Conference hydra::dejavu

    >I'd make the hair on my head grow at a much faster rate 
    
    One of the many side effects of cyclosporine is faster hair growth. At
    the levels that I take it I reckon that my hair grows 2 to 3 times as
    fast as it did before I used cyclosporine. It is a right nuisance as I
    must now go to the barber much more often and I sincerely wish that I
    had my normal hair growth rate back. 

    Jamie.

    
    Ruth,
    
    You might be interested in reading, "Future Of The Body", by Michael
    Murphy, founder and director of Esalen Institute in California.  It's
    absolutely fabulous.
    
    Cindy

    I wish you didn't have to go, Ruth... you're so interesting and yu come
    up with such interesting things to talk about.

    I thought that myself from time to time... they used to say that we
    were a stage in their evolution.

    I read it somewhere...

    We evolve continuously. 

    Jamie.

    Well... some of us do anyway :-) (just a joke, Jamie)

    But the rate of phenotypal change (change in the outward expression of
    the genes) varies.  The phenotype tends to be stabalized by adaptation
    to the environment (however many changes occur to the detailed
    biochemical basis underneath).  A radical change in environment would
    open up the possibility of relatively rapid change in form --
    particularly if supplemented with deliberate genetic-engineering or
    biomedical adaptation.

				    Topher

    Yes, many of the evolutionary theorists in fact settle on a strongly
    'punctuated' theory of evolution, even without genetic engineering
    and biomed technology.  There seem to be (relatively speaking) very rapid 
    bursts of adaptive change interspersed by long outwardly stable
    periods.   In contrast to the view that evolutionary adaptive change 
    happens continuously and gradually.    I think S.J. Gould is one of the
    ones that promotes the punctuated evolution theory.
    
    Homo Sapiens Sapiens been outwardly pretty stable for recorded history,
    I'd think.
    
    						kind regards,
    
    						todd

DWOVAX::STARK 
    
>    Yes, many of the evolutionary theorists in fact settle on a strongly
>    'punctuated' theory of evolution, even without genetic engineering
>    and biomed technology.  There seem to be (relatively speaking) very rapid 
>    bursts of adaptive change interspersed by long outwardly stable
>    periods.   
    
    Makes sense... explains the Cro-Magnon/Neanderthal thing...
    
>    Homo Sapiens Sapiens been outwardly pretty stable for recorded history,
>    I'd think.
    
    Not a long time in the history of the world ... 'recorded history' I
    mean...

    Genetic Engineering Request No. 42789C

    	All human offspring should have an "off" button, as well as volume
    control and a "sleep" or "pause" button.  It could be designed so that
    they would "grow out of it" by the time they leave home.

    
    
    	I would like to have a "mute" button on my body whereby
    	I may be able to shut off my hears from hearing those very 
    	annoying noises some people call "music".
    

    You have!!!
    But you have to go to a discoth�que with loud enough music for a long
    enough time and your ears will demonstrate their "automute" feature.
    But only once I'm afraid.
    
    I would certainly like some eyes with built-in zoom facilities,
    especially on holidays in Southern France.
    
    Jan
    

    Genetic Engineering Request No. 42794C
    
    	How about an easier way to turn on our own endorphins.  I mean,
    face it, recreational drugs (including that Margarita I had with
    dinner) are dangerous -- and both exercise and meditation just take up
    so much dang time.

    Genetic Engineering Request No. 52687R
    
    	How about prehensile tails?  Why did we ever give them up?

    Genetic Engineering Request No. 52687P

    	All babies should be born with skin on their backs that is
    something like Velcro.  That way we could "stick" them to surfaces and
    they'd stay put.  You'd never have to worry about the baby rolling off
    a changing table...you wouldn't have to get aching shoulders from a
    baby carrier because they'd stick to your velcro-receptive
    shirt...you'd never need a highchair because you could stick them to
    the wall during feedings.  

    Re .18

    > -< Sticky Babies >-
                              
    As far as I can tell all babies, toddlers and young children are very
    sticky already.

    Jamie.

    My two year old has some kind of unique adaptation where he oozes
    syrup for approximately three days from his pores after eating
    anything with syrup on it.  Especially in the facial area.  Seems
    to involve his hair follicles as well, and is sometimes to be
    found dripping from his outer ears.  We wash him in a tub for half an 
    hour and he still smells like syrup and oozes it from various parts
    of his body.  
    
    Current hypothesis is that it is some kind of symbiotic adaptation
    to attract animals who might take care of him in case he gets lost.
    
    					Mr. Science

    Genetic Engineering Request No. 655555Z

    	How about inflatable buns?  This way you could sit for long periods
    of time without getting a sore rear. It would be great for football
    games.  Horseback riding would be a cinch because of the extra
    shock-absorbancy.  And, if your aircraft ever went down over water,
    you'd have a built-in flotation device.

  Genetic Engineering Request No. 655555Z has been rejected.

  The design is inherently unsuitable for organisms which breath from the
  opposite end of the body to the inflation chambers.

> And, if your aircraft ever went down over water,
> you'd have a built-in flotation device.

  This would result in the modified organ remaining above the surface whilst
  the standard inhalation orifice was kept under the water, thus causing an
  unacceptably high failure rate.

  The possibility of adding an inlet (first or second depending on the model)
  adjacent to the existing exhaust was also rejected - primarily due to the
  risk of feedback but with a secondary concern regarding suffocation during
  inaccurate mating.

  Note that although there are currently no plans to proceed with this option,
  there are already prototypes which dual port the original orifice to the
  vocal cords and field tests indicate they make good managers.

    		
    
    	I would like to have a food discriminator (detector) built into
    	my mouth so that whenever food which is not compatible with
    	my organism is detected it will be automatically rejected and
    	prevented from going down into the stomach.
        

RE: .23

    Already part of the standard model -- although more effective
    discrimination might be desired.  The module responsible is called the
    "taste buds."

				    Topher

    From my spec sheet, the current model seems to have three levels of 
    molecular discriminators :
    
    1.  A very sensitive discriminator of airborne molecules, smell,
    
    2.  A less sensitive but more complex discriminator, taste,
    
    3.  An emergency mechanism for ejecting incompatible substances,
    	vomiting, and for learning to discriminate new incompatible substances,
    	nausea.
    
    	There are also various chemical and behavioral buttons that can be 
    	pushed to defeat or modify the operation of these detectors.
    
    	See your manual for details.
    
    						todd

    
    	The taste buds only determine whether something tastes good
    	or not, it does not tell you when you are eating or drinking
    	something that might be poisonous to the body.  A poison can
    	be made to taste good; food which contains toxins and undesirable
    	chemicals cannot be detected until it has been digested, by that
    	time it's too late, the harm has been done.
    
    	The discriminator I want is the one that will let me know these
    	things before they have a chance of getting into my system.
    

    ... they used food tasters during the middle ages.. :-)

    	What specifically seems to be the problem with the current
    	equipment ?
    
    	In the current design, based on our usual evolutionary strategy,
    	most things in nature which are toxins also taste bad.  
    
    	Alkaloids, for example, among the most common of natural poisons,
    	should almost universally taste bitter to you.  And putrid meat 
    	should have a nauseating smell.  If this is not the case, your
    	unit is likely malfunctioning.   Please see an authorized
    	repair facility, or your warranty may be invalidated.
    
    	In an emergency, if something poisonous tastes good to you, we've 
    	provided a neural synaptic override system in the human
    	model that some find useful.  It's very sophisticated and we're still 
    	working on the next edition of the manual.  In the mean time, you 
    	might try the 'reward/punishment' buttons.  They often get stuck, but 
    	we have plans to improve on that system in the next model.

    Genetic Engineering Request No. LR2930Q

    	How about a programmable body?  Face it, learning to dance, to play
    piano, or do intricate ice skating would be nice, but most of us just
    can't cut the mustard.   With the new programmable body, you could just
    pop an action program into your internal drive and your body would
    instantly be able to strut its stuff.  It's the next natural evolution
    of the exercise video.  Arthur Murray would sell dance programs to put
    the fox in your trot, and every city park would have an amateur
    symphony performing on Sunday afternoons.

Genetic Engineering Request No. 1332S

Re-engineer the spine please.  The current model was not designed for an
upright posture and has a number of weak points.


Genetic Engineering Request No. 1333G

The gestation process could use some modifications.  The initial steps
seem fine to me, but, I think there should be some ewqual opportunity
for males to carry the fetus and I certainly would like parturition to
be simpler, less painful and safer for both parent and child.


Genetic Engineering Request No. 1334O

Some quality control and engineering mods for the ocular capabilities
seem appropriate.  I'd love to get rid of my glasses (and other, similar
appliances).  The zoom feature would be a nice addition also.


Genetic Engineering Request No. 1335D

Oh, yeah, and this digestive tract thing.  I'd like to be able to eat all 
I want of whatever I like but only utilize what my body really needs.  

80)

    
    Sensation Muting: Since pain is primarily designed to alert us to
    the presence of a malfunction, a means of acknowledging to condition
    and then muting the sensation would be desirable. Ideally, there would
    be the capability to minimize the sensation to an icon so that other
    work could continue until a suitable time for diagnosis arrives.
    
    If the situation producing the pain was critical to the operation
    of the body, the "sensation muting" selection would appear in
    "grayed-out" form in the dialog box, and could not be selected.
    
    

RE -1
    
>    Sensation Muting: Since pain is primarily designed to alert us to
>    the presence of a malfunction, a means of acknowledging to condition
>    and then muting the sensation would be desirable.

I vaguely remember a science fiction essay describing exactly this. The
title was, if I remember well: "Scanners live in vain".
Of course, the essay ended up in emphasizing that such a function is
'de-humanising'......

:-)

Arie

    Arie,
    
    That was no essay; that was Cordwainer Smith's first publicly�
    published story!
    
    						Ann B.
    
    � "War No. 81-C" was published in his high school's literary magazine.

    handy though.. :-)

    It's not that difficult a skill, actually.  There are a number of
    cognitive strategies that are quite effective for muting acute pain,
    including but not limited to hypnosis.  The problem comes in with
    either sudden acute onset that prevents you from utilizaing the
    strategy, or chronic pain that wears down your ability to maintain
    your concentration.    I bet a good visuallizer could actually
    use a dialog box type of image to turn off pain with a little
    practice.
    
    						todd

    Having suffered extreme pain over a prolonged period while having post
    zoster neuralgia on the left side of my face, I now find that I can
    handle pain much better than I could before. 
    
    Last summer we all got a tummy bug that gave us stomach cramps and a
    truly blinding pain.  After a bit I discovered that relaxing rather
    than tensing first reduced the intensity and the duration of the
    spasms.

    I'm not saying that I could not feel it, I just reduced it to a more
    bearable level.   

    Jamie.
           

    Hi,
    
    My mother is really good at pain control, but then, she has had lots of
    practice.  Last year she had a breast removed.  As soon as she was
    awake enough to take control of her body she stopped the bleeding,
    turned off the pain, and started the healing.  The bleeding had caused
    real concern, and the doctor was standing by to reopen the wound if it
    did not stop.  She stopped it like turning a faucet off.  One minute it
    was dripping at a rate of 1 ounce per 10 minute, 5 minutes later it was
    stopped.  During the entire post op period, she never needed so much as
    an asprin for pain.  She is very strong, and very gifted in the 'other'
    talents. (You can not imagin how hard it is to grow up with a telepathic
    mother.  I could never get away with ANYTHING!!)
    
    Judy

    An alternate intake port for oxygen intake, so that some sexual 
    practices could be prolonged without suffering having to breathe.
    
    Dave