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Human head transplant is now possible

Architect

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


If true, and AFAIK it is, then you could imagine that in 20 years you can have a clone body grown and then just graft your body onto it when your existing body gets too old.

Connection of a spinal cord from the head of one creature to the body of another has never been attempted even in animals, so Canavero’s paper must be taken as an exercise in speculation. However, the severing and re-connection of spinal cords in the same animal has met with limited success in the past. Just this week, scientists at Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic were able to restore limited connectivity between the two severed halves of spinal cords in rats.
 

TimeAsylums

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It looks like they can make everything intact again...wow.
I'm curious, is the mind/conscious affected/preserved when it is severed/disconnected and transplanted? I mean assuming the brain was kept in pristine condition I don't see why not, but...?

$13Billion small price to pay to live forever, assuming your conscious is intact.
 

GodOfOrder

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It looks like they can make everything intact again...wow.
I'm curious, is the mind/conscious affected/preserved when it is severed/disconnected and transplanted? I mean assuming the brain was kept in pristine condition I don't see why not, but...?

$13Billion small price to pay to live forever, assuming your conscious is intact.

I doubt it is any different than temporary clinical death, experientially
 

Double_V

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Puhlease! Under President Obama the FDA is nearly three times slower at medical device approval than under Bush.

So getting a new head body will be easier to get than something as simple as a pacemaker for the brain.

Figures.
 

Cognisant

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I-dont-always-say-i-told-you-so.jpg


At times like this I almost miss Da Blob, then I go down the street and hire a gigalo to slap me, fucking stings.
 

John_Mann

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I prefer to wait (in cryo) for nanobots.
 

Double_V

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But this would finally be an excuse for all the lazy NTP's .

'Sorry. I meant to clean up X, but my head just isn't connected to my spine. Really. All I can do is sit here & and think'.
 

Thurlor

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I can just imagine some nerdy little INTP somewhere out there behind his monitor thinking;

"Wow. My dreams of being a head in a jar (ala Futurama) are finally plausible."

Well something like that anyway.
 

just george

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Since the people who will ahve new bodies grown for them are the rich scumbags of the world, perhaps we might see a little more research being done in the area of spinal and nerve repair, then.

After all, the only way you can transplant a head is to become a paraplegic. Can't have that for the Queen now, can we. (Goat legged hag)
 

Thurlor

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It appears that some people get quite emotional when rich people are involved in any way.

Even if the procedure is only available to the rich that doesn't prevent good people from undergoing such a procedure. I'm quite sure there re rich philanthropists out there.
 

just george

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It appears that some people get quite emotional when rich people are involved in any way.

Even if the procedure is only available to the rich that doesn't prevent good people from undergoing such a procedure. I'm quite sure there re rich philanthropists out there.
I only care because lots of the people who are presently rich either directly participated in, or benefited from, suppressing technologies or keeping resources from other people.

If everything was fair, I wouldn't mind at all. When I see some guy who is super rich not because of natural ability, but because he won the lucky ballbag award and had the right father who set him up in some closed game (eg the banking system) that is closed to everyone else yet preys upon them, it annoys me somewhat.
 

BigApplePi

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If true, and AFAIK it is, then you could imagine that in 20 years you can have a clone body grown and then just graft your body onto it when your existing body gets too old.
And in 30 years when they solve the reject problem, one can graft the body of a lion. Might lead to some confusion how to operate it though. If that doesn't work, try an eagle. Do you think that would fly?

Another possibility:
 

just george

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And in 30 years when they solve the reject problem, one can graft the body of a lion. Might lead to some confusion how to operate it though. If that doesn't work, try an eagle. Do you think that would fly?

Another possibility:[/SPOILER]
The platypus: escaped pet from a previous civilization
 

Magus

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Would private health care insurers treat death as a pre-existing condition? Seems pretty cool, if a little freaky.
 

Redfire

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We were talking about this with Cognisant a little over a month ago. I think my PM inspired him to secretly further the research and publish it under someone else's name.

By the way, and this is what I was talking about with him; the brain (and head) obviously still ages. Does anyone know how long a person could potentially extend his lifespan with this? What I mean is, maybe the brain actually lasts longer than the rest of the body; so this could mean life extension even for healthy people.
 

Proletar

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I'm not sure how good it would be to have tons of crazy senile people with ripped bodies of 20 year-olds.
 

GodOfOrder

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I'm not sure how good it would be to have tons of crazy senile people with ripped bodies of 20 year-olds.

I am sure the procedure would not be wasted on people with degenerative disease, unless that was also cured
 

Proletar

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I am sure the procedure would not be wasted on people with degenerative disease, unless that was also cured

If you give a young body to an old head (I know there is a pun somewhere in this) it's bound to happen. If the degenerative diseases are not present while the transplant takes place, then they will show as time progresses. A -> B.
 

GodOfOrder

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True enough, unless of course the procedure is coupled with restorative treatments, stem cell assistance, and other equally extravagant things. If immortality is the goal, then surely all possible measures would be taken to ensure maximum longevity. It is just a fact that nothing can last forever, but certainly things would only continue for as long as it was viable. If the subject was too far gone to start with, it wouldn't happen; and if it fails later I can't imagine it being much different than a senile old person in an old body. The potential for damage isn't significantly greater, save for the possibility of fighting off the orderly:D and if they are truly far gone they'll be drooling in a cup either way. :)
 

Cognisant

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Considering the pace of technology in the last fifty years I think merely surviving another fifty should be more than sufficient to gain access to a more permanent solution.

In fifty years time: I told you so! :D
 

Proletar

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True enough, unless of course the procedure is coupled with restorative treatments, stem cell assistance, and other equally extravagant things. If immortality is the goal, then surely all possible measures would be taken to ensure maximum longevity. It is just a fact that nothing can last forever, but certainly things would only continue for as long as it was viable. If the subject was too far gone to start with, it wouldn't happen; and if it fails later I can't imagine it being much different than a senile old person in an old body. The potential for damage isn't significantly greater, save for the possibility of fighting off the orderly:D and if they are truly far gone they'll be drooling in a cup either way. :)

But if we had access to restorative treatments, stem cell assistance and other extravagant things, why would we even need a head transplant?
 

GodOfOrder

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To bide time until they reach perfection, or until we can find a way to escape our bodies. Its all just a game of extension.
 

Thurlor

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What if?

The 'Human head transplant is now possible' thread got me thinking about all sorts of things, including;

What what happen if we had the ability to operate on twin fetuses in utero and connect their brains during development with radio transceivers/wifi. Not a single connection, but a complete inter-connectedness. Would a single mind emerge with two bodies?
 

BigApplePi

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Johnny get ready. I know you've been waiting a long time but your new body is here.:)

Her name was Marjorie. :D
 

Cognisant

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Re: What if?

Depends how connected they are, our brains have two interconnected hemispheres which apparently have different ways of responding to stimuli, enabling us to both focus intensely on a eye hand coordination task like tying a knot while listening for predators. In theory two highly connected brains would share enough information that their sense of self would become distributed, however with two independent bodies I imagine this sense of self would be more sophisticated than our own, the idea of individuality would be very confusing, a kind of adaptive MPD could occur.

In the more specific case of RF communication which can be interrupted or lack sufficient range to maintain a connection individual personalities may develop if they aren't sharing all their experiences, which could get very ugly, if they develop independent concepts of self then they may try to dominate/manipulate each other, the struggle for control resulting in psychological trauma for the both of them.

Then there's feedback loops to consider, they could become incredibly lovey-dovey and codependent, or as I suspect is more likely their conflicting individuality will send them into an irrational and murderous rage at each other whenever they're in RF communications range.

It would be interesting to have them interact with RF blocking helmets on then see if they can maintain civil composure when the helmets are removed.
 
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