Creating a modern monster

When Mary Shelley published her story of Victor Frankenstein and his misshapen monster in 1818, she provided little detail about how exactly the doctor built his creation, except that "the dissecting room and the slaughter-house furnished many of [his] materials" and that he infused "a spark of being in the lifeless thing."

But what if Shelley had written her book today? Here is an overview of current and future technologies—from lab-grown organs and bionics to gene editing—that she might call on to produce her iconic creature.

Diagram of a human body illustrating modifications for creating a modern monster, including implanted organs, lab-grown organs, mechanical parts, bionics, and starting from an embryo.

Infographic for an excellent article for Science magazine by David Shultz

Diagram of a human body highlighting transplanted organs such as cornea, lung, heart, liver, pancreas, kidneys, bladder, vessels, skin, bones, cartilage, and urethra.

Detail of the infographic

A sketch of a man in a suit with a blazer, wearing a striped shirt, standing barefoot with arms slightly extended.

Rough sketch

All the illustrations and graphics shown in this link are under American Association for the Advancement of Science.

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