http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-25320455

Love that, hell of a procedure though.

That’s quite a device. I wonder if, one day, he’ll transpose the feelings in his chest to the hand - will he eventually “learn” that the bionic hand is where the sensations are coming from? That would be an interesting development for him, and indeed those working on the devices.

I wonder how long before we can get the soldier to grow a new arm for transplantation like they are trialling with ears?

An ear is basically just a piece of simple tissue. The difference between that a whole limb is the difference between climbing a stepladder and climbing Everest.

As for the idea of transposition, it's possible. It's certainly possible his memory of how he used to move his arm could be overwritten by the new movements, so he kind of feels like he's always done it that way. The limb still had some way to go too, it's nowhere near as agile as a 'native' limb.

They are already experimenting with 3D printing of hearts on which they grow new heart cells from stem cells. An arm could be developed in a similar way. It might be decades but it could make long term injuries a thing of the past. In the mean time this technology could make lives much better for wounded soldiers.