I am not convinced that the military is the best place for this kind of research. I am, however, glad that someone is doing it. The danger is that politicians will start putting all kinds of restrictions on it. Large drug companies don’t seem to be as committed to stem cell research, first because it is a political hot potato and second, the legal issues of patenting a stem cell might prevent them from making a large profit.

Yesterday the Department of Defense announced the creation of the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine, which will go by the happy acronym AFIRM. According to DOD’s news service, AFIRM will ‘harness stem cell research and technology … to reconstruct new skin, muscles and tendons, and even ears, noses and fingers.’ The government is budgeting $250 million in public and private money for the project’s first five years. NIH and three universities will be on the team.

The spec-fic implications are, of course, well known. Genetically altered or “mutant” armies have long been a staple of military SF. My own short story, The Cold Men, is waiting for its second draft. I have put off finishing it, because I am not sure who would buy a space yarn about genetically altered military unit in an interstellar war, as it has been done well by others. If a story is too much like a “standard” sf story it does not stand out. If a story is not in a classic sciencefictional meme, it is not understood.

The military’s plan to regrow body parts. – By William Saletan – Slate Magazine