First-ever human head transplant is now possible, says neuroscientist - Polidicks

[quote=The Article]Technical barriers to grafting one person’s head onto another person’s body can now be overcome, says Dr. Sergio Canavero, a member of the Turin Advanced Neuromodulation Group. In a recent paper, Canavero outlines a procedure modeled on successful head transplants which have been carried out in animals since 1970. The one problem with these transplants was that scientists were unable to connect the animals’ spinal cords to their donor bodies, leaving them paralyzed below the point of transplant. But, says Canavero, recent advances in re-connecting spinal cords that are surgically severed mean that it should be technically feasible to do it in humans. (This is not the same as restoring nervous system function to quadriplegics or other victims of traumatic spinal cord injury.)[/quote] Read the rest here: [url]http://qz.com/99413/first-ever-human-head-transplant-is-now-possible-says-neuroscientist/[/url] Now I'm just waiting for when we can use this knowledge to transplant human heads onto some sort of life support system, that combined with brain control transplants, cloning and radio controlled combat robots and we have Cortex Command :v:

wouldnt that be a body transplant?

[QUOTE=autodesknoob;45854618]wouldnt that be a body transplant?[/QUOTE] I think you can call it both.

Hm, this would make that song awkward for children. Head, transplanted onto shoulders knees and toes, knees and toes. But [U]not[/U] my eyes and ears and mouth and nose.

Editting is bugged I meant brain control implants not transplants. Damn you freud :v:

The ethics of such procedures are going to be a pretty complicated thing to deal with. If the procedure ever gets brought to complete fruition, be prepared for the debate to rage on for quite a while, with one of the primary arguments against it being 'but nobody should be allowed to play God.'

[QUOTE=Zonesylvania;45854688]The ethics of such procedures are going to be a pretty complicated thing to deal with. If the procedure ever gets brought to complete fruition, be prepared for the debate to rage on for quite a while, with one of the primary arguments against it being 'but nobody should be allowed to play God.'[/QUOTE] I have a hard time seeing what this could be actually used for, if anybody has an idea please explain it to me.

Wont the head/body reject one another?

[QUOTE=Lone Wolf807;45854728]Wont the head/body reject one another?[/QUOTE] It could be suppressed with heavy doses of immunosuppressants. They also had a principle developed recently where hydrogels could be used as long-term delivery of immunosuppression drugs. We could combine these two and see how it worked out.

[QUOTE=NeverGoWest;45854600]Read the rest here: [url]http://qz.com/99413/first-ever-human-head-transplant-is-now-possible-says-neuroscientist/[/url] Now I'm just waiting for when we can use this knowledge to transplant human heads onto some sort of life support system, that combined with brain control transplants, cloning and radio controlled combat robots and we have Cortex Command :v:[/QUOTE] One step closer to the brain-in-a-jar.

-snip-

Better source?

[QUOTE=NeverGoWest;45854725]I have a hard time seeing what this could be actually used for, if anybody has an idea please explain it to me.[/QUOTE] Saving people who have sustained horrible body mutilation including, but not limited to, bisection, shrapnel wounds, gaping holes, partial maceration, etc. Basically, any problem that would render the patient's body unusable, or would kill the patient if they were still connected to it.

[QUOTE=NeverGoWest;45854725]I have a hard time seeing what this could be actually used for, if anybody has an idea please explain it to me.[/QUOTE] It could probably be used to transplant a head onto a new body if your was damaged beyond repair but you still survived. but that's just my guess. But even then, it'd probably be very rare. If you stepped on a mine and lost your leg, it might just make more sense, both in monetary cost and ethics to just make a new leg.

I think it'd be better to improve the life of five or six people and harvest the body's organs instead of just giving a new body to a single person.

Now doctors can truly Frankenstein their patients back together.

[QUOTE=NeverGoWest;45854725]I have a hard time seeing what this could be actually used for, if anybody has an idea please explain it to me.[/QUOTE] Donor body dies without damage to their body, recipient was previously paralysed/etc?

I'm guessing after we develop life support units for disembodied heads, we should work on our robotics for better replacement bodies.

[video=youtube;GNtTlyWl_oI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNtTlyWl_oI[/video] related

Now I can be a changeling!

[QUOTE=thelurker1234;45854768]It could probably be used to transplant a head onto a new body if your was damaged beyond repair but you still survived. but that's just my guess. But even then, it'd probably be very rare. If you stepped on a mine and lost your leg, it might just make more sense, both in monetary cost and ethics to just make a new leg.[/QUOTE] True - but we're still a ways away from regrowing or transplanting any legs onto people who've lost them. For now we still have to do with dubious mechanical replacements which won't function as well as the original.

[QUOTE=ironman17;45854783]I'm guessing after we develop life support units for disembodied heads, we should work on our robotics for better replacement bodies.[/QUOTE] Also is it just me, or does anyone else prefer replacement limbs/bodies to look robotic rather than human-like? Though it could just be the uncanny valley there.

[QUOTE=thelurker1234;45854797]Also is it just me, or does anyone else prefer replacement limbs/bodies to look robotic rather than human-like? Though it could just be the uncanny valley there.[/QUOTE] Star Wars or Fullmetal Alchemist might also fit there. If it were possible for replacement parts to look as human as possible it would definitely be much more acceptable in the long run.

[QUOTE=thelurker1234;45854797]Also is it just me, or does anyone else prefer replacement limbs/bodies to look robotic rather than human-like? Though it could just be the uncanny valley there.[/QUOTE] I like the idea of customized, artistic prostheses, if only because they're a much more unique, beautiful solution for a lost limb. Also, the people who get them are usually more comfortable with their loss, they're not trying to disguise it, but are almost proud of it. It says a lot about a person if they turn down a realistic replica for something they're not afraid to show off, I guess.

It's a matter of photorealism vs stylisation, in that an artificial body would look much better as its own stylised thing than looking like something SkyNet thought would fool the humans. Personally I'd be fine having a more interesting platform that is specialized and looks neat, in comparison to something that looks human, but not quite human enough. Same thing applies to modern robots, like Asimo and the Geth Strippers look charming, whilst those fake-skin androids are creepy as hell.

And soon(maybe never, but hopefully), we'll see stuff like this [img]http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130124151259/es.futurama/images/3/3f/Nixon.png[/img] If only..

So we could transplant our heads to children and live forever?

[QUOTE=seano12;45854890]So we could transplant our heads to children and live forever?[/QUOTE] ethics, my good man. Not to mention that anybody who ever tried that would probably end up in prison or something because I don't see that as being ethically acceptable for a lot of stakeholders.

[QUOTE=NeverGoWest;45854725]I have a hard time seeing what this could be actually used for, if anybody has an idea please explain it to me.[/QUOTE] All the ideas I can come up with are illegal or immoral.

[QUOTE=Rocko's;45854873]And soon(maybe never, but hopefully), we'll see stuff like this [img]http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130124151259/es.futurama/images/3/3f/Nixon.png[/img] If only..[/QUOTE] I've always wondered something about the Futurama universe. How were they able to keep the heads of famous people alive even though they died decades or centuries before the head in a jar technology was made?