Why can't we grow new body parts? (video)

A very pragmatic and inspiring presentation. Watching this was possibly the best 20 minutes I've spent all year. The presentation begins with the current state of healthcare and it's near future. Alan Russell then goes on to discuss regenerative cell generation and the amazing things that will be possible with proper funding.  I noticed some technology leaders in the audience, including Burt Rutan, the designer of SpaceShipOne.

Just Incredible!  You must watch. 

Alan Russell studies regenerative medicine -- a breakthrough way of thinking about disease and injury by helping the body to rebuild itself. He shows how engineered tissue that "speaks the body's language" has helped a man regrow his lost fingertip, how stem cells can rebuild damaged heart muscle, and how cell therapy can regenerate the skin of burned soldiers. This new, low-impact medicine comes just in time, Russell says -- our aging population, with its steeply rising medical bills, will otherwise (and soon) cause a crisis in health care systems around the world. Some graphic medical imagery.

TED | Talks | Alan Russell: Why can't we grow new body parts? (video)

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