RUDN Journal of Philosophy (Dec 2018)
FROM SALAMANDER TO SUPERMAN. THE POSSIBILITIES OF REGENERATION OF THE HUMAN BODY AND BIOMEDICAL TECHNOLOGY
Abstract
The development of modern medicine directly depends today on biomedical technologies, thanks to which it is possible to overcome many diseases previously considered incurable. However, death or disability as a result of severe injuries is still inevitable, and the search for opportunities to save and heal people caught in such a situation is extremely relevant for modern medicine. The purpose of this study is to analyze various scenarios of what human of the future will become. The dreams of transhumanists about the future human, who will be able to change the damaged parts of the body like the details of the mechanism, begin to find their embodiment in the development of cyborgization and biohacking. At the same time, the dream of mankind about the acquisition by human ability to rejuvenate and self-healing begins to come true little by little. The material for this article was the result of research of the regeneration ability in some living organisms. For a long time, biologists believed that only the lower living organisms possess this ability, but then it was discovered that under certain conditions some warm-blooded animals are capable of regeneration. Bear in mind that the evolution of species moved from lower to higher forms, scientists believe that as species evolved, the ability of living beings to regenerate organs was gradually lost, and so one can assume that this human feature appeared to be “turned off” at some historical stage. However, the genes necessary for regeneration working for amphibians are also present in mammals, but their work is suppressed by T cells. So it is the immune system that protects warm-blooded people from wounds and infections, has proved to be the inhibitory factor that “keeps locked up” the mechanism of regeneration that occurs in the cold-blooded due to the blastema. Thus, while amphibians developed the ability to regenerate, for us nature “chose” immunity and T cells. However, the human body has an amazing resource - its stem cells, the research and use of which in medicine offers unprecedented opportunities. Perhaps, with their help it will be possible to expand the possibilities of the human body to self-regeneration and self-healing.
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