There is no use denying the fact that the current age could be called the era of technology and scientific progress. The thing is that in the last several decade humanity has managed to achieve the progress that seemed impossible for the previous generations. Due to this very fact, a coherent society obtains new features every year. New inventions, discoveries, and technologies have a great impact on the everyday life of people making it easier and more productive. Thus, technologies that could help reduced people to increase the quality of their life and perform various functions and activities with a great level of efficiency become especially vital. Besides, it is possible to say that the shift of the priorities of society towards humanistic ones also influences how society develops That is why biotechnology also obtained a great stimulus for its development. Now, it is taken as the science that could help people with reduced abilities or some missing parts of the body to obtain the possibility to feel feelings connected with the functioning of these limbs. It is also obvious that it is closely connected with the functioning of the nervous system. That is why, it is possible to state the fact that nowadays, people with various defects can restore their limbs and perform various kinds of activity.
Resting on these facts, it is possible to say that nowadays, the sphere of biotechnology could be described as rather perspective. It could be taken as the science that is comprised of the main aspects of biology and basic principles of functioning of various technologies (“What is Biotechnology?”.para. 2). Thus, the combination of such powerful and important sciences leads to the appearance of a great number of various opportunities for people. Nevertheless, according to Phillips and Ilcan, this very sector could provide hope for people with various disabilities because of a great number of researches and successes connected with the reattaching of lost limbs (106). The most important thing is that biotechnology does not simply aim at creating some complicated artificial limbs. However, the idea to restore the feelings connected with the functioning of some lost parts of the body is quite topical now.
Besides, it should also be said that the modern level achieved by biotechnologists and biologists could be taken as quite acceptable for the accomplishment of tasks like that. According to the latest research in the given sphere, scientists managed to restore the lost art of the finger with the help of gene engineering (Singer para. 5). The restored part of the body responded to all stimuli and obviously could be taken as the part of the whole body and its nervous system. Though, it is possible to state the fact that the most important task is achieved. The thing is, that is it not enough to connect the missing limb to the body. However, for a patient to be able to move it, to perform various actions, and to feel it, it should be connected to the central nervous system of a person for it to manage this very limb (Walker 34). Thus, taking into account the level of biotechnologies, it becomes obvious that nowadays the main problem is not to create the artificial limb, that should look like a real one, however, to restore its sensation and join it to the nervous system.
However, it should be said that the importance of this direction of development of biotechnology lies in the fact that many people have various defects. Additionally, these people could be divided into two groups: those, who have inborn defects and those who have lost their limbs in consequence of some accident. The thing is that approaches to these categories should be different. People who belong to the second group have the experience of manipulating their limbs and feelings connected with it. That is why they should not be taught how to control the regained limb and how to feel it. However, the first group of people has some worse conditions. The thing is, that being born with undeveloped limbs, they do not have the needed experience and are not able even to imagine it (Singer para. 6). Additionally, their nervous system also does not have the needed mechanisms as they were not developed in the process of growth of a fetus. That is why the problem to provide the needed experience for disabled people appears.
However, it is possible to say that nowadays, there is the tendency to assume that transplantation of the nervous system could be taken as one of the possible solutions to the existing problem. The thing is that transplantation of the neural system “has been proposed as a promising therapeutic strategy in almost all neurological disorders characterized by the failure of central nervous system endogenous repair mechanisms in restoring the tissue damage and rescuing the lost function” (De Feo, Merlini, Laterza and Martino 322). Thus, it is possible to assume that the same procedure could be created for people with various defects. Thus, the given practice will have some limits and peculiarities.
First of all, it is obvious that a person, who has lost his/her limb, could be suggested an artificial one based on his/her nervous system. He/she could be the donor and the needed neural system could be created based on his/her cells. Having the experience of living with all limbs, this person will be able to restore his/her functionality in comparatively short terms. However, speaking about people with inborn defects, it should be said that there is the idea that the nervous system of a person who has the experience of manipulating the limb should be chosen as the basis for the further creation of some artificial bionic limb (Ellman et al. 1883). The thing is, that these experiences could be found on the cellular level and might be helpful for these people while trying to master the basic skills of manipulating the limb. That is why it should be said that modern science has a great number of tasks connected with the transplantation of the nervous system to solve.
With this in mind, resting on these facts, it is possible to make a certain conclusion. It should be said that due to the blistering development of science and various technologies, a great number of people living with different disabilities could obtain some hope for recovery. Besides, biotechnology suggests a certain variant for people with absent limbs which lies in the creation of artificial ones, however, their functioning could be controlled with the help of a nervous system transplanted to a person. However, the difference between people who lost their limbs and those, who have inborn problems should be taken into account and serve as the basis for designing various approaches towards the whole process.
Works Cited
De Feo, Daniel, Arman Merlini, Capri Laterza and Gio Martino. “Neural stem cell transplantation in central nervous system disorders: from cell replacement to neuroprotection”. Current opinion in Neurology. 25.3(2012): 322-333. Web.
Ellman, Michael, Cristopher LaPrade, Sean Smith, Matthew Rasmussen, Lars Engebretsen, Coen Wijdicks and Robert LaPrade. “Structural Properties of the Meniscal Roots”. Amercian Journal of Sport medicine. 42.8 (2014): 1881-1887. Web.
Phillips, Lynne and Suzan Ilcan. Responsible Expertise Governing the Uncertain Subjects of Biotechnology. Critique of Anthropology. 27.1 (2007):103-126. Web.
Singer, Emily. Prosthetic Limbs That Can Feel. 2007. Web.
Walker, Sharon. Biotechnology Demystified. New York: McGraw-Hill Education. 2006. Print.
What is Biotechnology?. n.d. Web.