Would you like to be immortal? Maybe not immortality, but I think most people would like to at least heal faster. I guess that there is hardly anyone who would not want to have the ability to heal physical damage in a short time, or even reverse the damage that seems impossible to heal.
Of course, comics, books, and movies do not lag behind this dream. The manga/anime/movie that interests me the most about regeneration and immortality is Ajin.
Ajin is a manga series drawn by Gamon Sakurai. Ajin: Demi-Human, as the name suggests, is about half-human, half-immortals. Ajins first appear in Africa 17 years before the story begins. After their discovery, the treatment of every supernatural hero is also done to this race and they are shown as a threat to humanity. Of course, because of this getting flagged as a threat, whenever Ajin is detected, they are caught and kept under surveillance. Detained Ajins are actually subjected to various experiments, and these experiments are tantamount to torture.
There are about forty-seven Ajins known. Apart from these, some are presumed to be hiding and do not even know that they are Ajin. For example, Kei Nagai.
The protagonist of our story, Kei Nagai, is a hardworking student who wants to become a doctor in order to treat his sister. He is unaware that he is an Ajin until his car accident.
So, what are the characteristics of Ajin? In appearance, they are no different from a normal person. Even when they are injured, they do not heal faster than normal. However, if they die, they can come back to life undamaged, like resetting an electronic device. And this regeneration takes only seconds. It's actually a little scary to have to kill yourself first in order to get better as soon as possible. Still, it seems like a situation that can be taken for granted for situations that are much more difficult to heal. For the Ajins of course. (Don't try at home!)
Ajin's abilities are not limited to this. Ajin can control entities called Black Ghosts or Invisible Black Matter (IBM). These ghosts, which cannot be seen by non-Ajins, can be very functional right-handers, especially in conflicts with another Ajin. While they can normally only be activated by Ajin's control, Kei's ghost is a bit special in this regard. Kei's black ghost can move independently of him. Of course, this has various advantages for him, but that's not our topic for now.
We have two elements to explain in this story. The immortal Ajin race, one of whom dies and returns intact… The other is the Black Ghost element that splits from Ajin and is under his control. Let's see if we can make the Ajin race or something similar to humans.
Since resurrection is a bit too fantastic for now, I'm planning to focus on rapid regeneration rather than returning to life after a complete death. Feel free to share your ideas on the subject.
Is it possible for a person to gain the ability to rejuvenate quickly and regenerate a lost limb?
A skill that is mentioned a lot not only in Ajin but also in Marvel and DC comics is 'rapid regeneration'. For example, one of the abilities that Anti-Hero Deadpool gained as a result of experiments is regeneration. Or the character of Dr. Aldrich Killian, mentioned in the Iron Man comics, develops a kind of virus that rewrites the genetic code to produce superhumans, and this virus gives the person strength, speed, stamina, and fire-breathing abilities, as well as rapid regeneration... Another example is from Spider-Man. Curt Connors, a scientist mentioned in the Spider-Man comics, injects himself with a serum produced based on lizard DNA and causes his severed arm to regrow. At the same time, he transforms into a gigantic human-lizard hybrid being.
As you can see, 'regeneration' is a very popular topic. And it's a subject that has been researched a lot, not only in the comics or movie worlds but also in the scientific world. For example, there are studies inspired by the re-growth of the lizard's severed tail, such as Curt Connors from Spider-Man. Let's see what the world of science will give us on this subject.
There are some creatures with advanced regeneration properties such as lizards, starfish, and flatworms. So, is it possible to unravel the secret behind this ability and make them usable by humans?
The healing abilities of these species were first discovered in 1740 when Abraham Trembley found that freshwater organisms regenerate the severed heads. Later, these organisms were named Hydra, after the mythical creature in Greek mythology, who has multiple heads. Since then, more regenerative creatures have been discovered.
Of course, just because they have amazing regeneration properties, they cannot be used in experiments. For example, although the salamander may seem like a suitable candidate for experiments, there are obstacles such as the regeneration process takes months and the possibility of having ten times the human DNA. So far, scientists have not found a way to add ‘extrinsic genes' to the salamander's genes. Of course, that doesn't mean we can't be inspired by them.
Organ depot blastema…
In salamanders, after injury, nerve cells begin to regenerate, while muscle and connective tissue turn into an immature mass called blastema. This formation is like a warehouse that allows organs to regenerate. They first form a miniature version of the organ and then reach its normal size.
Perhaps one of the biggest problems we can face when it comes to regeneration is the risk of cancer. We know that cancer is cells that proliferate uncontrollably. We want cells to multiply rapidly to form an organ. Therefore, it is inevitable for the proliferation to become uncontrollable. Checkpoints, which naturally prevent the uncontrolled growth of tumors in our body, may prevent their formation in the blastema.
When we look at the general picture, we can think that the regeneration ability of the mammal class is not sufficiently developed. But not all mammals fail at regeneration as much as we think.
University of Kentucky biologist Ashley W. Seifert discovers that African spiny shrews molt their skin to get rid of their excess weight when escaping from predators. It is determined that these lost areas were renewed in a very short time. It is even seen that they form blastema in the ear area. This gives us some hope for the regenerative abilities of mammals.
Can sharks guide us to the regeneration of human teeth?
Sharks may also be among the living beings that guide us on the path of regeneration. Maybe not for an organ, but a hope for tooth loss… How?
Did you know that sharks can constantly replace their lost teeth?
In sharks that have lost at least 30 000 teeth during their lifetime, these losses are replaced after a while. Not by having dental fillings as we do… They can regenerate the same natural tooth over and over again.
University of Sheffield Dr. Garth Fraser and colleagues have identified a network of genes responsible for tooth development and lifelong tooth regeneration in sharks. They say that because a similar gene exists in humans, it could help in the development of new dental treatments. Imagine if the 'gene' in question was modified... We would never have to fear tooth loss again.
Among all the creatures, don’t we have any promising talents on our own? Of course, we do.
We have some ingenuity in regeneration. For example, if we have lost a part of our liver due to disease, our body can regenerate the lost part. The potential of our skin to renew itself in injuries is not underestimated. But why can't we do more? It wouldn't be bad if it could renew itself in other organs as the liver does. Maybe even our liver is proof that we have the regenerative ability we so crave. Maybe we cannot use it just because it is not active in every cell. Why not?
Of course, animal regeneration isn't the only resource that's been explored in the search for ways to regenerate organs. In addition, working areas such as stem cells and genetic engineering aim to create organs by using stem cells in a laboratory environment. Of course, creating organs in the laboratory environment is not what we are looking for at the moment. Our current goal is to be able to produce it directly on our own. However, lab-organs can also guide us on this path. For example, in reprogramming cells…
Can cells be reprogrammed to regenerate our bodies?
The human body consists of approximately 37 trillion cells, and 200 different types of cells make up many different tissues and organs. There is one of these cell types, which is an expert in regeneration and can transform into other cells. Stem cell… Embryonic stem cell, which is one of many different types of stem cells, is known to be pluripotent. What does pluripotent mean? It means that a cell with this feature can transform into all cell types.
Human embryonic cells can be isolated from embryos, but it is ethically controversial as the embryos die in the process. To overcome this problem, human cells were transformed into pluripotent cells so that they behave like embryonic cells. These cells are called induced pluripotent stem cells.
In 2006, Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University took things a little further and suggested that by adding four genes (Yamanaka Factors) to adult mouse cells, cells similar to embryonic stem cells could be obtained. In 2007, his work was successful.
In the latest studies in the field of induced pluripotent stem cells, the same processes can now be performed without the need for the Yamanaka factor. Naturally existing but inactive factors can be activated with the gene editing technology CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats/ DNA sequences).
Let's say we managed to modify the stem cells and somehow create a blastema. Now our severed limbs can regrow, our wounds can heal quickly… Well, are we done? No. We still have one more step to take to become Ajin or to have Ajin-like characteristics. Black Ghost…
Controllable ghost…
Are ghosts real? Even if it's real, can it be controlled? Or can we split a shadow out of ourselves? I don't know the answer to these questions. However, I have a different idea to create a soldier similar to Ajin's black ghost. Maybe not a ghost or a shadow… But another method could be used, which I think is the most plausible and scientifically explainable. Robots that can be used with brain waves…
This idea came to my mind from the movie, which is an adaptation of another comic book. Those who watch (or read) Iron Man know that there is an artificial intelligence named Jarvis, with whom the Tony Star character is in constant communication. With this artificial intelligence, Tony Stark can call his robots or his costume whenever he needs it. At the same time, it can control these robots. Don't you think it looks a lot like a black ghost...
Based on this idea, I first researched whether we could make robots move with brain waves. And of course, the answer I found was 'yes'.
A person can instruct the robot using hand gestures through brain sensors developed in a study conducted at the MIT Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL). CSAIL director Daniela Rus states that this sensor responds almost instantly.
Normally, in robot-human interactions that have been attempted so far, the brain had to learn how to think to use sensors. However, in this newly implemented system, there is no need for any training process.
With the help of electrodes placed on the scalp and forehead, the brain and muscle movements of the person are examined. In this way, the natural reactions of the person are given meaning. The findings contribute to the development of robot-human communication, just like communication with another human.
We have a moving robot under our control. Now it's left to turn him into a kind of ghost. How about making an invisible robot?
Ghost Robot
When it comes to invisibility, the first thing that comes to mind should be light. Because in order for us to see an object, first of all, light must fall on it and the light reflected from the object must reach our eyes. When light is mentioned, terms such as electromagnetic spectrum and electromagnetic radiation come to mind.
.jpg "Could Ajin Race Be Real?")
As you may remember from physics lectures, the electromagnetic spectrum is a concept that expresses electromagnetic radiation and the location of different radiation derivatives according to their wavelengths or frequencies. There is a limit to the wavelengths that the human eye can detect. It only detects a range of 360-700 nm, which is called visible light. Visible light is separated according to its wavelengths. These intervals are perceived by the human eye as 'colors'. For example, when sunlight hits a blue car, the car reflects light at the blue light frequency and absorbs all other different frequency colors. Thus, our eyes perceive the blue color of the car.
Let's go back to our own story. If we cover our robot, which we can control with our mind, with a substance that provides invisibility with light games, we will get a loyal warrior who is invisible just like Ajin's black ghost.
In short, even if we can't be a hundred percent pure Ajin, we can have similar features with an invisible robot and rapid healing ability that we can obtain using science.
Would you like to be an Ajin, too? Do you have any other ideas to make Ajin real? I would be very happy if you share your ideas with me.
Resources
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20130307-will-we-ever-regenerate-limbs
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/science/how-human-cells-can-be-reprogrammed-to-renew-our-bodies-1.3584562
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/306583#Genes-likely-responsible-for-all-vertebrate-teeth,-including-humans
http://news.mit.edu/2018/how-to-control-robots-with-brainwaves-hand-gestures-mit-csail-0620
https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-think-they-ve-found-a-way-to-make-an-object-invisible-from-every-angle
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