I know many say this is impossible without major surgery, but what I don't understand is that suppose if we changed the genes active in some bone to alter the size of it, then shouldn't the bone grow in that way once the body re-absorbs it again? Or if the bone was reduced and then stem cells were added with specific genes active (okay, I don't know too much about stem cells, and I assume that one would have to find a way to control the rate of their division), wouldn't this alter the way in which the bone grows?
So, for example... let's say that someone lost a toe/some complicated organ (perhaps one of their sexual organs, or a whole set), how would one go about replacing these organs if the original tissue is absent? Or alternatively, if the tissue is still there, and if one found a way to engineer some substance that switches on the genes of the tissue, then shouldn't the cell experience some type of metamorphosis?
Update:Oh, specifically (again, my knowledge is limited on this subject) what if one were to reprogram an adult stem cell to change the bone size of a patient -- would they just inject the stem cell(s) into the target site from which the bone would "apparently" grow? So, ultimately could this be used to change the skeleton of a patients body? And furthermore, let's suppose that hypothetically someone lost an entire set of sexual organs somehow (or were a transsexual): would activating the appropriate genes in the stem cell and then placing it in the target location* result in the growth of new reproductive organs in the patient? The problem I see with this is how would the newly growing organ connect to nearby blood vessels? Or would it be cultivated in some bio-engineered environment?
*also, how would one know where to place the stem cells? From what I've learned, apparently they would automatically know how to interact with adjacent cells.
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Stem cells are undifferentiated and therefore can become any type of cell (actually, there are two types- one can be anything, and the other can be anything within a specific system- but let's talk about the first kind). You get the cells and put them in a growing apparatus of some sort with tissues (hopefully compatible with the patient in need of organs) of an existing organ. The stem cells would develop into the type of cell in the organ tissues and create a complete organ over a period of time (because the cells send each other "messages" and can exchange DNA to allow differentiation into a certain tissue's cell). The process can get complicated and isn't perfectly predictable, though. The problem with cloning in this way is that the clone of the existing organ will be exactly the same as the existing organ-- mutations and all. So yeah, if you clone an organ, you'd want a fairly young organ that hasn't had time to accumulate mutations.
The transsexual thing: I've watched TV shows about it, and they don't make new organs; they turn the penis inside out and make it into a vagina. O.o (There weren't any stories about woman-to-man changes, so I have no idea how that works.) It's not really the same, but it's the best they can do, apparently.
I hope this is helpful. :)
I'm not sure how to answer your question specifically because it would be very hard for me to explain it to you. Hopefully I can shed some light on the topic for you.
DNA contains your genes, your genes contain codons which are sequences of nucleic acids that tell your cell to perform a certain task. It takes tens of thousands of these sequences to tell your body to perform various tasks.
Altering these codons allows us to control what our cells do. Because codons are the same throughout life we are able to mix and match however we'd like. We have for example taken a sequence of genes from a jelly fish that tell it's cells to produce a protein that glows in the dark. We took that gene and put it into a monkey and just like that we made a glow in the dark monkey.
The same principle can be applied to humans. We would alter the DNA of a virus and insert it in the host, the virus by nature takes over your normal cells and starts inserting it's DNA until it gets overloaded and bursts. Once the infected cell bursts the virus is spread to more cells and so on. This allows us to insert new DNA into living organisms, once our cells have the new DNA they go to work following their new instructions provided by the virus.
So yes, in time we will be able to alter anything you can think of with very little work. The reason making someone taller (if I understand correctly) is difficult is because you are not just isolating one gene to make a bone grow. You must find thousands of genes that tell thousands of things to happen that would make all of your bones grow. We already have growth hormones ect... But as I said, just give it some time and it will be very easy
particularly particular they're thoroughly distinctive recommendations. Stem cellular be taught is approximately starting to be new organs and physique areas out of hassle-free cells, on an identical time as gene scientific care is approximately changing or treating areas of the human genome. additionally stem cellular be taught is basically arguable on an identical time as they're conversing approximately harvesting embryonic stem cells (on the on the spot from frozen embryos that would desire to need to alter into infants, yet possibly from government-mandated abortions indoors the worst of circumstances).