More proof that if you're not excited about the future, you're not paying attention

Special Dispatch #2 Thanksgiving, 2008

Our special Thanksgiving series of good news series continues.

Item 2
Japanese researchers make brain tissues from stem cells

Japanese researchers said Thursday they had created functioning human brain tissues from stem cells, a world first that has raised new hopes for the treatment of disease. Stem cells taken from human embryos have been used to form tissues of the cerebral cortex, the supreme control tower of the brain, according to researchers at the government-backed research institute Riken.

The tissues self-organised into four distinct zones very similar to the structure seen in human foetuses, and conducted neuro-activity such as transmitting electrical signals, the institute said.

The Good News

Well, let's count the possible applications here:

1. Treatment for brain damage sustained via disease or trauma. The conventional wisdom has always been that recovery from brain damage requires building new connections and otherwise working around damage that has to be taken as a permanent fact of life. If we can grow new brain tissue, this is no longer the case.

2. Treatment for degenerative disease. There are a number of very exciting possible treatments being developed for diseases such as Parkinsons and Alzheimers. The ability to produce vital new brain tissue can only be a boon to fighting these diseases.

3. Life Extension. If we're going to live longer, it's a cinch that we're going to need longer-lasting brains. This technology can help make that possible.

4. Performance Enhancement. Growing new brain tissue might be more than a way of keeping youthful mental stamina and performance well into our senior years; perhaps it would enable us to augment and upgrade our brain performance at any age.

Live to see it!