In the future, science fiction predicts, implanted chips and screens will turn humans into cyborgs. But for a growing group of technophiles, the future is now.
There’s colorblind “first cyborg” Neil Harbisson, whose head-mounted Eyeborg camera translates colors into vibrations, and professor Steve Mann, whose computerized EyeTap glasses are attached to his skull. And then there are the transhumanists who go under the knife at home or in piercing parlors to implant homemade electronic devices, such as magnets that provide the sixth sense of detecting electromagnetic fields.
Reporter Ben Popper delved into the world of DIY cyborgs for an article at The Verge, even receiving his own magnetic implant:
Left: normal rat disc. Right: engineered disc.
What’s the News: Researchers at Cornell University have now bio-engineered synthetic spinal discs and implanted them in rats. The implants provide as much spinal cushioning as authentic discs do, and improve with age by growing new cells and binding to nearby vertebrae, according to the study recently published in the journal PNAS. The research could someday help people with chronic lower back and neck pain from conditions like degenerative disc disease.