MSNBC has a fabulous article up about the many advances being made in prosthetic and assistive technology. From simple advances, such as more comfortable materials, to the more bizarre advances such as miniature ‘free-thinking’ assistive technology devices powered by moth brains, it becomes more and more obvious each day that the human body itself may become obsolete in the no longer invisible future, as long as the brain remains well fed and cared for.

The need for better prosthetics, driven in part by the hundreds of amputees returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, has spurred a host of innovations enabling unprecedented control over artificial arms and legs. Already, researchers have begun unveiling sensor and microprocessor-packed “intelligent” knees, thought-controlled mechanical arms, and artificial hands with fingers able to pinch and grab.