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Surgeon: First Human Head Transplant May Be Just Two Years Away
HughPickens.com (3830033) writes "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 has 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."
Head transplants has 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."
Just reconnect the spinal nerves? This is like saying interstellar spaceships are just two years away. Just connect the warp drive to the antimatter, and there you go.
Perhaps we should start by inventing a warp drive first? Or in this case, connecting severed spinal columns?
------ The best brain training is now totally free : )
Seriously, are the people who cleam this serious? I don't think so.
Sitting in front of an electrical box that sends out signals to billions of people everyday is also against the "laws of nature."
Please live up to your own lame excuse for why this shouldn't be and stop sitting in front of that box.
Actually, computers and the internet, etc. do follow the laws of nature, quite well. Technically speaking, everything we do follows the law of nature, otherwise it would be miraculous. That said, it still doesn't address the morality of the issue.
And where do you (legitimately) find a "healthy body" without a head?
It goes against all the laws of nature
If you mean to say I personally don't like the idea then just come out and say it. Don't waste our time with the 'laws of nature' garbage.
From the perspective of the head it's a body transplant.
The body typically has no perspective of its own
so the idea of a head transplant is ludicrously funny.
We laugh to drown out the screaming inside.
Those heads are perfectly functional
Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends
We're so glad you could attend, come inside, come inside
Come inside, the show's about to start
Guaranteed to blow your head apart
Rest assured you'll get your money's worth
Greatest show in Heaven, Hell or Earth
You've got to see the show, it's a dynamo
There behind a glass stands a real blade of grass
Be careful as you pass, move along, move along.
[...]
Left behind the bars, rows of Bishops' heads in jars
<blink>down the rabbit hole</blink>
I recently read an article that was essentially "how could Steven Hawking have kids", and somebody with a similar condition basically stated that while you lose motor functions elsewhere, that particular part of the anatomy tends to work as it's part of the Parasympathetic nervous system