[Robotgroup] Tissue Growth

[Glenn Currie]

A while back while on a Linucon panel, I mentioned the growth / regrowth 
rate
of human tissue.  The templates are in our DNA.  The basic tissue generation
can be accomplished in about 4 to 8  weeks.  ( the time needed for a broken
bone to heal, for example). So far, researchers have only
been able to trigger relatively low level sequences.

The human genome project has provided us with the basic coding sequences
needed - but this is only a start.

There are segments of human DNA that seem to be essentially dormant, not
expressing themselves in any discernible way.  Other sequences hold low
level construction instructions.  The large amount  of meta data 
contained in
human DNA is not revealed by a simple examination of the low level sequence.

Figuring out how the meta data structures work is a task that will be 
with us
for some time.

But, we do not always need to understand every last detail about how 
something
works, in order to make use (or misuse) of it.  The following article 
provides some updated
info on tissue growth.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070219/ap_on_sc/regrowing_fingers;_ylt=AirhmjGVNWVA0HepbYPIoY7MWM0F

New, basic, body parts are only  4 - 8 weeks away, if you know the meta
sequence or, at least, how to trigger it.  Organs might take a bit 
longer than
limbs, as many meta sequences would be needed, relative the number needed
for a "simple" limb.

Training neural tissue presents another
challenge.  Even if the tissue for a brain could be generated relatively 
quickly,
some sort of training would still be needed.  This would be a bit like 
programming
a Field Programmable Gate Array, (FPGA) of vast proportions - less vast 
for Aggies,
of course.  Fingers and Aggies first.



... back to the lab...

Cheers,

-Glenn