http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/06/04/how-scientists-built-the-worlds-first-lab-grown-limbs/

Harald Ott created and cared for the world's first fully functioning limb. It belonged to a rat, and is said to be a big leap for prosthetics everywhere!! :D The limb is supposed to be totally artificial but completely alive.

Wow

Bump

bump bc darn this shit is cool man :/

Awesome! Now we just wait for the people saying 'stop playing god'. -_-

"Stop playing God" This is basically genitic mutation. There might be some unknown factors after people use it. It might create an unknown virus or disease. Or basically just helps alot of people

this isn't even close to genetic mutation. genetic mutation is a mostly natural process, otherwise caused by factors like toxic by-product (reference to how vietnam war brought upon a lot of deformities among newborn children thanks to the amount of agent orange, etc) and environmental processes (sunlight, pollution, radiation, etc). it's when something that is already alive or being created (as in, the womb) has it's DNA composition changed. for example, albinism and Down's Syndrome are both cases of genetic mutation. you can't compare them.

they also attached it to a real live rat and nothing supposedly bad happened. i find it unlikely a virus or disease could start from it, considering it's literally 100% artificial - existing diseases could probably cling onto it but the chances of it actually creating one on its own just don't see probable. they've been doing very similar projects for a while now that have been carried out successfully, on kidneys and livers mostly. but kidneys and livers are supposedly very simple, so creating a limb (which is a very complex process) was a very big step. i recommend reading the entire article.

I read the entire article. It is simply recreating ones limb using the person's dna but don't you think that the recepient would reject the organ or limb transplant? And it also says the recipient have to take medications for the rest of its natural life. So it would probably be the same as this one. They didn't even observe carefully the rat after the transplant. They just celebrate that it works. And my comment was supposed to be a joke. So chill out dude.

I believe that is one of the reasons for doing it using your own DNA it makes the least possible chance for transplant rejection. there are always other factors as your crafted organ/limb cannot match you exactly because of dietary changes. The dna would be the same but you technically are what you eat and while it is "fed" by chemicals that are sterile and free of excess items we ingest with our food (preservatives, etc.) not to mention any medications for other medical concerns. As a matter of fact unless the person went onto a diet of foods precisely measured and made sterile it might even be better to get a transplant fro m a sibling due to those factors. Especially of one is young and you have the same diet from living in the same house. but either way you'll be living your life on a dose of anti rejection drugs no matter what.

I wonder what difficulties would arise from taking a sterile limb and attaching it to a non sterile body in a non sterile environment. certainly it would take time to adapt as the nerves are not dulled by life of abuse a body takes over the years. Also this could lead to "elective replacements" for someone who has had a disease such as polio with can cripple. could this give them back their legs? or full joint replacement for someone with really bad arthritis?

I'm not religious but as much as I do see benefit here, I do see this as messing with the natural order of things.