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Scientists in Italy have discovered a way of making artificial replacement bones out of wood.
Early trials on sheep have showed encouraging results.
The team behind the programme hopes the new bones will soon be available for patients whose own bones have been damaged by accident or disease.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8438209.stm
the question up for discussion is this. when should science or society say enough is enough. or if enough is ever enough. for example; how far should gene manipulation go, what safeguards should we have in place. the story above for me is a fantastic worthwhile breakthrough. but where do we draw the line?
I believe their not going to stop till their making {The Perfect Human}.
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(01-03-2010, 03:35 PM)djh4you Wrote: I believe their not going to stop till their making {The Perfect Human}. is that possible? if so what will it entail. i think given enough time someone somewhere will make a human clone from the cells of a chosen donor. something which takes us away from research and into creation, with ramifications i can't even contemplate.
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Physically, I don't think there'll be any limits. That is to say, any kind of body enhancement or modification will probably be acceptable in the far future.
I think its the metaphysical aspects that people will be more concerned about. For instance, if we can improve the human body to the point where we're immortal... should that be allowed? Or what about the brain, since we equate mind to soul... should we allow 'brainwashing' procedures, medical procedures to excise bad memories, change their behavior and personality, "improve their mind"? It sounds creepy to me, but who knows if some people might want it in the future?
PS. If you can, try your hand at giving some of the others a bit of feedback. If you already have, thanks, can you do some more?
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if people want to" improve "their body or mind,let them,the ultimate freedom
- the partially blind semi bald eagle
Bastard Elect
Personally i see a host of problems. First is with imortality. I beleive that with gene manipulation and indeed creation it is a real possibility.
Now I am all for living for ever as every one I think when it boils down to it is. Problem is with the population count. You can imagine if no one died and babys were still being born. So we can't have it in the sense that this planet will not support it. However if you consider space exploration and settlement on other planets it becomes a really desirable quality to posses.
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when do we get to the point of fixing so much in a person; new bones limbs, heart, lungs etc, maybe even a substitute brain for those with brain damage. that we can't distinguish the original person from the additions. i think benny has a good point if they can stop the aging process but til then, no matter what they do to us we'll still age. i'm all for advancement, not sure about cloning.
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cloning as in ,a new young body and then put my dirty old mind in it?great idea
- the partially blind semi bald eagle
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i agree but would you like it
if inly the extremely rich had the chance to do it?
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obviously it should be on N.H.you prob.have to wait 50 years to have it done
- the partially blind semi bald eagle
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yeah, i can see that happening.
i hear people say they wouldn't want to live that long, watch all their loved one die etc but. i'd be up for it in a second. that aside.
do we stop at cloning or gene manipulating a fetus? we'd all want smart strong kids wouldn't we?
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Gene manipulation to weed out diseases most definitely be the new medical frontier, no stopping it. Don't much like the cosmetic side of gene tinkering, though. You know, being able to turn your kid into an Angelina Jolie clone. Personally it bothers me, but it'll probably happen.
PS. If you can, try your hand at giving some of the others a bit of feedback. If you already have, thanks, can you do some more?
The Next step of Human evolution is here. now if we could only get the goverment to unban it 
It is only baned for the rest of us, people with money already have access i suspect.
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@ addy.
if we can plastic surgery to enhance our beauty why not gene therapy to enhance us in other ways? surely beauty is the thing we should least enhance about ourselves.
@ nVeve
and the next step is?
@ benny
They def have access to the best surgeons but that said, in the uk you can get a top surgeon treating a NHS patient, for new untried or early testing and new procedures, i can believe that it's who you know and how much you can pay which will denote your position in the queue.
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that's what we humans are about in my view,experimenting.so,experiment away on all levels
- the partially blind semi bald eagle
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surely we have to set some boundaries.
we have laws against screwing animals (have you seen my wife)
but you propse no laws in gene mutation experiments etc?
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when the new techniques come along,the discussions will commence.
for example i would like to see people with gills so we can start living on the ocean floor
- the partially blind semi bald eagle
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we'll need more than gills.
the pressure would kill us after a certain depth.
thats a thing, why don't fish eye get squished when they're really deep?
Enough is enough when they can make things as good as new, not newer.
I'm off to mow my lawns.
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