Get a Brain

Life extension by using stem cells or cybernetics to fix or replace organs is all very well, but it doesn’t help us if our brain decays. Our memory of who we are and the processes that result in our consciousness all reside in our brains. Brain goes, we go.

So it is interesting that scientists have isolated a new progenitor cell population from two regions of the adult brain that are able to differentiate into numerous cell types including neurons.

While there’s a long way to go, the eventual ability to repair brains is going to be needed for any life extension worth having, so this is a useful step. Of course we will need to be able to repair brains while retaining those precious connections and memories – but that’s what brains do, really.