DOD Re-arming Itself?

Friday, March 27, 2009

As another sign that science and technology are creating a whole new world is this FoxNews report that the Department of Defense is trying to develop the ability to regenerate human body parts.  This seems to be the stuff of science fiction but according to the report, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Massachusetts, which received a $571,000 contract from DOD, has already achieved Phase I of the project by getting human and mouse cells to act like stem cells.  Imagine wounded soldiers with bodies torn to pieces by IEDs or other explosives being able to regenerate limbs and become whole persons again.  That would be wonderful.  But then I start thinking of the possibility of Phase III when someone at DOD says, wouldn’t it be great to have a special force of six armed, four-legged warriors who could storm the enemy in a flurry while carrying and firing hundreds of pounds of deadly weapons.  Sounds crazy?  Well, if someone had told me a few years ago we would be regenerating body parts, I would have said that was crazy too.  The best news coming out of this story, for me and others who like to partake of an alcoholic beverage on occasion, is that the human body can already regenerate one of its organs….the liver!