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Kinexity t1_jdcl2ky wrote

I think this is a dead end in the situation they present it. We need to learn how to repair eg. broken spine (which btw already was done several times) and not just slap the implant on and say it's done.

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LazyLich t1_jdctzyz wrote

I mean... isn't that kinda like saying: "we need to learn how to cure cancer, and not just improve chemotherapy"?

"Curing cancer" is A LOT more complicated than "chemotherapy," and it gets more complicated the further you look onto it.

Yes. We DO need to learn how to mend nerves. We're working that. But who knows when we'll even be close? Here is a potential patch that can help people NOW.
We're advancing both. One is just gonna take a lot longer to get the results we want.

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tyler111762 t1_jdczi8r wrote

i disagree. that would leave us still at baseline human. repairing damage to our meat.

this is a step towards replacing the decaying biomass we are stuck in and developing augmentations instead of settling for prosthetics.

Praise be the machine god.

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OpticalFibers t1_jddgjh3 wrote

From the moment I understood the weakness of my flesh, it disgusted me.

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Corsair4 t1_jdd1x53 wrote

>"The challenge with integrating artificial limbs, or restoring function to arms or legs, is extracting the information from the nerve and getting it to the limb so that function is restored."

How does spinal repair help someone who lost the limb in the first place? Be as specific as you can please.

>and not just slap the implant on and say it's done.

It's a good thing that's not what they're doing then.

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Kinexity t1_jdde4wi wrote

>"The challenge with integrating artificial limbs, or restoring function to arms or legs, is extracting the information from the nerve and getting it to the limb so that function is restored."

Also title itself says "paralyzed limbs". I criticize the restoration function of those implamants, not artificial limb replacement.

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Corsair4 t1_jddfaer wrote

>Also title itself says "paralyzed limbs".

Who cares what the title says?

In an ideal world, people would read the actual published journal article. The bare minimum should be reading the entirety of the public facing article because science is all about the details, and headlines are not. Now we can get into the quality of science journalism (generally, it's shit), but this article actually addresses your exact criticisms directly and clearly.

The situation "they" present (if one reads the article, which you clearly didn't) is both restoration of function, AND integration of artificial limbs.

Besides that, the linked article talks quite a bit about the specific problem this is solving (scar tissue development) and other possible uses (prosthetics and BCIs).

Off the top of my head, using a similar strategy may be a benefit to things such as deep brain stimulators or other CNS implants that are upstream of the spinal cord, since glial scarring is a huge problem there too.

So, no - this isn't a "dead end" for the situation they present it, because they present multiple situations and you focused (incorrectly) on one. Turns out, reading past the headline is often helpful when discussing recent developments in cutting edge, detail oriented fields.

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cyankitten t1_jdea9o2 wrote

As someone who due to recovering from a fractured ankle & another issue that has come from THAT THANK you for being someone positive in this thread. Even though I’m not paralysed thank goodness, I don’t know when I’ll walk again & sometimes I wonder if it’s an IF though dr seems hopeful. So thank you. Somehow reading this article and your reply gives me some comfort during a difficult and uncertain time!

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Corsair4 t1_jdeizne wrote

revolutionary in scientific circles is very different than revolutionary in public facing circles.

At it's core, this group is using stem cells to prevent glial scarring. That's huge. Implants like electrodes are an obvious starting point, but there's some recent work - apart from this paper - also looking at using stem cells to manage scarring from actual injury to nervous tissue - so that could be a management strategy for spinal cord injuries or peripheral nervous issues. All sorts of cool avenues to look at next.

Is this something that will be a treatment strategy in the next 6 months? absolutely not. Progress happens slowly, but it does happen, and this is a great track to explore.

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AnthongRedbeard t1_jdclpj4 wrote

Can’t charge a monthly subscription for a repair and turn it off when you don’t pay.

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SquiddneyD t1_jdcqd4g wrote

Every day, we stray closer and closer to a cyberpunk future.

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Doktor_Earrape t1_jdcygpf wrote

A true cyberpunk future wouldn't be like this.

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PM_ME_OPPAI t1_jddacqv wrote

Idk, one of the core tenets of cyberpunk is corporate dystopia, and having your limbs disabled for defaulted payment is pretty damn dystopian.

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LionstrikerG179 t1_jdd6041 wrote

Probably would. the Punk in Cyberpunk refers to dystopian living conditions because of massive wealth inequalities producing both a class of highly opulent mega-wealthy people and a progressively decaying poor class whose lives are continuously intruded on by those in the wealthy class

A good future would be just a Cyber future

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Doktor_Earrape t1_jddf4uz wrote

You fundamentally misunderstand what the word 'punk' means

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LionstrikerG179 t1_jddi1wh wrote

The word Punk by itself isn't oftenly used in that context but when applied to genres, yeah it most certainly refers to that. Maybe I was too specific but extreme inequality is almost always a part of it

If you want to expand on your view of it tho, feel free

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