Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
BrainEx Restores Some Activity To Severed Pig Head
Researchers have succeeded in returning a bit of brain function to dead pig brains.
[neuroscientist Nenad Sestan of Yale University] and his team developed a system called BrainEx - meaning brain ex vivo - consisting of three parts.
The first part is a synthetic solution designed to be pumped through the brain in a manner similar to the heart - perfusion - at body temperatures around 37 degrees Celsius.
The second part is the perfusion device itself, which pumps the solution and mimics the supporting organs. The final part is the surgical technique that allows the brain to be isolated.
The team then obtained 32 pig brains from a food processing facility, meaning no animals had to be killed for the research, and applied the BrainEx technology four hours after death, to model the effects of prolonged brain injury.
The brains were perfused for six hours. At this point, the team was able to observe a clear difference between the BrainEx brains and the control brains, which either weren't treated, or were perfused with a control solution.
"We found that tissue and cellular structure is preserved, and that cell death is reduced," Sestan said.
"In addition, some molecular and cellular functions were restored, including glial and vascular response to stimuli, as well as spontaneous synaptic activity along with active global metabolism."
(Via Science Alert.)
Fans of Golden Age great Edmond Hamilton know that in 1929 he described a scheme that allowed brains to be harvested and preserved - with full function!
Of course you know that the human brain is fed from the bloodstream of the human body. To replace this, they placed the brain in a special solution, having all the properties of Nursing the brain cells. This solution is usually renewed once a week, so it is always fresh, and therefore the brain never really ages.
However, multiple observations from our lab and others have questioned the notion that widespread cell death is unavoidable minutes or even hours after blood flow stops. For example, live cells can be harvested from postmortem brains and cultured in a dish. This indicates itself that the postmortem brain may have the capacity to be revived.
From the living body of one of their number he removed the living brain, as their consummate art in Super-surgery enabled him to do. This living brain was then placed within a specially-prepared brain chamber of a metal body, inside its cubicle head.
(Read more about Brain Placed In Metal Body)
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 4/7/2019)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Medical ")
Illustrating Classic Heinlein With AI
'Stasis, cold sleep, hibernation, hypothermia, reduced metabolism, call it what you will - the logistics-medicine research teams had found a way to stack people like cordwood and use them when needed.' - Robert Heinlein, 1956
Brainoware Reservoir Computation Of Biological Neural Networks
'Head cheese. Cultured brains on a slab.' - Peter Watts, 1999.
Forward CarePod The AI Doctor's Office
'It's an old model,' Rawlins said. 'I'm not sure what to do.'
Octopus Suckers Inspire Transdermal Patches
'...a capsule which he placed against his wrist.' - Philip K. Dick, 1960.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
SpaceX Wants A Moonbase Alpha
'And he had been sent with troops, supplies and bombs to command Russia's most trusted post, the Moonbase.'
Vast Apartment Living Will Get Even More Vast
'What is your population', I asked. 'About eighty millions.'
NASA Wants Self-Driving Or Remote-Controlled Vehicles For Lunar Astronauts
'THE autobus turned silently down the wide street of Hydropole. Robot-guided, insulated from noise and cold...'
Elon Musk Says Robotaxis Will Be Ready This August, 2024
'The car had no steering wheel, and no one drove!'
Moonwalkers AI-Controlled Electric Shoes
Now that's power walking that Hugo Gernsback would have approved.
Steve Jobs: 'Capture The Next Aristotle - With AI'
'It was disturbing to think of the Flatline as a construct...'
No Tips! Robotic Food Delivery In Phoenix
'...he rewired the delivery robot so that it would serve him midnight snacks.'
Electric Catamaran 'Explorer Eco 40m' Has 'Solar Skin'
'On went the electric-yacht faster and still faster.'
Orbital Mechanics, The Liftoff, The Turnover, The Retrograde Burn
'...the huge vessel had spun, with a sickening lurch, through a complete half-circle, the instant the power was reversed.'
Harvest Power From Tears And Blinking With Smart Contact Lens
'...he realized that it was not quite a clear lens. Speckles of colored brightness swirled and gathered in it.'
Europa Clipper Plate Carries A Special Message
'...a universal cryptogram — yet it is one which can be interpreted by any intelligent creature on any planet in the Solar System!'
Micro-Robots Are Smallest, Fully Functional
'With a whir, the Scarab shot from the concealing shadows of the corner where it had hidden itself.'
AI Enhances Images Your Brain Sees
'I could have sworn the psychomat showed pictures almost as sharp and detailed as reality itself'
Illustrating Classic Heinlein With AI
'Stasis, cold sleep, hibernation, hypothermia, reduced metabolism, call it what you will - the logistics-medicine research teams had found a way to stack people like cordwood and use them when needed.'
Deflector Plasma Screen For Drones ala Star Wars
'If the enemy persists in attacking or even intensifies their power, the density of the plasma in space will suddenly increase, causing it to reflect most of the incoming energy like a mirror.'
DIY Robotic Hand Made After Loss Of Fingers
'I made them... with the fine work of the watchmaker...'
