Paralysed man walks again after stem cell transplant from his nose

Redgie said:
Amazing article, read it this morning and was a little disheartened about the specific nature of the mans paralysis, as it means this cure is not very far reaching. But giving someone the ability to walk again after enduring what he has? It's an incredible feat, and I look forward to seeing how it progresses :)
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One of the Drs that was involved was on the BBC this morning and that was one of their questions it seemed like quite a specific treatment but he said in reality while it seemed quite specialised it should actually be very simple to use it in a multitude of different ways so it's looking hopeful for all kinds of nerve damage.
 
TheBDog said:
It kinda puts a stop to the whole 'survival of the fittest' thing. I'll grant you.

Plus, we're already doomed to run out of natural resources at the current rate of population expansion.

Nevertheless though, I have to admit, saving these people feels more significant then ever. And the beauty of science is, once again, astonishing.
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Don't get me wrong, like i said, I love the technology and the advancements, and I am struck down with pure astonishment at some of the things we can do now, long may it continue and advance.

But making people semi-immortalish.
 
Its unlikely any of us will be around to see the planet run out of resources but unarguably its on its way. Instead of solving the problem they're looking to the stars to spread further.

The matrix was right in referring to humanity as a virus :(.

We've increased survivability without regard for population.
 
Progression towards the future of science and technology does seem to be the antithesis of maintaining harmony with our planet and it's natural resources.

Plus the whole semi-immortal thing, got to agree, dangerous territory. It's a perplexing thought.
 
This individual was a perfectly able bodied person until someone repeadedly stabbed him. It wasn't a genetic disease, or a heredetary condition. Whilst I agree that we are going to face real issues with population vs resources in the next 100 or so years, I still feel like we need to go along this road to properly develop our scientific knowledge base.

The main reason being that we don't know where it will lead, and it could indirectly give us the answers to some key problems, or be responsible for technological advancements that directly make key problems null and void.

I suppose there is an argument that our gene pool is weaker as a species, but we have a level intelligence that can help compensate for that weakness. In a way that weakness is partly what drives us to strive to find cures for cancer and help people with paralysis. I feel it is unlikely these types of issues will never be stamped out even if we let the weaker people die. Cancer and other diseases will still afflict us, just as they afflict every other species. So surely the best way to ensure our success as a species is to simply engineer it through science?
 
BuffetSlayer said:
This individual was a perfectly able bodied person until someone repeadedly stabbed him. It wasn't a genetic disease, or a heredetary condition. Whilst I agree that we are going to face real issues with population vs resources in the next 100 or so years, I still feel like we need to go along this road to properly develop our scientific knowledge base.

The main reason being that we don't know where it will lead, and it could indirectly give us the answers to some key problems, or be responsible for technological advancements that directly make key problems null and void.

I suppose there is an argument that our gene pool is weaker as a species, but we have a level intelligence that can help compensate for that weakness. In a way that weakness is partly what drives us to strive to find cures for cancer and help people with paralysis. I feel it is unlikely these types of issues will never be stamped out even if we let the weaker people die. Cancer and other diseases will still afflict us, just as they afflict every other species. So surely the best way to ensure our success as a species is to simply engineer it through science?
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I wasn't refering to this example specifically, just felt it was a good place to bring up the discussion.

But agree with you 100%. The advancements and research shouldn't stop.

That's where the issue is in my mind. We should never stop, but where will it take us and what will the repercussions be?
 
balky12 said:
but where will it take us and what will the repercussions be?
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And we all know how that ended.
 
balky12 said:
That's where the issue is in my mind. We should never stop, but where will it take us and what will the repercussions be?
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We don't know. I feel like the scientific furture is exciting, or at least it will be if we ever get there. When large parts of the world still hold onto arcane ways of life which are very restrictive to progress, it could be that we end up annihilating each other in another world war when the two sides reach boiling point. But we have been there before, and survived, and developed.

Personally, I think the biggest danger to us is ourselves and mother nature. For example virus infections are a huge danger to us. So is our planet - insomuch that there could be severe natural disasters awaiting us in the next few hundred/thousand years. For example Yellowstone national park and the potentially devestating supervolcano beneath it. It is unlikely it will erupt, but the possibility cannot be completely ignored. The onset of another ice age is another natural phenomena that is long overdue in geological terms. Ice caps melting. Floods, earthquakes, tsnunami and so on and so forth. We have had a bit of a fright with Ebola. Now the specifics of the Ebola outbreak can be debated, and the conspiracies formulated and debunked until the cows come home. It is all missing the point. The real point is that nature always finds a way, and we are moving into precarious territory when it comes to our resistance to bacteria and virus infections. This is highlighted by the increasing resistance of bacteria to anti-biotics. Virus infections are potentially leathal because they can mutate and create differing strains. In that event, we may not develop a cure for it before we are wiped out. I also think it poses a very scary risk of biological terrorism too.

As far fetched as the War of the Worlds is, it highlights how even a master race can be brought down by arrogance and something as small as a bacteria / virus. Food for thought indeed :)

I think the sci-fi movies have it right though. If we do survive for long enough, the only place we can go is space and set up colonies. It is possible we will eventually find cures for all disease, and technology to heal all illness, be it paralysis, sickle cell, MS or dementure. Look what we have achieved in 100 years in medical science compared to the previous 500. It really feels like we are on the verge of some significant discoveries, and I think the next 100 years will bring even more exciting developments.

I just hope we don't wipe ourselves out before then.

Event Horizon is one of my all time favourite films. This place is a tomb!
 
I liked the bit in War of the Worlds where Tom Cruise's family are all alive at the end safe and sound hiding in a house. :D

Just kidding, I much prefer the original, like all normal people :D :D
 
Scary movie 4 was better than the Tom cruise one :D.

I still love the story of when the book was read over the radio some American town apparently thought it was real :D.
 
You can download the original Orsen Welles broadcast from the internet archive for free. It's out of copyright a long time now.
 
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