Futuristic medicine is here.
A paralyzed man was able to move his own arm using electrodes implanted in his brain and arm. From the Sky News story:
Bill Kochevar, 56, was paralysed below his shoulders in a cycling accident eight years ago but can now grasp and lift objects after having two pill-sized electrodes implanted in his brain.
The electrodes record the activity of brain neurons to generate signals that tell another device to stimulate muscles in the paralysed limb.
During trials held at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, Mr Kochevar raised a mug of water to his lips and drank from a straw… Mr Kochevar, from Cleveland, said…”For somebody who’s been injured eight years and couldn’t move, being able to move just that little bit is awesome to me.”
Fabulous!
This wonderful success story required researchers engaging in what I call the “grim good” of animal research, including conducting experiments on monkeys over many years to test safety and methodology.
So to those animal rights activists who continually lie by claiming we receive no material benefit from research on monkeys and other animals, and to the more radical among them who harass and threaten researchers and their families for conducting experiments using monkeys, mice, rats, and other animals in order to help suffering mankind: Pfffft!