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This article does a good job of outlining the challenges faced: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230217-the-61-year-long-search-for-artificial-hearts https:

This article does a good job of outlining the challenges faced: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230217-the-61-year-long-search-for-artificial-hearts https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230217-the-61-year-long... From the outside, it looks like a race between figuring out the biocompatibility and power issues for total artificial hearts vs. figuring out the immunological issues for xenografts (pig hearts, mostly). If I had to put money on it, I’d bet that the xenografts win. It doesn’t seem like we’ve made huge strides toward solving the power and durability requirements of total artificial hearts, while immunology advances are happening rapidly. Exciting times, nonetheless.

iancmceachern 2y ago
Totally, I've been following that space closely as well. Amazing times indeed, we are seeing xenografts and artificial organs in use.
TaylorAlexander 2y ago
Would be nice if a pig didn’t have to die to save a human though. This is not something everyone cares about but some people (like me) do care. Hopefully some day we can advance the technology enough with artificial solutions.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- didgeoridoo 2y ago
  This is honestly a pretty niche concern. Even most religions that strictly forbid eating pork make an exception if a human’s life is at stake. Your best bet would probably be in advocating for the pigs to be engineered to prevent cortical development, ensuring they don’t become anything beyond twitching, unconscious organ bags. In many ways I think people would find this more disturbing, though.
  - gregoryl 2y ago
    Something like 6% to 10% of the population is vegan, a bit more than niche!
    - HPsquared 2y ago
      That sounds high. Are we talking about India here?
      - JumpCrisscross 2y ago
        > That sounds high. Are we talking about India here? It sounds high even for India. About 40% of Indians are vegetarian, a third if we exclude those who eat eggs [1]. The part of the country where vegetarianism is most rampant, the North, is also the highest dairy-consuming part of the country [2]. In any case, while medical veganism is something to think about, it's not worth prioritising until after we have reliable artificial organs. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism_by_country#India https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism_by_country#India [2] https://theprint.in/pageturner/excerpt/there-is-a-scientific-reason-why-north-indians-consume-so-much-dairy/168547/ https://theprint.in/pageturner/excerpt/there-is-a-scientific...
        bluescrn 2y ago
        It kind of feels like activists have been trying to erase the concept of vegetarianism/pescatarianism in recent years while pushing full-on veganism. That's probably not a good move if we want to achieve a pragmatic reduction in meat consumption to help reduce related CO2 emissions. A smaller step is a much easier sell.
        shiroiushi 2y ago
        >About 40% of Indians are vegetarian, a third if we exclude those who eat eggs Which you should not, since eating eggs does not make a person a non-vegetarian. The only thing that makes a person a vegetarian is not eating animal flesh. Eggs and dairy are fair game; it's only vegans who push it farther and forbid those. This is basic stuff; has someone been trying to redefine "vegetarianism" recently?
- toomuchtodo 2y ago
  Growing a human heart from scratch sounds like the ultimate bioengineering X prize. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/news/2023/mini-hearts-dish-big-win-cardiac-research https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/news/2023/mini-hearts-dish-big-win... https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-25329-5 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-25329-5 https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2022/03/building-heart-one-layer-time https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2022/03/building-heart-one...
- fuzzfactor 2y ago
  >Would be nice if a pig didn’t have to die Something a bacon lover never said ever . . .
  - TaylorAlexander 2y ago
    tbh I bet plenty of bacon lovers feel bad that a sweet intelligent animal dies to make their meal, and if a perfect copy of bacon could be made without it I bet a good number of them would be happy to switch to it.
    - fuzzfactor 2y ago
      This does seem like a more "palatable" alternative and there should be excellent opportunity for the lab-grown pork to have a place on the table. Would seem less cruel to a lot of people I would think.
  - brnt 2y ago
    This bacon lover has seen how pigs are treated in industrial facilities and has lost all appetite. I rarely buy it, from a local place whose pigs are slaughtered not by low wage people in a dark slaughterhouse that must meet quotas and have very disturbing ideas of fun.
    - fuzzfactor 2y ago
      I do know what you mean. I was raised as a pork lover but did stop as a teenager on my own a couple years before I quit beef. I think that did have a positive effect on my young health in the interim, but eventually everything was replaced by more comprehensive plant-based alternatives. Still love the smell of bacon though.

iancmceachern 2y ago

Totally, I've been following that space closely as well. Amazing times indeed, we are seeing xenografts and artificial organs in use.

TaylorAlexander 2y ago

Would be nice if a pig didn’t have to die to save a human though. This is not something everyone cares about but some people (like me) do care. Hopefully some day we can advance the technology enough with artificial solutions.

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
didgeoridoo 2y ago
This is honestly a pretty niche concern. Even most religions that strictly forbid eating pork make an exception if a human’s life is at stake. Your best bet would probably be in advocating for the pigs to be engineered to prevent cortical development, ensuring they don’t become anything beyond twitching, unconscious organ bags. In many ways I think people would find this more disturbing, though.
- gregoryl 2y ago
  Something like 6% to 10% of the population is vegan, a bit more than niche!
  - HPsquared 2y ago
    That sounds high. Are we talking about India here?
    - JumpCrisscross 2y ago
      > That sounds high. Are we talking about India here? It sounds high even for India. About 40% of Indians are vegetarian, a third if we exclude those who eat eggs [1]. The part of the country where vegetarianism is most rampant, the North, is also the highest dairy-consuming part of the country [2]. In any case, while medical veganism is something to think about, it's not worth prioritising until after we have reliable artificial organs. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism_by_country#India https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism_by_country#India [2] https://theprint.in/pageturner/excerpt/there-is-a-scientific-reason-why-north-indians-consume-so-much-dairy/168547/ https://theprint.in/pageturner/excerpt/there-is-a-scientific...
      - bluescrn 2y ago
        It kind of feels like activists have been trying to erase the concept of vegetarianism/pescatarianism in recent years while pushing full-on veganism. That's probably not a good move if we want to achieve a pragmatic reduction in meat consumption to help reduce related CO2 emissions. A smaller step is a much easier sell.
      - shiroiushi 2y ago
        >About 40% of Indians are vegetarian, a third if we exclude those who eat eggs Which you should not, since eating eggs does not make a person a non-vegetarian. The only thing that makes a person a vegetarian is not eating animal flesh. Eggs and dairy are fair game; it's only vegans who push it farther and forbid those. This is basic stuff; has someone been trying to redefine "vegetarianism" recently?
toomuchtodo 2y ago
Growing a human heart from scratch sounds like the ultimate bioengineering X prize. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/news/2023/mini-hearts-dish-big-win-cardiac-research https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/news/2023/mini-hearts-dish-big-win... https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-25329-5 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-25329-5 https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2022/03/building-heart-one-layer-time https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2022/03/building-heart-one...
fuzzfactor 2y ago
>Would be nice if a pig didn’t have to die Something a bacon lover never said ever . . .
- TaylorAlexander 2y ago
  tbh I bet plenty of bacon lovers feel bad that a sweet intelligent animal dies to make their meal, and if a perfect copy of bacon could be made without it I bet a good number of them would be happy to switch to it.
  - fuzzfactor 2y ago
    This does seem like a more "palatable" alternative and there should be excellent opportunity for the lab-grown pork to have a place on the table. Would seem less cruel to a lot of people I would think.
- brnt 2y ago
  This bacon lover has seen how pigs are treated in industrial facilities and has lost all appetite. I rarely buy it, from a local place whose pigs are slaughtered not by low wage people in a dark slaughterhouse that must meet quotas and have very disturbing ideas of fun.
  - fuzzfactor 2y ago
    I do know what you mean. I was raised as a pork lover but did stop as a teenager on my own a couple years before I quit beef. I think that did have a positive effect on my young health in the interim, but eventually everything was replaced by more comprehensive plant-based alternatives. Still love the smell of bacon though.