Well here’s an interesting piece of news that isn’t getting nearly enough attention.
The next step.
Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine in California experimenting on mice have successfully created functioning brain cells from mature skin cells. How cool is that?! Super cool. What’s even better is that this could potentially remove the need for embryonic stems cells, whose controversial nature has been the biggest hurdle for scientists in this field. Need a new cerebellum? Scrape a few cells off your big toe and use those! No need to go hacking up an embryo/potential serial killer. And while we’re at it, why stop at just fixing the brain? Let’s pimp out the damn things. Expand out capacities for math and language, or maybe just give everyone a goddamn sense of humor. Lord knows we need that more than anything.
On top of the possibilities this holds for advancements in the treatment of brain conditions like Alzheimer and Parkinson’s, we can finally create a real life, functioning version Krang from Ninja Turtles.