Probably the next best thing next to actually re-growing limbs and nerve endings and connective tissue (which I'm sure is on the way) has to be cybernetic replacements for the aforementioned hardware. Well, get ready-
The REX exoskeleton has just become the first mass-market (though at $150,000, it's not that mass market) device to do just that. Engadget has the complete story up with shots and video- REX basically gives a paraplegic the ability to walk again, and there is no price that can be placed on that.
You know, a while ago futurist Ray Kurzweil said that this current century would bring a hundred fold the innovations of the last. He made some pretty far out predictions about what we all might be seeing during our lifetimes- real deep space travel, a world wide neural net, conscious machines -REX might not be in that league of 'amazing', but it certainly is a step in the right direction.
