Once realized these breakthroughs will accomplish in short hours what present day techniques couldn't do in months. Amazing capabilities. Hope they stick with it and not let the money hungry gain control.

Hope some of those ideas make it to market.  Before there is no market, that is.  Thx, Doc.

Interesting information from Popular Mechanics--thanks for the post, and ditto Daiwa.

It hurts to think that with all the genius behind these breakthroughs might simply go undeveloped because of shrinking markets.... all the suffering that could be alleviated. Makes me quite sad.

it is not necessary to be too sad.

You can always move to Australia - here it is not (quite) that bad.   We do have a (relatively) well working Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) which covers certain costly things (like medicines and some treatments).

Best regards,
Steven.

Wish I could, StevenAus.... and thanks, bluesky2012.

There's so much happening in the medical field now - this is just the tip of the iceberg, really. It's both scary and exhilirating. And a little sad for us old geezers out there that could have used some of these things twenty years ago.

As it will always be.  My dad died of heart disease @ 54 in 1971, when interventional cardiology was still in its infancy & available, crude as it was at the time, in only a few academic centers, and long before dozens of pharmocologic advances we now take for granted.  He was born a decade too early.  Many of my patients have had their lives extended by 25-30 years thanks to those advances in treatment; how things have changed in a single generation and what life might have been like with him here into his 80's.

That is probably one of the best statements made (the bolded one).  What was experimental a few years ago is routine now.  and it was unheard of before then.  it is what is driving Obamacare, but is just a pipe dream.  Man will never be immortal nor medicine free.  We do not like it when loved ones are taken from us early, but it has always happened and will always happen.  And no promises or lies are going to change that.

Agreed.  However when viewed on a money-spent vs. positive outcomes basis, some countries get better scores than others.  Australia is not perfect by any means, but it has some things (like subsidization of certain medicines and treatments, via the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme) that are very good for a country to have for its citizens.  Unfortunately, the US has some of the lowest positive outcomes results on a national scale based on the amount that is spent on healthcare (some would say that the general system in the West is better named as "sickcare").

Best regards,
Steven.

FWIW, that is subject to serious & legitimate debate - controlling for virtually uncontrollable variables, cultural differences, varying definitions of terms (especially infant mortality), et nauseum cetera, all make it very difficult to get to apples-to-apples comparisons.

Despite (because of?) our 'sickcare', life expectancy here is at an all-time high, and if you should, perish the thought, come down with any of a fairly large number of specific diseases, you'll live longer if you're here.

Other than that, our system really sucks.

I wasn't talking about healthcare vs. sickcare just in the US - I meant all Western countries, who tend to treat you when you're sick rather than try to prevent you getting sick.  And yes, I take it that there are many variables in those type of "score" comparisons, with various results.  I just know that I wouldn't be able to afford decent healthcare in the US (plus I wouldn't have the support I do from the Australian government).

Best regards,
Steven.

I really like this one:

17. Nanoscale Adhesive

Gecko feet are covered with nano-size hairs that exploit intermolecular forces, allowing the lizards to stick firmly to surfaces. By replicating this nanoscale topography, MIT scientists have developed an adhesive that can seal wounds or patch a hole caused by a stomach ulcer. The adhesive is elastic, waterproof and made of material that breaks down as the injury heals.

Read more: 20 New Biotech Breakthroughs that Will Change Medicine - Popular Mechanics

As cool as sealing up wounds might be, I think they're failing to mention it will allow them to make people who can stick to walls with their hands and feet like Spider-Man LoL. How cool would that be? Really damn cool!!!

Also, Doc, I think you might enjoy a current video series on Hulu that's covering the TED (conference). TED stands for "Technology Entertainment and Design". It's very enlightening. I especially like this one that talks about our most recent advances in Genetic Manipulation. I honestly thought some of this was still more in the realm of Sci Fi, but this is Real. It's kind of scary actually. We've managed to make "Glow in the Dark" pets....seriously. There are glow in the dark fish, mice, kittens, puppies, and even monkeys. I highly recommend watching this one video at least, even if you skip the rest of the series.

Paul Root Wolpe: It's Time to Question Bioengineering

You can also catch all the TEDTalks on Hulu right HERE. Non linked link: http://www.hulu.com/tedtalks

Note: It really starts getting interesting at 5 minutes in.

Thinking more about it, there are some serious Ethical Issues involved here. Especially when they can now take away a creatures free will and control it's brain via computer. Don't believe that? It's true. Watch the end of the video above. They've done it with insects and even a rat. They're calling it a "Robo-Rat" and they're also calling it a "Organic Robot". The experiment they talk about with the monkey controlling a robotic arm is pretty insane. This research is leading us to electronics we'll soon be able to control with our thoughts alone. The monkey they talk about became the First Creature on Earth to have 3 fully controllable arms. The last one being a robotic arm of course, but it was still controlling it with it's brain just like it's two real arms.

Then there's the Eel Brain, a Living Eel Brain, inside a microchip. It's a fully living brain they've managed to keep alive to use in the chip. If they're doing crazy stuff like this now with animals, how long will it be until they start human experiments? Then there's the Worlds First artificially created cell. That "cell" was the First Artificial Creature ever created. It doesn't have living "parents". It's parents were a computer. So, we have LIFE created in a lab with chemical DNA. Artificial Life....the ramifications of this are MIND BOGGLING to say the least.

Seriously, watch the video I posted above. It's nuts, scary, and brings up the distinct ethical problems we need to be thinking about now as a society.