Dr Sergio Canavero plans to do the first human head transplant next year

[arista]

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/09/20/13/389A164700000578-3798056-image-m-8_1474373350876.jpg
GMBHD itv , yesterday.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/09/20/11/389A32F100000578-3798056-image-a-30_1474366818456.jpg
[Dr Canavero (pictured) said the
first operation on a human would
only be carried out once surgeons
were sure there was a 90 per cent
chance of success. They hope to
test some of the techniques needed
to reconnect the spinal cord
using fresh human cadavers]

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3798056/Head-transplant-surgeon-plans-controversial-Frankenstein-experiments-reanimate-corpses.html#ixzz4Kqp3JQEr


[Dr.Hilary said he doubted any
nation would allow it]

Russia may.

[Northern Monkey]

Weird.Imagine if they put like a white head on a black body?Or a mans head on a womans body.

[arista]

Weird.Imagine if they put like a white head on a black body?Or a mans head on a womans body.


No thats not permitted


First lets see if this man
he has selected
stays alive after the induced coma.

[user104658]

Weird.Imagine if they put like a white head on a black body?Or a mans head on a womans body.
Interesting futuristic scenario:

Imagine the surgery became not only possible, but perfectly safe / straightforward. Interesting implications for transsexuality then! You could have a trans male and a trans female literally switch bodies...

Imagine the same but with it being not just head, but brain transplants that are possible, so you would literally be swapping entire bodies. You would be able to have children and everything. But they wouldn't be genetically yours. Or Would they be, as that is now your own body? But they wouldn't be genetically related to your parents. Or are your parents even your parents any more? Is it the parents of the body or the parents of the mind?

:think: Basically you'd have a whole new area of philosophy, the philosophy of "genetic ownership".

This is too much for 8.30am on a Wednesday :joker:

[Northern Monkey]

Interesting futuristic scenario:

Imagine the surgery became not only possible, but perfectly safe / straightforward. Interesting implications for transsexuality then! You could have a trans male and a trans female literally switch bodies...

Imagine the same but with it being not just head, but brain transplants that are possible, so you would literally be swapping entire bodies. You would be able to have children and everything. But they wouldn't be genetically yours. Or Would they be, as that is now your own body? But they wouldn't be genetically related to your parents. Or are your parents even your parents any more? Is it the parents of the body or the parents of the mind?

:think: Basically you'd have a whole new area of philosophy, the philosophy of "genetic ownership".

This is too much for 8.30am on a Wednesday :joker:All those 80's Sci-Fi movies are slowly becoming a reality.Just much slower than they predicted.I would love to be cryogenically frozen later in life and wake up in a thousand years.

Edit:As long as it's not some Mad Max style post apocalyptic world.

[bots]

why stop there, imagine putting a human head on an eagle .... and the legendary man-bear-pig could be closer than we thought!

[Niamh.]

This is so strange and also a little creepy :worry:

[Ammi]

..it's a great and amazing thing I guess but I can't quite get my head around it..(no pun intended..)../the psychology of it...the way someone who you had loved and lost, would still be there...their face would be there and you'd still be able to look at that face..

[Braden]

It's really scary because obviously it's never been done, but it would be incredible if it turns out to be successful.

[Northern Monkey]

Imagine if you were like a proper sexy chick and they put you on a big fat munters body.You'd be devo'd.

Also if this got to the point where it became a common straight forward procedure it could become the ultimate level of cosmetic surgery.Rich Hollywood celebs wandering around morgues choosing their new bods:eek:

[user104658]

..it's a great and amazing thing I guess but I can't quite get my head around it..(no pun intended..)../the psychology of it...the way someone who you had loved and lost, would still be there...their face would be there and you'd still be able to look at that face..
It is actually a head transplant Ammi not a brain transplant, so it wouldn't be the deceased body's face. I still get what you mean though, even with it just being the body. Especially as how someone moves is down to personality and style so it might be the same body, but moving in a completely different way? Hmm.

Also yeah... In my fictional "brain transplant" scenario I think, unless it was someone with genuinely no strong attachments in life, it would have to be a "body swap" rather than the "donation" of an entire body after death. Very murky moral territory there.

... I actually think maybe there's a damn good sci-fi story in that :think:.

[Niamh.]

It is actually a head transplant Ammi not a brain transplant, so it wouldn't be the deceased body's face. I still get what you mean though, even with it just being the body. Especially as how someone moves is down to personality and style so it might be the same body, but moving in a completely different way? Hmm.

Also yeah... In my fictional "brain transplant" scenario I think, unless it was someone with genuinely no strong attachments in life, it would have to be a "body swap" rather than the "donation" of an entire body after death. Very murky moral territory there.

... I actually think maybe there's a damn good sci-fi story in that :think:.

One of my favourite comedies of all time :hee:

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51SYCRB2X9L.jpg

[Nicky91]

okay this is really weird, and creepy :worry:

[user104658]

Imagine if you were like a proper sexy chick and they put you on a big fat munters body.You'd be devo'd.

Also if this got to the point where it became a common straight forward procedure it could become the ultimate level of cosmetic surgery.Rich Hollywood celebs wandering around morgues choosing their new bods:eek:

In theory, though, being "big and fat" is down to lifestyle and also getting and maintaining a fit body is too, so if you put that brain in an overweight body and then they just carry on life as normal it shouldn't take long for the weight to fall off. Being unable to lose weight is almost always a psychological issue. And if it's a head transplant, again, you wouldn't have to worry about ending up with a butter face :think:.

Then again, I'm 6'2 with a pretty solid frame... If they put me on some skinny 5'7 body I'd be pretty peeved. Not because there's anything specifically wrong with it, plenty of people carry it very well, but I'd have no idea how to carry myself... A lot of my confidence is probably linked to being a decent chunk of fella :joker:. I'd probably be a bit intimidated by people :worry:.

Or maybe I'd overcompensate and be one of those really angry little guys like my father in law? Heh.

[Vicky.]

How can you transplant a head but not a brain?:umm2:

Assumed this would be head brain and all.

Brain transplants scare the **** out of me if they ever end up happening, given your entire personality is in your brain. So if someone else gets a brain transplant, you are basically still alive and them dead, just you are using their body :S

[Ammi]

One of my favourite comedies of all time :hee:

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51SYCRB2X9L.jpg

..I love everything Steve Martin, he's like a God for me...:lovedup:.../a very funny movie...

[Niamh.]

How can you transplant a head but not a brain?:umm2:

Assumed this would be head brain and all.

Brain transplants scare the **** out of me if they ever end up happening, given your entire personality is in your brain. So if someone else gets a brain transplant, you are basically still alive and them dead, just you are using their body :S

They would be transplanting the brain along with the head, wouldn't they?

[bots]

Yeah, its really no big deal if its just the head and not the brain, although, does that include things like eyes, ears, etc. If it does, I would suggest it impractical as your brain develops special path ways and develops in a particular way to adjust to the idiosyncrasies of those unique sensors .

If it doesn't include eyes, are they going to be transplanted along with the brain. Call me sceptical, but I would suggest next year is a bit optimistic.

[Northern Monkey]

In theory, though, being "big and fat" is down to lifestyle and also getting and maintaining a fit body is too, so if you put that brain in an overweight body and then they just carry on life as normal it shouldn't take long for the weight to fall off. Being unable to lose weight is almost always a psychological issue. And if it's a head transplant, again, you wouldn't have to worry about ending up with a butter face :think:.

Then again, I'm 6'2 with a pretty solid frame... If they put me on some skinny 5'7 body I'd be pretty peeved. Not because there's anything specifically wrong with it, plenty of people carry it very well, but I'd have no idea how to carry myself... A lot of my confidence is probably linked to being a decent chunk of fella :joker:. I'd probably be a bit intimidated by people :worry:.

Or maybe I'd overcompensate and be one of those really angry little guys like my father in law? Heh.Haha.You'd have to get in the gym and get on the juice.
I'd be the opposite.I'm 5'8 and stocky(but not fat).If they put me on a 6'2 guy it'd be a whole new world for me.I'd see things i don't now.No more standing on tip toes or finding gaps between peoples heads at concerts.I'd probs smack my head alot on stuff too.I could change a lightbulb without a ladder.

[Vicky.]

They would be transplanting the brain along with the head, wouldn't they?

Apparently not, which is why this is odd :laugh:

[Niamh.]

Apparently not, which is why this is odd :laugh:

What is even the point then? :suspect:

[user104658]

How can you transplant a head but not a brain?:umm2:

Assumed this would be head brain and all.
Obviously it is the head and brain but different from just a brain transplant as you would still have your own face, which is the majority of most peoples physical "sense of self".

Brain transplants scare the **** out of me if they ever end up happening, given your entire personality is in your brain. So if someone else gets a brain transplant, you are basically still alive and them dead, just you are using their body :S

Well the person at the end of it would obviously be the "brain" part, that's the life they would go back to as much as possible (friends, job etc...) rather than a stranger "driving" a body and taking over that life. I guess it's easier to think of it as the "brain owner" getting a body transplant, rather than a body having a brain transplant? Like even in the "real" story in the OP it's more "first ever full-body transplant" rather than "head transplant".

The rest of the body, when it comes down to it, is just machinery to keep the head/brain alive and let it interact with the world.

[Vicky.]

The again, surely it must be the brain, given this

The man who has volunteered to undergo the first human head transplant in the world has said his girlfriend does not want him to have the controversial surgery.

Valery Spiridonov suffers from a genetic disorder that means he is wheelchair bound and physically unable to take care of himself without constant assistance.

He has offered to be the first to undergo the controversial procedure proposed by Dr Sergio Canavero which would see him being decapitated and then his head being reattached to a donors body.

But Mr Spiridonov told ITV's Good Morning Britain that his girlfriend is opposed to the operation.

He said: 'She supports me in all what I do, but she doesn't think that I need to change, she accepts me the way I am. She doesn't think that I need the surgery.

'My motivation personally is about improving my own life conditions and to go to the stage where I will be able to take care of myself, where I will be independent from other people.

'I need people to help me everyday, even twice a day because I need someone to take me off my bed and put me in my wheelchair, so it makes my life pretty dependable on other people and if there will be a way to change this I believe it should be tried.'



So he will be him, but not him. This is quite crazy, scary and fascinating at the same time. Even with a volunteer...will he be allowed to do this though?

[Lostie!]

I don't get it. This guy's volunteered to actually have his head chopped off?

These stories are getting more and more macabre.

[Vicky.]

I don't get it. This guy's volunteered to actually have his head chopped off?

These stories are getting more and more macabre.

They guy is severely disabled though and wanting a better quality of life, I guess its a bit more understandable if he hates being chair bound and that so much...to take the risk of being 'better'.

Creepy though that from the sounds of it they will be attaching him to a dead body :umm2:

Infact the whole thing is creepy. But interesting all the same.

[user104658]

And on that last note, I also find the idea of brains being transplanted into fully synthetic bodies pretty interesting . I think it will definitely happen at some point and could be a route towards, effectively, immortality.

[Vicky.]

And on that last note, I also find the idea of brains being transplanted into fully synthetic bodies pretty interesting . I think it will definitely happen at some point and could be a route towards, effectively, immortality.
God now THAT is scary. We would be robots but with actual I instead of AI :laugh:

Have there been any studies on how long a brain can work without illnesses/body and such? By this..have they ever tried to keep a brain alive after the body is gone? I expect not as that sounds horrid but thats the way we would have to go I think if this ever was spoken about...

[user104658]

Yeah, its really no big deal if its just the head and not the brain, although, does that include things like eyes, ears, etc. If it does, I would suggest it impractical as your brain develops special path ways and develops in a particular way to adjust to the idiosyncrasies of those unique sensors .

If it doesn't include eyes, are they going to be transplanted along with the brain. Call me sceptical, but I would suggest next year is a bit optimistic.
That's true but young-ish brains adapt those pathways pretty quickly... IIRC eye transplants / synthetic eyes are becoming science fact. Over the course of months / years the brain will rewire to the new perceptions.

The older you get the more fixed the pathways are though. This is why children can often recover to seemingly completely "normal" from a brain injury that would leave an adult disabled.

[user104658]

God now THAT is scary. We would be robots but with actual I instead of AI [emoji23]

Have there been any studies on how long a brain can work without illnesses/body and such? By this..have they ever tried to keep a brain alive after the body is gone? I expect not as that sounds horrid but thats the way we would have to go I think if this ever was spoken about...
There are loads of questions there too. Like would it be a dead cert for dementia to set in over 100? How much is that linked to body condition? What are the time limits on human memory?

To answer the basics though, no its not possible yet to remove a brain without damaging it beyond repair.

[Vicky.]

There are loads of questions there too. Like would it be a dead cert for dementia to set in over 100? How much is that linked to body condition? What are the time limits on human memory?

To answer the basics though, no its not possible yet to remove a brain without damaging it beyond repair.

Bu this guy reckons he will be able to do it by next year? Hmm...

[Northern Monkey]

There are loads of questions there too. Like would it be a dead cert for dementia to set in over 100? How much is that linked to body condition? What are the time limits on human memory?

To answer the basics though, no its not possible yet to remove a brain without damaging it beyond repair.

That would be an interesting test.The limit on memory.If a 300 year old could remember anything from childhood or even their 20's.Although most peoples 20's are abit of a blur.

[Ammi]

...he predicts a 90% success for the transplant, that's pretty darn high...surely that's a lot higher than some fairly standard by comparison surgeries and I don't understand how that could be predicted with something that's never been done before....

[user104658]

Bu this guy reckons he will be able to do it by next year? Hmm...
The whole head, not taking the brain out

[Vicky.]

The whole head, not taking the brain out

I can't see how it would be too different? Granted I am not a scientist or anything but I would imagine the main issues with a brain transplant will be getting nerves and such to reattach to the correct places to make it work properly...there will still be this issue with a head transplant :S

[Kazanne]

I saw this yesterday,it kind of freaks me out.

[bots]

I can't see how it would be too different? Granted I am not a scientist or anything but I would imagine the main issues with a brain transplant will be getting nerves and such to reattach to the correct places to make it work properly...there will still be this issue with a head transplant :S

well, the head is just a bit of covering at its most basic. People have had metal plates put in their heads for decades, i'm also pretty sure we have had a face transplant? Anyway, if you strip it down to constituent parts, considering it as a form of covering only, it may be possible, but my feelings are that its a bit further off than a year yet.

[Vicky.]

well, the head is just a bit of covering at its most basic. People have had metal plates put in their heads for decades, i'm also pretty sure we have had a face transplant? Anyway, if you strip it down to constituent parts, considering it as a form of covering only, it may be possible, but my feelings are that its a bit further off than a year yet.

But this is head and brain?

[bots]

But this is head and brain?

no, i think its just head .... head and brain would involve disconnection from the spinal chord, which is really an extension of the brain in the first place... Brain transplants are in the realms of fiction at the moment.

[Vicky.]

no, i think its just head .... head and brain would involve disconnection from the spinal chord, which is really an extension of the brain in the first place... Brain transplants are in the realms of fiction at the moment.

It says this in the article

Would be no point a disabled guy offering himself up on the chance it may work and improve his quality of life if it was just the head. As putting his head on an able body would not be him, but his brain would be :S

[bots]

It says this in the article

Would be no point a disabled guy offering himself up on the chance it may work and improve his quality of life if it was just the head. As putting his head on an able body would not be him, but his brain would be :S

ok, well, he may have made incredible steps forward in discovery and technique, in which case all credit to him, but call me a sceptic :laugh:

[user104658]

No it is the full head + brain... Basically putting some ones head from a "broken body" onto a working body. Like a limb transplant but with the full thing.

Spinal cord reattachment is possible in ideal circumstances, I guess it doesn't work very often after accidents because the cord has been randomly "torn" rather than surgically severed on purpose in just the right place? That would be my guess, anyway.

It's definitely an interesting one because if donor rejection which is linked to the immune system... But the immune system I think is within the body rather than the head so it would be the head that was rejected rather than the donor body. Having your immune system attacking your head and brain would probably be pretty unpleasant :umm2:.

[bots]

No it is the full head + brain... Basically putting some ones head from a "broken body" onto a working body. Like a limb transplant but with the full thing.

Spinal cord reattachment is possible in ideal circumstances, I guess it doesn't work very often after accidents because the cord has been randomly "torn" rather than surgically severed on purpose in just the right place? That would be my guess, anyway.

It's definitely an interesting one because if donor rejection which is linked to the immune system... But the immune system I think is within the body rather than the head so it would be the head that was rejected rather than the donor body. Having your immune system attacking your head and brain would probably be pretty unpleasant :umm2:.

Some researchers are saying that's a contributory factor in Alzheimer's i believe, so yes, wouldn't end well.

I'm all for medical advancement, I'm just a bit sceptical that this is so close to reality on a human, when I haven't even heard of it being successful on pigs for example .... may be i'm just ill informed :worry:

[user104658]

Some researchers are saying that's a contributory factor in Alzheimer's i believe, so yes, wouldn't end well.

I'm all for medical advancement, I'm just a bit sceptical that this is so close to reality on a human, when I haven't even heard of it being successful on pigs for example .... may be i'm just ill informed :worry:

True, you would think they would have done it successfully with an animal long before they would be even talking about humans.

[Niamh.]

My God, i'm going to have nightmares after reading this thread :worry:

[user104658]

My God, i'm going to have nightmares after reading this thread :worry:
But arista's head on LT's body has always been your dream :think:

[armand.kay]

Omg I want.

[arista]

But arista's head on LT's body has always been your dream :think:


Never

I am Very Fit

[Kazanne]

/1IJ7ZBGSykA

This is how they will do it.

[Vanessa]

I'd rather keep my own head, thanks :nono:

[Kazanne]

I'd rather keep my own head, thanks :nono:

Do you wonder vanessa if it is possible,didn't people at one time think heart transplants could never take place,but the head seems different,proper creepy

[Mystic Mock]

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/09/20/13/389A164700000578-3798056-image-m-8_1474373350876.jpg
GMBHD itv , yesterday.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/09/20/11/389A32F100000578-3798056-image-a-30_1474366818456.jpg
[Dr Canavero (pictured) said the
first operation on a human would
only be carried out once surgeons
were sure there was a 90 per cent
chance of success. They hope to
test some of the techniques needed
to reconnect the spinal cord
using fresh human cadavers]

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3798056/Head-transplant-surgeon-plans-controversial-Frankenstein-experiments-reanimate-corpses.html#ixzz4Kqp3JQEr


[Dr.Hilary said he doubted any
nation would allow it]

Russia may.

Doctor Frankenstein is in da house.

[bots]

that surgeon in the video appeared to have a degree of scepticism too :laugh: