or move our muscles.
What would be cool? The ability to interface a controlled part of the brain (like, learn something while thinking about the beatles) to allow us to control which part of the brain stores some info, and have this as a removable, tranferrable core, and then see if we insert into into someone else, can they access their own interface (by perhaps, thinking about lemons) which would trigger these new associations.
It would give a while new meaning to getting someone to do your homework, they could also study for you for the exam, or lend you their notes literally.
Or actors could shag fit celebrities, and then copy their thoughts, and you rent them, and have memories of the event.
Coolies. Weird.
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Good, as a TBI, Traumatic Brain Injury, survivor if they need human guinea pigs then I volunteer.
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