A breakthrough in restoring micro-circulation has allowed scientists to keep pig brains alive outside of a body:
In a step that could change the definition of death, researchers have restored circulation to the brains of decapitated pigs and kept the reanimated organs alive for as long as 36 hours.
The feat offers scientists a new way to study intact brains in the lab in stunning detail. But it also inaugurates a bizarre new possibility in life extension, should human brains ever be kept on life support outside the body.
The work was described on March 28 at a meeting held at the National Institutes of Health to investigate ethical issues arising as US neuroscience centers explore the limits of brain science.
During the event, Yale University neuroscientist Nenad Sestan disclosed that a team he leads had experimented on between 100 and 200 pig brains obtained from a slaughterhouse, restoring their circulation using a system of pumps, heaters, and bags of artificial blood warmed to body temperature. There was no evidence that the disembodied pig brains regained consciousness. However, in what Sestan termed a "mind-boggling" and "unexpected" result, billions of individual cells in the brains were found to be healthy and capable of normal activity.
It's possible that the level of function could be increased, and the brains could be kept alive indefinitely:
Sestan now says the organs produce a flat brain wave equivalent to a comatose state, although the tissue itself "looks surprisingly great" and, once it's dissected, the cells produce normal-seeming patterns.
The lack of wider electrical activity could be irreversible if it is due to damage and cell death. The pigs' brains were attached to the BrainEx device roughly four hours after the animals were decapitated.
However, it could also be due to chemicals the Yale team added to the blood replacement to prevent swelling, which also severely dampen the activity of neurons. "You have to understand that we have so many channel blockers in our solution," Sestan told the NIH. "This is probably the explanation why we don't get [any] signal."
Sestan told the NIH it is conceivable that the brains could be kept alive indefinitely and that steps could be attempted to restore awareness. He said his team had elected not to attempt either because "this is uncharted territory."
Next step: hooking it up to a computer?
Related: First Human Head Transplant Could Happen in Two Years
Complete Head Transplant or Complete Publicity Stunt
Claims That Head Transplant Has Been Successfully Done on a Monkey
How Would You Define "A Successful Human Head Transplant"?
Related Stories
Michelle Star writes at C/net that Surgeon Sergio Canavero, director of the Turin Advanced Neuromodulation Group in Italy, believes he has developed a technique to remove the head from a non-functioning body and transplant it onto the healthy body. According to Canavero's paper published in Surgical Neurology International, first, both the transplant head and the donor body need to be cooled in order to slow cell death. Then, the neck of both would be cut and the major blood vessels linked with tubes. Finally, the spinal cords would be severed, with as clean a cut as possible. Joining the spinal cords, with the tightly packed nerves inside, is key. The plan involves flushing the area with polyethylene glycol, followed by several hours of injections of the same, a chemical that encourages the fat in cell membranes to mesh. The blood vessels, muscles and skin would then be sutured and the patient would be induced into a coma for several weeks to keep them from moving around; meanwhile, electrodes would stimulate the spine with electricity in an attempt to strengthen the new nerve connections.
Head transplants have been tried before. In 1970, Robert White led a team at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, US, that tried to transplant the head of one monkey on to the body of another. The surgeons stopped short of a full spinal cord transfer, so the monkey could not move its body. Despite Canavero’s enthusiasm, many surgeons and neuroscientists believe massive technical hurdles push full body transplants into the distant future. The starkest problem is that no one knows how to reconnect spinal nerves and make them work again. “This is such an overwhelming project, the possibility of it happening is very unlikely,” says Harry Goldsmith.
The businessinsider.com article seems to best line out the many clues and linkings that this may be the case, not the least of which seems to be that the image of Dr. Canavero is used as the neurosurgeon in the game. Also possibly telling, the article states:
Hideo Kojima, who heads up the “Metal Gear Solid” franchise, tweeted about his next project in 2010: “The next project will challenge a certain type of taboo. If I mess up, I’ll probably have to leave the industry. However, I don’t want to pass by avoiding that. I turn 47 this year. It’s been 24 years since I started making games. Today, I got an ally who would happily support me in that risk. Although it’s just one person. For a start, it’s good.” This makes it sound like Kojima was able to persuade Dr. Canavero to join his venture — to help leverage his authority as a famous doctor and neurosurgeon to promote "Metal Gear Solid 5" with a viral marketing stunt.
[More...]
The scientist who claims to be about to carry out the first human head transplant says that he has successfully done the procedure on a monkey.
Maverick neurosurgeon Sergio Canavero has tested the procedure in experiments on monkeys and human cadavers, he told New Scientist.
Dr Canavero says that the success shows that his plan to transplant a human's head onto a donor body is in place. He says that the procedure will be ready before the end of 2017 and could eventually become a way of treating complete paralysis.
takyon: Coverage at New Scientist with a "graphic content warning".
Previously: First Human Head Transplant Could Happen in Two Years
Complete Head Transplant or Complete Publicity Stunt
Over at Newsweek, Hannah Osborne is reporting - First Human Head Transplant Successfully Performed on Corpse, Sergio Canavero Announces — Key bits:
Scientists have carried out a head transplant on a human corpse, the neurosurgeon behind the operation has announced.
At a press conference in Vienna, Austria, Sergio Canavero said his team was able to remove the head from one body and connect it to the body of another by fusing the spine, nerves and blood vessels. He said the next step will be to carry out the operation on a living person, The Telegraph reports.
"The first human transplant on human cadavers has been done. A full head swap between brain dead organ donors is the next stage,” he said. "And that is the final step for the formal head transplant for a medical condition which is imminent.”
Canavero said a “high number” of people have volunteered to be his first head transplant patient. It is thought he will carry out the operation in China in December.
Because, of course, some of us are aware of the special dynamics of the intersection between Ethics, Journalism, and the Chinese government.
And then the next kicker to sufficiently anti-bait the click:
The Italian neurosurgeon did not present any evidence of his claims at the conference.
But, who knows what gruesome story we'll hear about in December.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 27 2018, @05:19PM (8 children)
now Nixon will be president again...
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 27 2018, @05:32PM (1 child)
I guess this is the day that Futurama will be the new vision for the future and not Star Trek.
Shoot, I'm a guy... can't become Mom. Well, death by snu-snu it is then.
(Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Friday April 27 2018, @06:31PM
http://futurama.wikia.com/wiki/The_Gender_Bender [wikia.com]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutopia_(Futurama) [wikipedia.org]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Friday April 27 2018, @05:45PM (4 children)
Well, Nixon's been dead for a while, so there's a chance his brain has decomposed too much.
However, this does lend itself to putting your brain in a robot body [youtube.com].
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday April 27 2018, @06:49PM (2 children)
I was just going to add that Nixon's brain is probably a wee bit past the "sell by" date.
But there is a current madman who might be interested in this capability to continue to rule beyond the design lifespan and warranty of the physical body in which it is encased.
The anti vax hysteria didn't stop, it just died down.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Thexalon on Friday April 27 2018, @07:15PM
Only one? I'm guessing there are a lot of madmen who would love to live forever.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 4, Funny) by edIII on Friday April 27 2018, @07:35PM
Yes, and the current madman and a pig are basically indistinguishable anyways. Let the science commence!
Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
(Score: 4, Touché) by stretch611 on Friday April 27 2018, @09:39PM
One can argue that Nixon's brain decomposed before he actually died.
(and obligatory Futurama reference: http://futurama.wikia.com/wiki/Richard_M._Nixon%27s_head [wikia.com] )
Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 27 2018, @09:37PM
I'm not a Republican, but I'll take him over the orange dude. I'll even take a pig over the orange dude. Wait, that's redundant.
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Friday April 27 2018, @05:32PM (1 child)
Don't do it! [archive.org]. You don't want to be sentenced to life!
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 4, Funny) by takyon on Friday April 27 2018, @06:20PM
Meh, you'll live.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Freeman on Friday April 27 2018, @05:40PM (20 children)
Soon, the hero won't even have to save the victim, before their head is chopped off.
It's all very interesting, but a large dose of caution needs to be used in research like this. There's potential for them to be inflicting torture on their test subjects without them realizing it. They seem to be erring on the side of caution, though.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Friday April 27 2018, @06:32PM (14 children)
Several sci-fi stories have explored virtual immortality. Most seem to view the possibility as a horror. It's something we might want to see, but not experience. If you're very lucky, you just go bat-shit insane, and live in your own imaginary world. Of course, that depends on what kind of crazy you happen to be. Your own world may be a worse hell than anyone can impose on you.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Azuma Hazuki on Friday April 27 2018, @08:21PM (13 children)
Immortality, real immortality, *is* a horror, and this is something no Christian or Muslim ever seems to understand. They think "eternity" is just "a really, really long time." They don't understand the difference between infinity and a really fucking big number.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 4, Interesting) by acid andy on Friday April 27 2018, @09:18PM (5 children)
It would probably be all right so long as your memories aren't immortal. So long as every few centuries you find you've forgotten up to what it is you previously got, you'll be spared the mind-wrenching torment of knowing that you're doing all the same stupid, boring, mundane, superficial things for the centillionth time. In fact I think this mechanism works pretty well to an extent within a normal human lifespan as well.
Master of the science of the art of the science of art.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Friday April 27 2018, @11:16PM (1 child)
Yes, remember my teachings [soylentnews.org] well ;-)
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Saturday April 28 2018, @08:51AM
I think I forgot them. But that gave me the opportunity to enjoy the topic in a fresh way and without the mind-wrenching torment of an immortal who's seen it all countless times. ;-)
Hey did you ever watch a movie you'd seen before about ten years later and not remember what's going to happen? Same thing.
Master of the science of the art of the science of art.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Saturday April 28 2018, @05:08PM (2 children)
This is what we call "reincarnation." And yes, even if it's in the same "body," the near-complete wiping of a crucial part of one's personality, I would argue, removes the ability to call it "eternal life." Funny how when you actually follow these religious claims to their logical conclusions, the *best* you come up with is like something out of the Matrix...
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 3, Insightful) by acid andy on Saturday April 28 2018, @05:34PM (1 child)
I'm actually tempted to side with the Buddhist view that eternal reincarnation is undesirable. Actually, very, very scary. If you're reincarnated an infinite number of times, depending on the ground rules, that could certainly leave enough room for you to live out the life of every organism that has ever existed (and will exist). If that can happen, then eventually you will get to experience not only the most pleasure filled lives of the happiest, most fortunate, people, plants and animals; you will also experience all the worst and most prolonged agonies that anyone ever does in all of time. There, so we've got the popular religious ideas of Heaven and Hell worked into our model too.
Master of the science of the art of the science of art.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Azuma Hazuki on Saturday April 28 2018, @08:09PM
BINGO. It occurred to me a long time ago that annihilation, far from being frightening or scary or bad or evil, is the ONLY true form of mercy, in the final analysis. The Buddhists have a tremendous amount right, and their insight into endless reincarnation being a horror is the same point, really, as the one I was making about eternal life being a horror; as time T reaches infinity, [the value of each lifetime L asymptotically approaches zero *and* you end up needing worse and worse/longer and longer "Hells" so as not to repeat yourself, even if you don't know it.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 27 2018, @10:19PM (6 children)
How can you have an opinion on something that hasn't been experienced, ever. Sure, the cliche is the immortal go mad after so many years of terrible shit, but I very much doubt that. You would probably forget a lot of it, just like you forget what happened a year ago unless it was an important event. R. Scott Bakker's immortals that did killed their loved ones just so they could remember them are a variation on the theme, maybe likely, but I still doubt it. Probably most people would get bored after a few life-spans worth of living, but I doubt it would be torture unless you spent eons getting tortured.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by takyon on Friday April 27 2018, @11:36PM (5 children)
Azuma is peddling a deathist cliché that will be smashed apart by life extension once the technology arrives. Ask some supercentenarians if they feel like offing themselves just because they have "seen it all". Some of them may be depressed, but others are clearly happy, even at that advanced age with crappy bodies. I think supercentenarians with the bodies of ~30 year-olds (because that's how life extension will work: preventative and proactive anti-aging damage repair) can either figure out something to do with their time, or go BASE jumping repeatedly. On Venus.
It's not a surprise to hear this view, given that life extension would be such a monumental change, and pose a direct challenge to many religions. Billions of humans lived out their lives (some very short) and died before the technology could be developed. The early adopters will have beat out everyone from the cavemen to their parents. Maybe they will feel some guilt about that. Of course, billions of people lived before air conditioning or the car existed. The anti-aging generation will probably come to terms with it.
"Anti-aging bad" is a common trope in sci-fi because it makes a more compelling story than "Human lives for thousands of years, conducting some science experiments, or engaging in a lot of leisure activities, forming many fleeting relationships, but overall is happy with the arrangement."
If immortality is endless suffering, what if you're a masochist? Maybe you'll be into it. And if you're only biologically immortal, don't you still have options to commit suicide? Just make sure that you really want to become the first person to travel into a black hole.
You may also have the option of temporarily or partially mindwiping yourself, repeatedly, and living in VR worlds. Which could make interstellar travel bearable [soylentnews.org], assuming you're not just frozen.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by lentilla on Saturday April 28 2018, @06:26AM
May I recommend the short novel The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect [duckduckgo.com] which deals with these very topics.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Saturday April 28 2018, @05:09PM (3 children)
Again...infinite. Not "a long time." Infinite. Besides which, the explicitly Christian idea of eternal life is either you spend it kissing Yahweh's ass, or you spend it on fire (with variations on what "on fire" means for the more squeamish, squishy believers...).
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by takyon on Sunday April 29 2018, @12:30AM
Myself and another commenter gave solutions to the infinite boredom problem. Natural or deliberate memory loss, or temporarily overwriting the mind and entering into a simulated reality.
Achieving anti-aging would technically mean having an indefinite lifespan. Not infinite. You could still die in a war, by murder, suicide, or a very catastrophic accident (very fatal conditions are likely to be encountered if people are traveling throughout the solar system). Beyond that, you also have to move out of or further out into the solar system at some point before the Sun becomes a red giant. And then on a much larger timescale, possibly orders of magnitude more than a trillion years, you may be contending with the heat death of the universe. The ultimate fate of the universe isn't known, but a 100+ more years of physics research will probably give us a better idea. Even an enslaved immortal brain-in-vat could die from a freak gamma-ray burst or the ultimate death of the universe. If the universe is not slated to actually die, such as in a "big crunch", then theoretically you could run out of accessible usable resources. Including usable energy if you are "living" as a mind uploaded to a computer.
An "infinite" lifespan seems unlikely to be achieved, unless you figure out how to travel back to the past repeatedly or hop into a different universe after this one is spent. And long before that, spaceship mechanical failures or cosmic-scale accidents could result in your destruction. And again, I'm not convinced that an infinite lifespan is a bad thing, or that you won't have a choice to end your life somehow if you do get tired of it.
As for what Christianity has to say about it, if there really was a heaven and/or hell and people went there, it seems like they don't really have a choice in the matter. Can they ask to be dusted after they reach the pearly gates? I get the impression that heaven is supposed to be like an infinite trippy experience where you are just content forever but not doing much. Like being high as a kite endlessly. As for hell, you would just get laughed at if you asked to be released from infinite torment.
But enough of the heaven/hell bullshit, the more interesting thing is to consider what will happen when anti-aging technologies hit the market. If Christians, Muslims, etc. reject the treatments as blasphemous/evil/playing god, then they will likely refuse to take them. That could hasten the end of religion as believers would die out naturally, while some of their offspring would become atheists/agnostics and probably take anti-aging treatments. Or maybe believers will just rationalize anti-aging as treatment for medical issues (cellular damage, etc.) and be content to live indefinitely. Maybe they will die violently while attacking scientists who are "playing god" with biotechnology in various ways. There are a number of ways this could go. I have a feeling that the religious will not react well to "natural" aging becoming obsolete.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Monday April 30 2018, @03:24PM (1 child)
Some Christians believing in an everlasting burning fire where people are tortured forever. The Bible teaches that the "everlasting hell fire" isn't a continual torture, but a finite end to the wicked. They will be burned and die and will be no more. They will cease to exist, they will not burn in a tortured existence for an eternity. Hell will be the Earth and the devil will be bound to the earth with no one to keep company with for a time. Then God and the people he saved will come back. The wicked dead will be raised, and Satan (aka the devil / Lucifer) will lead them in a final attack on the holy city. Then, they will be destroyed for the final time along with Satan and they will cease to exist. Satan, the fallen Angels, and all of the wicked will meet a definite end. After that, the Earth will be made new again as it was meant to be.
"The teaching that sinners are immortal in hell originated with Satan and is completely untrue." https://www.amazingfacts.org/media-library/study-guide/e/4988/t/is-the-devil-in-charge-of-hell- [amazingfacts.org]
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Monday April 30 2018, @07:26PM
Bloody FINALLY! One of you FINALLY understands and admits that "aionios" does NOT mean "eternal" and when you get terms like "destruction from the face of the Lord" and "the second death," IT FUCKING WELL MEANS DEATH. If we ever agree on anything, it's the idea that endless torture is a demonic idea.
You're still completely wrong, but you're not evil on top of it, and for that, you have my respect. I shall call off the snipers.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by requerdanos on Friday April 27 2018, @08:03PM
"I made sure you were artificially kept alive for a long time after beheading. What do you mean that wasn't your dream job? I didn't realize."
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 28 2018, @03:10AM (3 children)
In a brain bag, no one can hear you oink.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by anubi on Saturday April 28 2018, @08:34AM (2 children)
I was thinking down the line of very frenzied painful oinking that is fully cognized by an operable brain... but absolutely no way to express that to the outside world.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Azuma Hazuki on Saturday April 28 2018, @05:10PM (1 child)
"I have no snout, and I must squeal" sort of thing? *shudder*
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 1) by anubi on Sunday April 29 2018, @11:01AM
Exactly... your worst nightmare - and you do not wake up out of it.
You are being engulfed by fire, ants, rats, whatever, and can't do a thing about it. You are suffocating and can't breathe. That sort of thing.
Hell.
( I guess its all a state of mind - and if it cannot be expressed, did it ever exist? Or did it just drop in significance to that of a pattern of bits in an organic neural register somewhere. )
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by leftover on Friday April 27 2018, @05:45PM (2 children)
This result is a stretch of the term "alive". Really no surprise their four hour delay! Have a portable life support unit right where the pig is being slaughtered, already plumbed for the right numbers of supply and return lines with barbed connectors. No microsurgery needed for this part, just a matter of seconds to restore bulk blood flow to the entire head. Then take the unit plus head back to the lab to get the brain out of the head. (Or just leave it intact to scare the living shit out of people!)
Bent, folded, spindled, and mutilated.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday April 27 2018, @06:28PM (1 child)
It will be interesting to see if the one of the NIH-friendly "ethical" teams advances the technique in order to quell skepticism, or some maverick goes all in with the slaughterhouse heads and manages to "restore awareness" (keeping the head and skull intact might be a good move, at least initially). Later, a pig brain (no eyes, ears, etc.) could be installed in a robot body (here's one precedent [nature.com]).
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by leftover on Friday April 27 2018, @08:02PM
The initial comment about keeping the head was mostly in jest. With further reflection it might be the best way to go. Keep eyes and ears as sensory input for evoked response. Also, all the time taken to remove the brain and deal with any consequences will reduce time for controlled measurements. Presumably the head won't stay viable for long, just enough for fresh data.
Bent, folded, spindled, and mutilated.
(Score: 2) by requerdanos on Friday April 27 2018, @05:48PM (1 child)
This article wins best article ever award.
It will be a long, long time before this awesome article is improved on, I am convinced. Just wow.
This is better by far than even previous best studies [dilbert.com] on the brain!
(Score: 3, Insightful) by takyon on Friday April 27 2018, @06:22PM
You missed this gem:
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1) by eapache on Friday April 27 2018, @05:58PM (1 child)
Please tell me "mind-boggling" is what this process comes to be know as in the future. Would you like your mind boggled today?
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday April 27 2018, @06:16PM
What, I can get it done twice a week?
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Osamabobama on Friday April 27 2018, @06:05PM (3 children)
Imagine a Beowulf cluster of these!
...
Oh, are we not doing that one anymore?
Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday April 27 2018, @06:22PM
top 10 anime spoilers
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Friday April 27 2018, @06:29PM (1 child)
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/next/body/brain-linked-monkeys-form-super-organism-deftly-control-robotic-arm/ [pbs.org]
Pig brains, in my Beowulf cluster? It's more likely than you think.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by edIII on Friday April 27 2018, @07:32PM
This must be the science that precedes Pacific Rim :)
Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Friday April 27 2018, @06:24PM (1 child)
So the brain was locked up squealing in pain, with billions of cells showing normal activity, but no sign of consciousness?
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday April 27 2018, @06:34PM
From the summary:
We can be pretty confident that not much is going on there, and if it was, they "terminated the experiment" at the 36 hour mark.
The researchers certainly don't want to accidentally restore awareness because they are kowtowing to the "bioethicists", as usual.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 27 2018, @06:42PM (1 child)
Heck, we've had khallow posting here for years! And they are proud of keeping a pig-headed head alive for 36 hours?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 28 2018, @04:21PM
Personally I thought a comatose pig brain sounded more like EF, my bet is some mad Frankenstein already perfected this and added a neural keyboard interface.
(Score: 2) by fadrian on Friday April 27 2018, @07:06PM (4 children)
... why not take this leap for science?
Volunteer to have your head and neck separated from your body under local anesthetic. They can hook a bellows up to your throat underneath your trachea to keep you talking and do the whole blood oxygenation thing to keep the rest of your head alive. I think it would be a fascinating experiment. Not that I'd be interested in volunteering, personally, but then I've never wanted to get into a one-way Mars rocket for science, either. So again, if you're one of those who would take a one-way trip to Mars, why that suicidal ideation and not this one?
And, of course this raises other questions... If someone actually volunteered, would bioethicists ever approve the experiment? No? How about if you could keep the head alive indefinitely and the head was attached to a dying body? How about if you could reattach the head to another body? Wouldn't you like to know how the brain is going to take the transplant before you do it?
And it doesn't even get close to answering the philosophical questions this raises - Is this still the same person after his head has been transplanted? If you had a person that chose to live sans body for a time, how would "lifetime warranties" be handled? If you could do it to Hitler, would you? Why not? You know, general questions that simply come to mind when you let it wander...
That is all.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday April 27 2018, @07:40PM
Propellant can be brought to or made on Mars for a return trip. Even if the trip was one-way, it's hardly suicide. An older person goes to Mars and lives out the rest of their life, maybe another 5-10 years instead of 15-20. Plenty of people on Earth are eating, drinking, or smoking those years away. But live on Mars until death and suddenly it's a suicide? Are XXXtreme sports or base jumping suicide? If you don't die of natural causes, I guess so.
You can plan a manned Mars mission with current technologies that will probably allow the participants to survive for years. Can the same be said for whole body transplant or decapitation procedures? Not yet. So they are not comparable.
Experiments can be done without the approval of bioethicists. Bioethicists, as well as ethics, are entirely optional. That probably answers your Hitler-in-a-jar question. Of course, a contemporary and "fresh" dictator would have to be used. Maybe @KathyGriffin was predicting the future?
Reattaching a head to a dead donor body is the well-publicized goal of Dr. Sergio Canavero. The procedure is likely to leave the resulting person dependent on anti-rejection drugs. Cloning a body or constructing a new body piece by piece using your own DNA would be far preferable.
Are you the same person after a head/body transplant? Ask a quadriplegic or amputee how they feel about their lack of function or use of robot limb(s).
How would "lifetime warranties" be handled? Probably in a court, since there's money to be made at someone's expense.
I'll regard the Mars part of your comment as temporary insanity brought on by head or neck-related trauma.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by requerdanos on Friday April 27 2018, @08:09PM (2 children)
On the contrary, I am interested in volunteering you, personally.
As for me, I am willing instead to move to Mars, even with the variable-but-always-bad ping times and the need to use caching proxy servers, provided that I get to substantially keep my entire body.
(Score: 3, Funny) by takyon on Friday April 27 2018, @08:27PM (1 child)
Now the Mars colonists who get shipped off to Mars as disembodied heads have the worst luck. It saves on payload mass and ticket price.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Friday April 27 2018, @09:17PM
And spend the whole trip praying the robot surgeons work at the other end..
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 2) by looorg on Saturday April 28 2018, @02:49AM
Disembodied heads kept alive ... I guess we know where this is going. All hail Tricky Dick!
http://futurama.wikia.com/wiki/Head_Museum [wikia.com]