WEBVTT - More Mutants! 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:07.200 Brought to you by Toyota. Let's go places. Welcome to 0:00:07.400 --> 0:00:14.720 Forward Thinking. Hey then, everyone, and welcome to Forward Thinking, 0:00:14.880 --> 0:00:17.840 the podcast that looks at the future and says I 0:00:18.000 --> 0:00:21.240 got Kitty Pride and Nightcrawler to waiting there for me. 0:00:21.640 --> 0:00:25.320 I'm Jonathan Strickland, I'm Lauren, and I'm Joe McCormick. And 0:00:26.120 --> 0:00:30.640 today we're recording the second part of an episode that 0:00:30.760 --> 0:00:34.200 was a listener request from listener Derek VROs, who asked 0:00:34.280 --> 0:00:38.280 us to do a podcast about whether science and technology 0:00:38.479 --> 0:00:42.080 could make us into characters from the X Men. I 0:00:42.080 --> 0:00:45.959 mean through whatever means necessary. I guess, through genetic manipulation, 0:00:46.240 --> 0:00:50.920 through uh, cybernetics, through just plain old power suits and 0:00:51.080 --> 0:00:56.600 liquid nitrogen guns. How can we become Iceman, Magneto, Wolverine, Cyclops. 0:00:57.160 --> 0:01:00.280 Last time, we already did the original X Men team, 0:01:00.320 --> 0:01:03.160 And who did that include? It was Professor X, of course, 0:01:03.200 --> 0:01:07.720 the Professor X, Jean Gray, Scott summers At a Cyclops, Iceman, 0:01:08.560 --> 0:01:13.199 the Beast Angel, and that's it. Did I name all five? 0:01:13.440 --> 0:01:15.800 I think that's it? Plus it was six toe right 0:01:15.800 --> 0:01:18.240 because Professor X is one of them. Did you say 0:01:18.319 --> 0:01:21.319 Jean Gray? Did say Jean Gray? Then We're good. Oh 0:01:21.440 --> 0:01:24.400 the Beast? Did we name the Beast? What is wrong 0:01:24.440 --> 0:01:28.080 with your brain? I don't know. Well, we've already talked 0:01:28.080 --> 0:01:32.039 about the original team, but I had to admit last 0:01:32.120 --> 0:01:35.199 time that I am a what did you call me, Lauren, 0:01:35.319 --> 0:01:38.360 I'm a fake geek girl. I said that, You're not 0:01:38.480 --> 0:01:41.520 a fake geek girl. Okay, I'm not a fake geet girl, 0:01:41.560 --> 0:01:44.480 but I am what you might say as a casual 0:01:44.760 --> 0:01:47.480 X Men fan, which is which is fine. I was 0:01:47.600 --> 0:01:51.800 surprised to hear that the famous Wolverine is not, in 0:01:51.840 --> 0:01:54.760 fact one of the original X Men. Yeah, he's not. 0:01:56.120 --> 0:02:01.200 He's he's uh a hanger on the pretender. Um, he's 0:02:01.240 --> 0:02:03.960 a fake geek girl now as long as as well, 0:02:04.080 --> 0:02:06.200 so we have to talk about Wolverine. So I figured 0:02:06.280 --> 0:02:10.280 that justifies another podcast. Wolverine on his Own could be 0:02:10.320 --> 0:02:14.119 an entire podcast, especially when you take into account all 0:02:14.160 --> 0:02:18.480 the different iterations, because I like, by the time we're 0:02:18.480 --> 0:02:21.520 recording this podcast, which is in November two thousand fourteen, 0:02:22.440 --> 0:02:26.200 right now, as in the comic book world, Wolverine is dead. 0:02:27.520 --> 0:02:30.280 It happens to everyone. I mean, well, he's he's died 0:02:30.320 --> 0:02:32.680 before too, so I don't expect that to be permanent. 0:02:32.720 --> 0:02:34.359 I don't think it's going to last very long. Though. 0:02:34.800 --> 0:02:37.880 I read something online that I was thinking, surely this 0:02:37.919 --> 0:02:41.839 can't be true. They said that, uh, he at one 0:02:41.880 --> 0:02:45.600 point was brought back to life from a single drop 0:02:45.639 --> 0:02:47.880 of his blood. And yes, it's pretty much the case. 0:02:48.560 --> 0:02:51.400 That's how good is healing factor is? How would he 0:02:51.520 --> 0:02:56.079 still have his memories and everything? You know? Maybe he didn't. 0:02:57.360 --> 0:03:00.120 Every single cell in your body has your total in 0:03:00.200 --> 0:03:02.400 a and it clearly his memories were somehow wrapped up 0:03:02.440 --> 0:03:05.880 genetically and the rest of it. Uh, the guy's got 0:03:06.960 --> 0:03:15.200 an adamantium. The listeners can't hear it. Look, I can 0:03:15.240 --> 0:03:18.919 apologize for just about any sort of comic book crazy 0:03:19.000 --> 0:03:22.360 plot you want. I don't necessarily believe what I'm saying, 0:03:23.000 --> 0:03:25.600 but I can apologize for it. Okay, well, let's go 0:03:25.639 --> 0:03:28.120 ahead and dive right in and start with with the 0:03:28.120 --> 0:03:31.959 old wolverine himself. He's got what are his powers? He's 0:03:31.960 --> 0:03:35.240 got super healing. That's that's a big one. His healing 0:03:35.280 --> 0:03:38.200 factors was often In fact, super healing might might be 0:03:38.200 --> 0:03:42.000 an understatement. It's like hyper healing. Yeah, he essentially he 0:03:42.040 --> 0:03:47.000 can take damage that would kill any other creature ever, 0:03:47.560 --> 0:03:52.000 and recover from it. Okay, He's got adamantium claws that 0:03:52.120 --> 0:03:54.720 extend out of his knuckles. Technically, he has an entire 0:03:54.800 --> 0:03:57.920 adamantium skeleton, which is not a mutant power. It was 0:03:58.040 --> 0:04:00.360 added onto a skeleton. The fact that he had this 0:04:00.440 --> 0:04:04.960 mutant healing power allowed him to survive the process. Yeah, 0:04:05.000 --> 0:04:08.840 and so and so I think classically that's where that 0:04:08.960 --> 0:04:13.040 the claws come in. He has bone claws that adamantium 0:04:13.040 --> 0:04:16.479 has been bonded to. Okay, so the claws are part 0:04:16.560 --> 0:04:19.680 of his mutant power that was not surgically added to him. 0:04:19.680 --> 0:04:23.279 He has bone claws which when magnetos stripped away all 0:04:23.279 --> 0:04:28.040 the adamantium from wolverine skeletal system. Uh, he's still retained 0:04:28.040 --> 0:04:31.719 the clause, but now they were just Yeah. He also 0:04:31.800 --> 0:04:35.120 has adamantium chest hair, doesn't he Oh yeah, yeah, it's 0:04:35.160 --> 0:04:37.800 it's like a brillo pad. Yeah, that's in fact where 0:04:37.800 --> 0:04:42.680 Billow came from. In fact, the harvested from him. And 0:04:42.760 --> 0:04:45.040 he goes into the factory once a week and they 0:04:45.040 --> 0:04:49.920 need to clean the school for gifted humans. They just 0:04:50.160 --> 0:04:53.880 put him face down on the floor, push him back 0:04:53.920 --> 0:04:58.039 and forth across the floor. He doesn't get his back. 0:04:58.120 --> 0:05:02.840 It's fine, he'll, he'll, he's um, he's he's lost a 0:05:02.880 --> 0:05:06.160 lot of dignity over the years. Okay, well, it seems 0:05:06.200 --> 0:05:10.880 like the sorry logan, I'm sorry fiction. The essential, the 0:05:11.000 --> 0:05:13.640 essential wolverine power I think we've got to start with 0:05:13.800 --> 0:05:17.080 is the healing. Sure. Is there a way that we 0:05:17.160 --> 0:05:23.280 know of to create hyper healing in humans? Well, not know, 0:05:23.920 --> 0:05:26.479 but I mean there's there's a lot of work going 0:05:26.520 --> 0:05:29.760 in obviously to try and find ways to help people 0:05:29.960 --> 0:05:33.360 heal from injury and illness more effectively. Right, And there 0:05:33.400 --> 0:05:37.440 are some interesting frontiers at sort of the edges of 0:05:37.800 --> 0:05:41.360 healing science about what we could do in the future. 0:05:41.400 --> 0:05:45.040 Because here's one example of the limitations of human healing. 0:05:46.120 --> 0:05:51.320 Humans cannot regrow lost limbs. Right, so you you get 0:05:51.320 --> 0:05:54.719 a little cut in your hand, Well, over time, hopefully 0:05:54.760 --> 0:05:57.920 that'll close up and and you'll get some scar tissue maybe, 0:05:57.920 --> 0:06:01.359 but it'll your skin will cover the wound. If you 0:06:01.440 --> 0:06:04.040 cut your hand off, you're not going to get another 0:06:04.080 --> 0:06:07.560 one back. It's gone. You might causeplay as as Captain 0:06:07.600 --> 0:06:10.160 Hook for the rest of your life, right, but that's 0:06:10.160 --> 0:06:12.920 what I would do, not am. Not all animals are 0:06:12.960 --> 0:06:17.400 like this, Like, for example, some salamanders, you know, can 0:06:17.480 --> 0:06:20.240 regrow lost limbs. You cut off a limb and it 0:06:20.279 --> 0:06:26.400 will completely reconstruct itself stars. Yeah, and the blueprints are there, right, 0:06:26.440 --> 0:06:29.920 I mean, so you have the coding information inside your 0:06:29.920 --> 0:06:34.159 body to make new copies of all the parts you have. 0:06:34.320 --> 0:06:36.839 You had to have that information because it was with 0:06:36.880 --> 0:06:39.080 you when you were in embryo, when you were making 0:06:39.080 --> 0:06:41.840 those parts to begin with. But we've got something that 0:06:41.960 --> 0:06:45.680 happens in our bodies that prevents us from regrowing lost 0:06:45.760 --> 0:06:48.800 limbs once we're an adult. Is there a way that 0:06:48.839 --> 0:06:52.080 we can access through medical science those pathways to re 0:06:52.839 --> 0:06:55.599 uh to to sort of give ourselves healing powers that 0:06:55.640 --> 0:06:59.039 aren't natural to humans as adults. Well, you know, there's 0:06:59.080 --> 0:07:02.040 a lot of research going into that very thing. In 0:07:02.120 --> 0:07:06.600 fact um, there's there used to be a belief that 0:07:07.760 --> 0:07:09.840 once you've got to a certain level of complexity with 0:07:09.880 --> 0:07:14.120 a biological organism, that is what was the limiting factor, 0:07:14.480 --> 0:07:17.760 that somehow, if you've got complex enough, then you would 0:07:17.840 --> 0:07:21.240 no longer be able to regrow a lost limb. It's 0:07:21.240 --> 0:07:24.120 like system overload. There's too many things going on. Yeah, 0:07:24.200 --> 0:07:26.320 it was the dominant thinking for a long time. It 0:07:26.360 --> 0:07:29.480 now seems like that is no longer the dominant thinking 0:07:29.520 --> 0:07:32.200 that there are. There's a kind of a sea change 0:07:32.600 --> 0:07:36.000 in that um and there's been a lot of interesting work, uh, 0:07:36.040 --> 0:07:39.880 interesting work that has dealt with some experiments that are 0:07:40.000 --> 0:07:42.160 fairly gruesome. I mean when you when you look at 0:07:42.200 --> 0:07:45.119 it from especially if you if you love animals like mice, 0:07:45.880 --> 0:07:49.000 this might be difficult to hear, but the Tough University 0:07:49.040 --> 0:07:52.440 Center for Regenerative Medicine and Developmental Biology is looking at 0:07:52.480 --> 0:07:56.440 ways to boost regenerative powers, mostly through the interaction of 0:07:56.520 --> 0:08:00.800 cells using electrical charge and how they commune kate in 0:08:00.840 --> 0:08:03.960 a way to try and stimulate growth um in a 0:08:03.960 --> 0:08:08.640 way that normally wouldn't happen in organisms like us. And 0:08:08.680 --> 0:08:12.880 the way they've tested it is largely by taking things 0:08:12.920 --> 0:08:15.600 like a mice and cutting toes off of them and 0:08:15.640 --> 0:08:19.240 then trying to stimulate that. They also looked at activating 0:08:19.240 --> 0:08:22.520 a gene called lynn A l i N two eight 0:08:22.680 --> 0:08:27.360 A to help regrow lost bits like toes, and they've 0:08:27.400 --> 0:08:30.280 actually been successful with that. They were looking at this 0:08:30.920 --> 0:08:35.480 only after they had already been exploring that particular gene 0:08:36.440 --> 0:08:38.480 through cancer research. It was one of those things where 0:08:38.480 --> 0:08:40.880 they discovered something and thought it was interesting, and now 0:08:40.920 --> 0:08:45.240 there might be a different application. Cool. So obviously we're 0:08:45.280 --> 0:08:47.520 not there yet for humans, but I think there is 0:08:47.640 --> 0:08:50.160 some reason to believe it's possible that in the future 0:08:50.520 --> 0:08:54.640 medical science could allow us to have regenerative powers that 0:08:54.720 --> 0:08:58.559 we don't have today. Yeah, I think in the foreseeable 0:08:58.600 --> 0:09:01.960 future it'll be very limited. It will be things injuries 0:09:02.000 --> 0:09:06.480 that are still not um incredibly severe. I imagine that 0:09:06.520 --> 0:09:08.800 the more severe the injury, the harder it will be 0:09:09.000 --> 0:09:12.600 to truly regenerate, uh in kind of tissue like that. 0:09:12.679 --> 0:09:17.320 I mean, but it's it's promising, and I hope that 0:09:17.480 --> 0:09:22.120 this research ends up finding its way into medical practices where, 0:09:22.160 --> 0:09:24.400 you know, in the future, maybe twenty years or so 0:09:24.440 --> 0:09:27.240 in the future, people who have suffered injuries can have 0:09:27.280 --> 0:09:31.040 a much better prognosis or even with the combination, I 0:09:31.040 --> 0:09:34.120 could see potentially the combination of something like a like 0:09:34.160 --> 0:09:38.480 a three D printed bone and and you know, various 0:09:38.559 --> 0:09:44.559 various other implants could could help you technologically bond better 0:09:44.640 --> 0:09:47.800 with a prosthesis. Yeah, clearly this would be something we'd 0:09:47.800 --> 0:09:50.280 want to be really careful about because anytime you're talking 0:09:50.320 --> 0:09:52.840 about stimulating cell growth, there are a lot of other 0:09:53.200 --> 0:09:55.559 questions that come up. That's like, how do you make 0:09:55.600 --> 0:09:59.240 sure that that's a controlled growth for example? Okay, so 0:09:59.320 --> 0:10:02.080 there's another thing I was hearing about in sort of 0:10:02.120 --> 0:10:06.679 the future of of healing technology, and it was a 0:10:06.720 --> 0:10:10.360 little electrical implant that DARPA was working on. Does that 0:10:10.480 --> 0:10:14.320 have any relevance to this UM? Not really, but it 0:10:14.440 --> 0:10:17.880 is really fascinating, and I guess Okay, let let me 0:10:17.960 --> 0:10:20.960 let me explain what this is. Okay. So you've got 0:10:21.000 --> 0:10:23.480 a lot of nerves throughout your body that are monitoring 0:10:23.559 --> 0:10:25.800 all of your systems and sending alerts back to your 0:10:25.800 --> 0:10:29.240 brain whenever there's something wrong, and and that alert might 0:10:29.280 --> 0:10:33.400 be sudden tissue damage, activate pain, and motor functions, which 0:10:33.440 --> 0:10:35.640 is how we can pull our hand back very quickly 0:10:35.679 --> 0:10:39.080 from a too hot surface. UM. And it's also how 0:10:39.120 --> 0:10:41.839 your body knows to send the resources to that hand 0:10:41.920 --> 0:10:46.000 to start healing over the burn. UM. It might also 0:10:46.040 --> 0:10:49.679 be something like foreign substance detected, Active and immune system UM, 0:10:49.720 --> 0:10:52.240 which is really rad in general. It lets it lets 0:10:52.280 --> 0:10:57.120 you uh fight off infections right. UM. However, if you've 0:10:57.160 --> 0:11:01.120 got an overactive nervous system or an over active immune response, 0:11:01.280 --> 0:11:03.880 that is not so rad. UM. That kind of thing 0:11:03.880 --> 0:11:07.679 can lead to your your body misdiagnosing a problem when 0:11:07.720 --> 0:11:10.720 there isn't one, which can cause all kinds of trouble, 0:11:10.800 --> 0:11:13.920 like like your immune system can start attacking healthy tissues 0:11:13.960 --> 0:11:16.840 in your joints, which is what goes on in arthritis. 0:11:16.880 --> 0:11:21.840 So darpest idea is to implant like nerve thread sized 0:11:21.960 --> 0:11:27.360 devices to attach to your nerves that will regulate your 0:11:27.400 --> 0:11:33.160 nerve impulses, thus helping your immune system be more accurate. Uh, 0:11:33.240 --> 0:11:35.800 the technology is not existent yet. This is all very 0:11:35.840 --> 0:11:38.240 much in the research phase. That the program is called 0:11:38.400 --> 0:11:42.000 Electrical Prescriptions or elect r X, which is which is 0:11:42.120 --> 0:11:46.199 very cute. Yeah. Um, partially because they're hoping to reduce 0:11:46.280 --> 0:11:49.080 our dependency on medications, which can have all of these 0:11:49.400 --> 0:11:53.240 unpredictable and unpleasant interactions with your other bodily systems. Plus, 0:11:53.280 --> 0:11:55.440 the more medications you have, the more likely you're gonna 0:11:55.480 --> 0:12:01.000 have complications. That sounds that could have be one of 0:12:01.040 --> 0:12:03.719 the It could be one of the less beloved X men, 0:12:05.720 --> 0:12:08.680 the one you write just specifically to kill that character, 0:12:08.760 --> 0:12:14.000 often fake moment of sincere grief among your characters because 0:12:14.040 --> 0:12:16.480 all the others are far too valuable merchandise wise for 0:12:16.520 --> 0:12:20.280 you to kill. Off, you died for our development. Okay, 0:12:20.320 --> 0:12:24.559 but so that sounds really interesting, But so it doesn't 0:12:24.600 --> 0:12:27.839 sound like a recipe for hyper healing. Yeah, it's more 0:12:27.880 --> 0:12:31.719 aimed towards restoring regular healing. I think the best you 0:12:31.760 --> 0:12:35.480 could possibly get out of this therapy is optimum healing 0:12:35.800 --> 0:12:39.520 given your body's current resources. Um though, I mean it 0:12:39.559 --> 0:12:44.439 certainly is interesting, like we've been saying, and the modulation 0:12:44.640 --> 0:12:47.800 of individual nerves is so potentially huge. I mean, imagine 0:12:47.800 --> 0:12:50.680 if we could control our body's stress responses, like the 0:12:50.720 --> 0:12:53.120 impact that that would have on mental health therapies. Sure, 0:12:53.600 --> 0:12:55.960 or I mean, if you can control the body's response 0:12:56.000 --> 0:12:58.520 to pain, that could be a big thing. Like pain 0:12:58.679 --> 0:13:01.000 is useful if you need you touch a hot stove, 0:13:01.120 --> 0:13:04.960 you know you need to. But we have more pain 0:13:05.000 --> 0:13:07.120 than we need is a species? Sure, you could have 0:13:07.200 --> 0:13:09.600 chronic pain as as a result of something that you 0:13:09.679 --> 0:13:12.440 have literally no control over. It's not doing you any 0:13:12.440 --> 0:13:15.240 good anymore. Yeah. Yeah, And there's a host of of 0:13:15.320 --> 0:13:19.559 related things to to stuff like arthritis, like uh, inflammatory 0:13:19.559 --> 0:13:23.600 bowel syndrome or fibromyalgia that could also have huge impact 0:13:23.679 --> 0:13:27.160 from this kind of research. Cool. Well, okay, so then 0:13:27.520 --> 0:13:30.840 are there any technological routes we actually know of right 0:13:30.840 --> 0:13:33.880 now that could accelerate human healing. Well, there's some that 0:13:33.920 --> 0:13:38.400 we're looking into that haven't necessarily panned out definitively. One 0:13:38.480 --> 0:13:40.720 of the big ones that I know of is using 0:13:40.800 --> 0:13:45.880 ultrasonic frequencies to help try and UH and facilitate bones 0:13:45.960 --> 0:13:48.640 knitting together after you've broken a bone. So you guys, 0:13:48.679 --> 0:13:50.960 remember we talked a little bit about a three D 0:13:51.080 --> 0:13:54.160 printed cast where it has that kind of look almost 0:13:54.200 --> 0:13:57.120 like a fish net kind of a pattern. Yeah, the 0:13:57.160 --> 0:13:59.280 reason for that fish net pattern, there are a few 0:13:59.280 --> 0:14:01.920 of them. One is to allow you to have a 0:14:01.960 --> 0:14:07.440 cast that's not all gammy and exactly that kind of thing. 0:14:07.720 --> 0:14:09.800 But another was the idea of using it to give 0:14:09.840 --> 0:14:14.840 access to doctors to put UH transmitters, ultrasonic transmitters up 0:14:14.880 --> 0:14:18.840 against your skin so that you could have those ultrasonic 0:14:18.880 --> 0:14:22.320 frequencies stimulate your bones so they knit more quickly. It 0:14:22.360 --> 0:14:27.480 is supposed to facilitate that. However, that being said, there 0:14:27.520 --> 0:14:32.160 have been several studies with conflicting results about whether or 0:14:32.200 --> 0:14:36.280 not this actual process is helpful or if it's no 0:14:36.480 --> 0:14:41.960 different from healing without the use of ultrasonic frequencies. So 0:14:42.080 --> 0:14:45.040 it's still questionable as to whether or not this is 0:14:45.920 --> 0:14:49.720 really useful, and if it is useful, it might be negligible. 0:14:49.760 --> 0:14:51.720 In other words, it may be useful to the point 0:14:51.760 --> 0:14:56.000 where the cost of of getting the treatment is not 0:14:56.320 --> 0:15:00.840 really you know, and it's not justified, Like the speed 0:15:00.920 --> 0:15:03.440 of the healing isn't so great as to justify that 0:15:03.560 --> 0:15:05.640 kind of expense when you could be using that equipment 0:15:05.640 --> 0:15:08.520 for something else. So there's still some question about it. 0:15:08.560 --> 0:15:11.880 But that's an example of using technology to try and 0:15:11.960 --> 0:15:15.640 help people heal more rapidly than they otherwise would. But 0:15:16.560 --> 0:15:18.920 it doesn't look like we have anything on the table 0:15:19.040 --> 0:15:21.520 right now that's going to get us anywhere near. You know. 0:15:21.680 --> 0:15:24.400 Wolverine is kind of like, oh, I got shot thirty 0:15:24.440 --> 0:15:29.160 seconds ago, and now I'm okay, yeah the Hollywood, Uh 0:15:29.320 --> 0:15:32.040 I got shot, But I am still fully capable of 0:15:32.080 --> 0:15:34.760 carrying out my part in this plot until I am 0:15:34.800 --> 0:15:38.480 no longer relevant. That doesn't work so much. You know, 0:15:39.200 --> 0:15:43.280 probably never is when that will happen. I'm I'm guessing never. 0:15:43.600 --> 0:15:46.400 I try to maintain my relevance as much as possible 0:15:46.480 --> 0:15:49.240 just in case it ever does kick in, so that 0:15:49.280 --> 0:15:51.000 they don't get rid of me too quickly. I think 0:15:51.040 --> 0:15:54.840 shielding is going to be the more important tech technological 0:15:55.360 --> 0:15:58.600 system there, but that's probably a whole other episode. Okay, 0:15:58.640 --> 0:16:01.960 So the realistic future, sman, if we can believe that 0:16:02.080 --> 0:16:06.360 maybe they will get this regenerative power going, is that 0:16:06.480 --> 0:16:09.360 you have a superhero who can run into the enemy base, 0:16:10.040 --> 0:16:12.560 get her arm cut off in the midst of a fight, 0:16:12.800 --> 0:16:15.080 and then retreat and then grow a new arm in 0:16:15.160 --> 0:16:19.000 some months. Maybe maybe what we're thinking, I think I 0:16:19.040 --> 0:16:22.400 think that's kind of the hope, the ultimate hope is 0:16:22.560 --> 0:16:24.280 I mean, I mean, no, and it sound it does 0:16:24.320 --> 0:16:27.880 sound incredibly silly, but but how how incredible would it 0:16:27.920 --> 0:16:31.800 be to to have victims of industrial accidents or car 0:16:31.840 --> 0:16:37.200 accidents or military accidents to be able to regain I mean, 0:16:37.240 --> 0:16:39.720 I mean it's hard for us, being h you know, 0:16:40.920 --> 0:16:44.480 more or less able bodied humans, to imagine how completely 0:16:44.600 --> 0:16:48.000 life destructive that would be. Yeah. Sure, I mean, if 0:16:48.000 --> 0:16:51.320 we're talking about it as real medical potential, that's totally 0:16:51.440 --> 0:16:55.920 different thing. But is it a superpower? Comparing comparing it 0:16:55.960 --> 0:16:58.960 to Wolverine's healing factor, it would be you know, it's 0:16:59.000 --> 0:17:02.200 kind of like can I lift five hundred pounds? Well, 0:17:02.240 --> 0:17:04.240 not all at once, but if you give me enough time, 0:17:04.280 --> 0:17:07.080 I can lift the equivalent of five hundred pounds. That's 0:17:07.119 --> 0:17:10.320 not exactly a superpower. That's just a normal power. So 0:17:10.359 --> 0:17:13.040 the question is can we get this accelerated healing as 0:17:13.080 --> 0:17:15.560 a normal power. It's still not going to be the 0:17:15.760 --> 0:17:19.920 crazy thing we see with Wolverine where practically instantaneously he's 0:17:19.960 --> 0:17:22.840 able to heal, you know, at least superficial wounds. Are 0:17:22.880 --> 0:17:25.800 you trying to arm wrestle me, Jonathan, No, I would 0:17:25.800 --> 0:17:28.280 never try to arm wrestle you. Okay, okay, let's move 0:17:28.280 --> 0:17:31.919 on to the next thing. Adamantium skeleton. Well, obviously this 0:17:32.000 --> 0:17:33.840 is a no go because if if you can't have 0:17:33.880 --> 0:17:37.480 wolverine healing, you can't have an adamantium skeleton skeleton. Also, 0:17:37.520 --> 0:17:40.120 I don't think adamantium exists. I was about to say, 0:17:40.359 --> 0:17:43.600 you would have to invent adamantium first. I would want 0:17:43.680 --> 0:17:47.400 vibranium anyway. Well, but is there anything like this? Can 0:17:47.440 --> 0:17:51.640 we reinforce the human skeleton? Well, we actually have some 0:17:52.840 --> 0:17:57.880 examples of grafting other materials onto bone structure. UM. With 0:17:57.920 --> 0:18:01.080 some bone fracture, surgeons can choose is to perform a 0:18:01.119 --> 0:18:05.880 bone graft, uh, which would mean taking bone from you 0:18:06.119 --> 0:18:09.359 and replacing another part of your bone structure. But they 0:18:09.359 --> 0:18:12.680 could also do something that's called a zeno graft, which 0:18:12.720 --> 0:18:16.359 means they would actually take material from a totally different species, 0:18:16.440 --> 0:18:21.440 like coral. Now, coral is biocompatible with human tissue. However, 0:18:21.720 --> 0:18:25.320 coral normally would not be strong enough support human weight 0:18:25.520 --> 0:18:29.240 or human stresses. So you couldn't just replace a bone 0:18:29.280 --> 0:18:32.520 with coral and expected to be work, you know, to 0:18:32.560 --> 0:18:35.639 work the way your bone used to work. But you 0:18:35.720 --> 0:18:39.080 can process that coral so that's strong enough to withstand 0:18:39.119 --> 0:18:41.520 the same stress as that a typical human bone would. 0:18:42.160 --> 0:18:44.919 And uh, and so we there's actually, in fact, my 0:18:44.960 --> 0:18:50.800 wife knew a teacher who had this done with an eye. Uh, 0:18:50.840 --> 0:18:54.679 in fact, had an eye surgically implanted. That was a 0:18:54.760 --> 0:18:58.080 coral I. So it was it was permanently fixed into 0:18:58.080 --> 0:19:01.879 his orbital bone. Yeah, she's got some great stories about 0:19:01.880 --> 0:19:04.679 this guy, like the time his his glass eye before 0:19:04.680 --> 0:19:08.000 he got the coral implant popped out of a basketball 0:19:08.080 --> 0:19:13.200 game and caused hilarity to ensue. She's got some great 0:19:13.200 --> 0:19:17.119 stories about uh and any rate. Uh. We also have 0:19:17.280 --> 0:19:21.080 plenty of examples of surgeons using metal plates and screws 0:19:21.080 --> 0:19:24.080 and bolts and things in order to help n help 0:19:24.160 --> 0:19:27.720 hold bones together, probably so they knit together. But again, 0:19:27.800 --> 0:19:30.959 this is a case of helping bones heal. It's not 0:19:31.080 --> 0:19:34.720 a case of reinforcing the bones or replacing them. And 0:19:34.720 --> 0:19:38.119 and no, ideally you remove those pieces as soon as 0:19:38.160 --> 0:19:40.720 the bones are healthy. Right well, And I want to 0:19:40.760 --> 0:19:43.840 bring up another concern, which is that the bones in 0:19:43.920 --> 0:19:47.360 your body are not just like rocks in there. They're 0:19:47.440 --> 0:19:51.679 they're dynamic, living tissues that do things within your body. 0:19:52.160 --> 0:19:54.840 You know, your bones have marrow in them that I 0:19:54.840 --> 0:19:58.760 believe they manufacture red blood cells right, and bones cells 0:19:58.800 --> 0:20:03.080 themselves are created and destroyed in a natural process throughout 0:20:03.119 --> 0:20:06.120 the body. There that you know, the bone creation cells 0:20:06.280 --> 0:20:09.520 and the bone destruction cells, the osteoblasts and the osteoclast. 0:20:10.119 --> 0:20:13.160 It's not just like you could stick any hard substance 0:20:13.200 --> 0:20:15.120 in your body where the bone should be and you'll 0:20:15.160 --> 0:20:17.200 be good to go. Yeah, right right, And you wouldn't 0:20:17.200 --> 0:20:20.680 really want to entirely coat your bone and anything, even 0:20:20.680 --> 0:20:24.359 if that were possible from a from a physiological standpoint, 0:20:24.400 --> 0:20:27.560 because again, your your bones are doing stuff. Um, they're 0:20:27.600 --> 0:20:30.840 interacting with other cells in your body and other substances 0:20:30.960 --> 0:20:33.159 and so if if you coated them, it would be 0:20:33.200 --> 0:20:38.080 like wrapping plastic wrap around your hand permanently um, which 0:20:38.080 --> 0:20:40.199 wouldn't really be too much fun. Not to mention the 0:20:40.200 --> 0:20:43.840 fact that if you were truly coding every every surface 0:20:43.920 --> 0:20:47.159 of your bones with something else, you would have to 0:20:47.440 --> 0:20:52.560 at some point remove tendons from the bones, like you 0:20:52.560 --> 0:20:55.320 would have to essentially detach all the muscles then reattach 0:20:55.359 --> 0:20:57.720 all the muscles to get every surface of the bone 0:20:57.800 --> 0:21:02.800 coated with this stuff. So it's it's it's problematic. It's 0:21:02.840 --> 0:21:05.200 not a good plan. I think I think that this one. 0:21:06.119 --> 0:21:08.879 I I do think that it's potentially possible. Again, you 0:21:08.880 --> 0:21:12.240 can see in some of the prosthetic research that's being done, 0:21:12.520 --> 0:21:15.480 and and even in some of the three D printing 0:21:16.200 --> 0:21:20.400 bone kind of research that's being done. You know, it's 0:21:20.400 --> 0:21:28.640 it's possible to maybe enforce our bones with stronger stuff. Maybe. Yeah, 0:21:28.680 --> 0:21:31.360 So this this one is at least for if we're 0:21:31.359 --> 0:21:33.919 talking about superpowers. I don't think anyone's going to get 0:21:33.920 --> 0:21:38.959 a full skeleton upgrade anytime soon. I hope not, especially 0:21:38.960 --> 0:21:42.960 without factor. Okay, well, what about the marquee event the clause? 0:21:43.720 --> 0:21:46.800 Oh well, first of all, it's totally possible, but it 0:21:46.840 --> 0:21:49.880 won't make this nick sound. That's the problem is that 0:21:50.000 --> 0:21:52.639 it's well, then what's the point while that's at the 0:21:52.720 --> 0:21:57.080 end of the claw? Okay, no, all right, when you 0:21:57.200 --> 0:22:01.200 when we're being serious here about installing clause clearly anything 0:22:01.240 --> 0:22:03.639 that would allow us to be able to extend and 0:22:03.640 --> 0:22:06.680 retract them. You guys are sorry. Just an image of 0:22:07.000 --> 0:22:09.560 I'm sure this has been done before, this joke has 0:22:09.560 --> 0:22:12.679 happened somewhere in the comics, but of of Wolverine working 0:22:12.680 --> 0:22:15.719 in a kitchen somewhere, like being the line cook, chopping 0:22:15.720 --> 0:22:20.200 all the vegetables, and it's just basically ramming his knuckles 0:22:20.240 --> 0:22:22.560 up and down on the table. You know, for a Canadian, 0:22:22.600 --> 0:22:26.720 he's really not that polite at any rate. So, uh, 0:22:26.760 --> 0:22:30.720 the clause being able to have claws installed in your 0:22:30.880 --> 0:22:35.639 arms somewhat tricky, I would imagine, you know, well, anytime 0:22:35.640 --> 0:22:41.119 that you're changing your muscular skeletal system. Yeah, well, okay, 0:22:41.119 --> 0:22:45.520 what about just some attachable clause. Yeah, that that's actually 0:22:45.560 --> 0:22:49.639 been done. There's a guy named Colin Furs or Furs, 0:22:49.840 --> 0:22:54.080 who is a YouTube personality, and he builds crazy stuff, 0:22:54.160 --> 0:22:57.520 like not just stuff that relates back to superheroes, but 0:22:57.600 --> 0:23:03.040 all sorts of bonkers stuff, and he created retractable wolverine 0:23:03.040 --> 0:23:05.560 claws that are powered by an air compressor. So he 0:23:05.600 --> 0:23:07.960 actually has to wear a big backpack in order to 0:23:07.960 --> 0:23:09.679 have these work. And then he has tubes that go 0:23:09.760 --> 0:23:12.639 from the backpack to the um to the two clause 0:23:12.720 --> 0:23:15.440 systems that are worn on the backs of his forearms. Right, 0:23:15.440 --> 0:23:17.640 so he straps these things onto the backs of his arms. 0:23:18.760 --> 0:23:22.760 He has a trigger. Pushing the trigger releases the air 0:23:22.760 --> 0:23:26.879 pressure that allows the clause to extend. He has a 0:23:26.920 --> 0:23:31.160 second trigger or release or whatever where it cuts off 0:23:31.200 --> 0:23:34.000 that supply of the clause retract So I guess they're 0:23:34.000 --> 0:23:36.720 on a spring system. He doesn't actually show how he 0:23:36.800 --> 0:23:40.360 built it. He just demonstrates them working, and he cackles 0:23:40.400 --> 0:23:44.040 a lot, as he should. If I had working retractable 0:23:44.040 --> 0:23:46.639 wolverine claws trapped to my arms, I would not stop 0:23:46.680 --> 0:23:50.320 cackling for days. You already cackle a decent amat and 0:23:50.400 --> 0:23:53.680 I don't even have grads. This is what I'm saying. 0:23:53.680 --> 0:23:56.800 There'd be at least a two increase in cackling on 0:23:56.840 --> 0:24:01.880 my part. So anyway, Science his his YouTube videos are amazing, 0:24:02.359 --> 0:24:05.640