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 ")
BrainBridge Concept Transplant Of Human Head Proposed
'Briquet’s head seemed to think that to find and attach a new body to her head was as easy as to fit and sew a new dress.' - Alexander Belaev (1925)
Natural Gait With Prosthetic Connected To Nervous System
'The leg was to function, in a way, as a servo-mechanism operated by Larry’s brain...' - Charles Recour, 1949.
Brain Implant Is Able To Capture Your Inner Dialogue
'So you see, you can hide nothing from me.'
'Pregnancy Humanoids' From China Replace Moms
'A great many of these synthetic babies were made...' - David H. Keller, 1928.
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
Thermostabilized Wet Meat Product (Prototype)
There are no orbiting Michelin stars. Yet.
Could Crystal Batteries Generate Power For Centuries?
'Power could be compressed thus into an inch-square cube of what looked like blue-white ice'
India Ponders Always-On Smartphone Location Tracking
'It is necessary... for your own protection.'
Amazon Will Send You Heinlein's Knockdown Cabin
'It's so light that you can set it up in five minutes by yourself...'
Is It Time To Forbid Human Driving?
'Heavy penalties... were to be applied to any one found driving manually-controlled machines.'
Replace The Smartphone With A Connected Edge Node For AI Inference
'Buy a Little Dingbat... electropen, wrist watch, pocketphone, pocket radio, billfold ... all in one.'
Artificial Skin For Robots Is Coming Right Along
'... an elastic, tinted material that had all the feel and appearance of human flesh and epidermis.'
Robot Guard Dog On Duty
I might also be thinking of K-9 from Doctor Who.
Wearable Artificial Fabric Muscles
'It is remarkable that the long leverages of their machines are in most cases actuated by a sort of sham musculature...'
BrainBridge Concept Transplant Of Human Head Proposed
'Briquet’s head seemed to think that to find and attach a new body to her head was as easy as to fit and sew a new dress.'
Google's Nano Banana Pro Presents Handwritten Math Solutions
'...copy was turned out in a charming and entirely feminine handwriting.'
Edible Meat-Like Fungus Like Barbara Hambly's Slunch?
'It was almost unheard of for slunch to spread that fast...'
Sunday Robotics 'Memo' Bot Has Unique Training Glove
'He then started hand movements of definite pattern...'
Natural Gait With Prosthetic Connected To Nervous System
'The leg was to function, in a way, as a servo-mechanism operated by Larry’s brain...'
Woman Marries Computer, Vonnegut's Dream Comes True
'Men are made of protoplasm... Lasts forever.'
Spidery 'Walk Me' Toyota Autonomous Wheel Chair Like Star Wars
Walk along with the emperor.
