Zaphod's extra head too?

Title says it all, really.

Mine's the one with the three arms.

...three words dedicated to DARPA's description? I'm disappointed El Reg, you're slipping!

Sounds interesting. If it works on primates, we might me able to grow Gordon Brown a brain at long last.

...doesn't it take about 15 - 20 years to grow an adult sized arm? I think I'd rather have the steam one...

...welcome our new, multi-limbed overlords.

Hah!

I always wanted to be the first with one of these.

Sad, eh?

This may be bigger than it looks

"reprogramming mouse and human skin cells to act more like stem cells"

Which implies that they have found a way to regress the cells to an earlier stage of their development, winding back the cellular control tape and restarting it (for those of a certain generation)

But getting the right number of cells to differentiate into the various types needed and following the right growth paths may be a bit challenging.

The implications are staggering.

Presumably in order to test these theories they're getting their limbs cut off to test the regrowth system.

from what I can see its not an ability, its a process they put someone through to heal the affected area (I'm thinking floating in a tank of liquid rich in whatever they use to get your cells to grow you new stuff) so they would be able to torture someone for decades only if they had the tank of goo on hand and didnt mind spending months waiting on them growing new parts.....

regardless sounds awesome. could the same process heal scars or torn tendons other than just cuts / missing limbs I wonder?

if they can find a way to make the patient's own cells behave like stem cells then great, time to start curing alzhiemer's etall..... (ye i know its spelt wrong)

spam mail offering use of this technique to "gain several inches"?

[Homer's arms are stuck in pair of vending machines]

Repairman: Homer, there's no easy way to tell you this: I'm afraid I'm gonna have to saw your arms off.

Homer: They'll grow back, right?

Repairman: Oh... yeah.

[He cranks up the rotary saw and moves it toward Homer's arm... ]

Repairman: Wait a minute. Homer, are you just holding on to the can?

Homer: Your point being...?

Any fool knows the best way to regenerate living membrane is to subject it to an electrical charge,

first demonstrated by Jon Pertwee in 1966, and explained in this world-changing scientific article,

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119145644/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0.

While re-wiring the house I electrocuted myself twice and now there's three of me. We soon made mincemeat of that electrical job.

...that's my ski-boxing sorted...

The applications of this tech in the highly lucrative knob enhancement business have the potential to be, quite literally, endless.

No, I am not wearing a very long pink scarf under my coat.....

If not, it won't work. Although Admiral Hayes seems to think teething after receiving the Philips treatment might be a bit of a bother.