Taboo Science
Head Transplants (with Dr. Brandy Schillace)
Jun 17, 2021
Dr. Brandy Schillace discusses the taboo topic of head transplants, exploring the history, challenges, and ethical considerations involved. Topics include the difficulties of spinal cord reattachment, the evolution of organ transplants, defining death, controversial experiments on monkeys, and the complexities of transferring consciousness.
41:00
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Quick takeaways
- Dr. Robert White demonstrated the viability of brain transplants by successfully inserting a monkey's brain into another's neck.
- Current research focuses on bypassing spinal cord damage and establishing direct brain-motor communication to overcome paralysis.
Deep dives
The Beginning of Experiments with Brain Life and Brain Death
Dr. Robert White experimented with isolating brains from monkeys in the 1970s to prove that brain tissue wouldn't be rejected by the body. By hypercooling the brain to decrease oxygen needs and using a donor animal's blood flow, he kept a brain alive outside the body. White successfully transplanted a monkey's brain into another's neck, showing that brains could survive independently.
