Mark Cook says:
>As for the rest of the argument, I (of course) agreee with you.
>Convincing Scott is another matter all together.
Scott, of course, is the TML equivalent of a pitbull with lockjaw.
>(Both of you: be careful not to tread too deeply into matters medical,
>or I'll dive into the fray, and I'll probably drag Eric Sergienko in
>with me.) :^)
Too late, both of them have been cc'ing me their discussion :-).
I think the bottom line of this discussion, is that it's Mike's world
and he is going to do what he damn well pleases.
That said, I agree with Michael based on sociological/gaming reasons.
There would be nothing more terrifying than to know you could end up as
pieces-parts if you screw up. So, it could be an interesting place
to _roleplay_. I was always enamored of Niven, anyway.
However, medically and economically, I would choose to disagree with you both.
So there, HAH :-)! Last time you use "appeal to authority" as an argument.
By TL 14 you'll be growing your own replacements. And prevention is always the
cheapest option.
Mike argues that by the time the situation in Pallique exists that a drug
will exist that will "laugh at tissue rejection". Probably, but it would
have to be able to do so on a selective basis. Tissue rejection works
because of antigen-antibody reactions, the same reactions that protect
your body from disease. Current drugs work by suppressing this interaction.
By laughing at tissue rejection, you could be dying with the common cold.
Scott says let's grow tissue in vats. The question arises, how do you
customize the organ to the body in question? Presumably, the vat/tissue
culture knows how to control the growth when given direction. Again
possible, and probably more likely than an immunosuppressive drug with
a high specificity.
My proposal would be contolled growth of normal tissue by the person
requiring the organ/appendage. It requires knowing how cells reproduce
and differentiate, and controlling this. However, with our current
understanding of tumor cells, this should be within the next 50 years.
Give the patient a shot, he grows an arm, no chance of rejection, and
it's his, same architecture as the original. Ditto for internal organs.
However, talk of organ replacement is kind of silly for problems like
hepatitis or cancer. Medicine at TL14 is working at the cellular level to
repair problems before they happen. You would go in for a yearly tune-up
as well as your check up. For trauma, well, take your pick of homegrown,
vat grown, amputated or prothestic. It's your game :-).
ttfn,
eric