Neuromechanical protheses & lifespan increase via nanotech

from the medical-researchers-getting-excited dept.
From a press release on Yahoo News: William A. Haseltine, Ph.D., chairman and CEO of Human Genome Sciences, Inc., will outline the development of a major new branch of medicine in his keynote speech to The First Annual Conference on Regenerative Medicine on December 4… The fourth phase of regenerative medicine arises from an incipient revolution in materials science. “Living things are engineered to subatomic physical tolerances, and atomic-scale engineering, sometimes called nanotechnology, will soon provide that capability for many artificial materials,'' states Dr. Haseltine. “We should then be able to engineer new components for cells, organs, and tissues that will integrate seamlessly with our natural ones. Neuromechanical prostheses that respond smoothly and precisely to neural impulses are just one likely result. Extrapolations of observable developments imply that if all goes reasonably well, the human life span can be significantly increased.''