Body

You have them for breakfast. You have them for lunch. You snack on them when you’re feeling peckish and, oh yeah, you also eat them for dinner. Avocados are more than just delicious. They’re good for you and even better for your Instagram feed. Sure, the tattoo might have been overkill, but your avocado addiction can actually be a good thing.

Hearing the words “you have diabetes” can be devastating on the best of days. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), an estimated 21 million people in this country have already gone through the shock of hearing that they have diabetes.

Medical technology has advanced to such a degree that we can replace limbs, transfuse blood, and repair damage that previously would have been fatal. Science fiction, often the forerunner of human ingenuity, has predicted many of these improvements. Here are a few pieces of medical technology that previously seemed like science fiction.