The Political Hat

     Transplants from one living creature to another are well known and save countless lives.   Now, the ability to transplant braincells has become real.

“First, we prepared astrocyte cultures in petri dishes by extracting immature astrocytes from the cerebral cortex of newborn mice and expanding the cell population. To track the development of transplanted astrocytes following their delivery to recipient mice, we used astrocytes from genetically modified mice in which astrocytes glow red, and they are transplanted into the brain of mice where astrocytes glow green.

“We found that the transplanted astrocytes could survive for up to one year after transplantation, developing normally and integrating into the recipient brain just like the native astrocytes, with just minor differences.

“Astrocytes depend on their capability to sense signals and exchange materials within the brain environment through molecules such as receptors and ion channels located on their cell surface. Transplanted astrocytes displayed comparable numbers of such receptors and channels and possessed similar sizes and complexity when compared to native astrocytes.

“Transplanted astrocytes do appear to take some time to catch up to and perfectly match astrocytes in the recipient mice in terms of the production of these receptors and ion channels.”

     Many potential benefits are touted, including less important ones like these:

“In recent years, increasing studies have been conducted to investigate the potential of astrocyte transplantation. Similar to our findings, transplanted astrocytes have been found to form normal contacts with neuronal synapses and are functioning normally. Astrocyte transplantation has also been shown to promote brain plasticity and regeneration following injury and in different animal models of neurological diseases.

“Therefore, it presents a promising and exciting strategy to treat neurological diseases. By answering principle questions regarding how transplanted astrocytes integrate in the host, our research can support the development of more effective cell therapies that can improve the quality of life of patients.”

     The real benefit though, comes from the potential that your mad-science endorsing author has repeatedly highlighted and championed: The creation of intelligent catgirls suitable for domestic adoption!

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     One of the fathers of A.I. believes that artificial intelligence as we know it is innately limited and could not even measure up to a pet, such as a kitty cat.

“Yann LeCun helped give birth to today’s artificial-intelligence boom. But he thinks many experts are exaggerating its power and peril, and he wants people to know it.

“…

“LeCun thinks that today’s AI models, while useful, are far from rivaling the intelligence of our pets, let alone us. When I ask whether we should be afraid that AIs will soon grow so powerful that they pose a hazard to us, he quips: ‘You’re going to have to pardon my French, but that’s complete B.S.’

“…

“‘In the future, when people will talk to their AI system, to their smart glasses or whatever else, we need those AI systems to basically have human-level characteristics, and really have common sense, and really behave like a human assistant,’ he says.

“But creating an AI this capable could easily take decades, he says—and today’s dominant approach won’t get us there.”

     But there is another way, and a way that your mad science endorsing author has repeatedly pointed out as the way forward: Why not combine both artificial intelligence and a pet (such as a cat)—in other words: A catgirl!

     You could have your catnip and nom it too!

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