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Device Allows Paralyzed Rats To Walk, Human Trials Scheduled Next Summer
An anonymous reader writes "A new technique pioneered by scientists working on project NEUWalk at the Swiss Federal Institute for Technology (EPFL) have figured out a way to reactivate the severed spinal cords of fully paralyzed rats, allowing them to walk again via remote control. Human trials are scheduled for next summer. "We have complete control of the rat's hind legs," EPFL neuroscientist Grégoire Courtine said. "The rat has no voluntary control of its limbs, but the severed spinal cord can be reactivated and stimulated to perform natural walking. We can control in real-time how the rat moves forward and how high it lifts its legs."
Bad joke, given that this might one day truly help people. But it was the first thing that came to mind.
Too late.
Death eaters already routinely cast the Imperius Curse on unsuspecting muggles world leaders to further their agenda for an anti-Christian world empire.
Stay sentient. Don't drink bad milk.
I don't see how this can be practical to have a device so humans can walk like rats.
After they optimize this for human physiology and gain commercial approval, this technology will obviously be a boon for accident victims. However, the engineer in me can't help but think of how far they can take the cyborg theme. ALS is a disease where motor neurons selectively waste away. Do we dare hope that we can eventually bypass the whole path of neuro connections to directly stimulate individual muscle groups?
========== "Hello World" in my programming language of choice: ATG - LET THERE BE LIFE - TAG ==========
Meanwhile many non-walking humans are sitting around waiting for the trials.
Paying taxes to buy civilization is like paying a hooker to buy love.
Yes, what kind of monsters sever the spinal cords of fellow mortals, in cold blood. They should be prosecuted for assault.
There are about a dozen politician jokes to be mined from this story.
Table-ized A.I.
Slashdot is a bit slow on this one. Here is a TED talk from the researcher posted last year.
https://www.ted.com/talks/greg...
Stay sentient. Don't drink bad milk.
I knew it was just a matter of time before the zombie apocalypse, but I never thought it would be done by remote control.
I predict a huge market that is not helping people walk.
The difference between this and what we did back in the 60's in biology class (making the frog's leg jump with a jolt of electricity) is sad, considering. The control systems are certainly better. Oh, and the marketing, yes.
Wake me when they have a video of a human doing this.
I'd rather die than have dozens, hundreds or thousands of animals tortured to help me live more comfortably
Really? Really? Tell us again when you'r really dying.
They severed the spinal cord of a rat?
Why do you make this assumption? They may well be finding poor injured rats and repairing their spines to try and provide them with a better life. Would you prefer they simply leave these rats to undoubtedly die from their disability? And if it was some other "evil" scientist who did this to the rat, is it not good that this scientist came along to try and help the rat? Would you tar all scientists with the same brush? Clearly the scientist repairing the rats spine is a saint, and not the devil you make out! And if it was in fact the same scientist in both cases, should the scientist not try and help the rat that he (perhaps unwittingly) injured? Have you never done something that later you regret; lashed out and hurt someone you cared about? Would you judge this repentant man for attempting to right a previous wrong? Where you there? Did you feel his utter anguish at the wrong he committed? His exultant joy as the rat took it's first step from his painstaking work? No! You eat your vegetables and consider yourself superior! This man looked into the darkness of his soul and turned and made a difference! And yet you judge him! Where were you when the rats cried out for justice? Where were you when they laid out the baits?! Hypocrite! For shame I say, for shame!
I go out of my way to find products that weren't tested on animals. And yes, I am a vegetarian.
You only eat plants that haven't been tested on animals?
Ezekiel 23:20
This also accidentally describes the nearly-attained goals of the US state security organs (with assists from the POTUS and the Supremes).
Are the groups researching repair of spinal cord injuries. Seems if you get to them before too much time passes you can get the nerves to re-grow and connect again with a certain compound. I think that will stave off future handicapped people.
You are missing the point. This devices make great assassins for mafia or gangs once they hack the system because if you can show the system is hacked to get the guy off the hook, the thread of investigation is kind of broken there. And if you cannot, you got your scapegoat.
I realize my post sounded cynical, but research on animals (or part of it) can contribute to save your life or the life of a loved one, so you have to choose, and it's sad to say but humans have evolved more than other animals, and exploit this condition to try to fight diseases and other problems. Maybe who knows, one day we will be able to save all the other species in exchange, think for example if one day a big asteroid will be directed towards earth and we will be able to deflect it.
How we deal with infestations is a different issue. We can argue that separately if you want, but what I saw was an animal that in all probability was forcibly paralyzed and then made to undergo painful experiments. Just because it's not intelligent doesn't mean it can't feel pain, and we're not talking about saving people's lives here. My position is that they should be doing these experiments on willing and already paralyzed people that want to give back to the scientific community for the sake of future generations. And before you ask, yes I would participate.
Plants are alive too. Countless get murdered in (quite literally) hot steaming blood.
Show me the humans that can photosynthesize.
If you had a paralyzed family member like me, you'd really understand what this means to a lot of people. I'm thankful for those rats, I'm sorry they might've to suffer to get us here, but then again, it gives us hope. It might be too late for my aunt already, but if future generations of handicapped people can take advantage of this, that's amazing.
Any time I hear about spinal injuries in rats, it always reminds me of this (go to 3:56). "Well that's good news, huh? Getting all those rats up and around again!" :-D
Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
A friend of mine working in a lab with rats, told me that rats live a very comfortable life there, at least until they are "used", arguably more comfortable than rats living in the wild. I know, this is not exactly a valid excuse.
Those products are still being tested on animals; it's just that the animal being used for testing is you.
Obligatory: Carrot Juice is Murder
Hmm, the humour and sarcasm seem to have been be lost on you.
Plant photosynthesis is Precambrian bacterial slavery!
Ezekiel 23:20
If this kind of rat experimentation bothers you, and I can't say that it shouldn't, I'd like to ask two follow-up questions.
First, have you ever seen what a cat does when it encounters a rat or a mouse? Cats are predators, but they don't always just swiftly kill and eat their prey. They often toy with it for quite a long time.
Second, having learned about this behavior, are you ready to call for the abolition of cats? I'll promise you that cats torture and kill far more rats worldwide than all scientists put together, and we gain far less from that activity than we do from medical research.
If you oppose animal testing, I can see that as a principled and well-supported stand. But if you aren't willing to go further and call for the end of domestic cat propagation, I'd very much like some insight into your reasoning.
Yes! The first step in developing Cymeks (look up the term if you're unfamiliar with the Dune universe).
" Nothing anyone says will ever convince me t"
so thinking is straight out with you then? Good to know, AC tough guy.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
" and it's sad to say but humans have evolved more than other animals, "
it's not sad as much as it is factual incorrect.
Every species first order of business is survival of the species. We need animal testing for many things, I"m not arguing against it.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
What do you mean by "evolved"? I mean it in the technological sense, like going beyond what nature offers you to survive.
no reference to the wrong trousers?