The body parts you can (and can’t yet) replace

KERA's Think

KERA

Society & Culture, 071003, Kera, Think, Krysboyd

4.8 • 861 Ratings

🗓️ 8 December 2025

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Advancements in science give hope to those who need life-saving skin grafts, replacements for failing organs – and even for those dreaming of a new head of hair. Science journalist Mary Roach joins guest host Paige Phelps to discuss the myriad of ways researchers are making progress on creating new body parts and why our immune system is the biggest hurdle of all. Her book is “Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy.”

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Have you heard about OMG? Yes. This is a website the New York Times wirecutter featured as one of their most popular gifts. And for good reason, it presents new findings from the largest ever research study into women's pleasure and intimacy. In partnership with researchers at Yale and at Indiana University, they asked tens of thousands of women what they
0:21.6	wished they and their partners had discovered sooner. They found the patterns in those
0:26.2	discoveries and all that wisdom and intimacy is organized as hundreds of short videos,
0:31.6	animations, and how-toes. When you see OMG, yes, you might understand why wirecutter recommended it.
0:38.2	It is warm, honest, and has regular women talking about real experiences.
0:42.7	It's truly eye-opening.
0:44.8	See for yourself at omgyes.com.
0:47.3	That's OMGS.com. A good friend of mine has a terrible autoimmune disease that attacks her kidneys and got word she needed a transplant.
1:06.3	Around this time, there was an eye-catching headline.
1:09.2	A pig had grown a genetically modified kidney
1:12.3	that could be transplanted into a human, offering hope to the tens of thousands of people
1:17.6	waiting on a very long transplant list. Of course, I had the good sense not to send this article
1:23.4	to my friend because it wasn't really a possibility for her, but it raised the question,
1:28.6	how close are we to xenotransplantation? From KERA and Dallas, this is Think. I'm Paige Phelps in
1:35.8	for Chris Boyd. My friend did receive her very human kidney and is doing well, by the way.
1:42.2	But what about the science that makes these seemingly magical stem cells morph into the body parts we want and need?
1:49.0	Where are we on giant advancements and not just organs, but hair and skin and eyes?
1:55.0	My guest, Science Journalist Mary Roach explores the wild world of possibilities for a myriad of ways we can grow and replace and possibly perfect the human body in her new book, Replaceable You, Adventures in Human Anatomy. Mary, welcome back to think. Thank you so much, Paige. It's lovely to be back. Hi. So Mary, let's start with this trip to China you took.
2:19.3	You went looking for pigs. Why China? Why pigs?
2:23.3	Well, pigs because pigs are the animals that are being used right now
2:31.3	to produce genetically modified organs that could be transplanted into people.
2:38.9	This is not happening yet.
	...

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