By Tania Snuggs, news reporter
"Frankenstein" scientists in the US have managed to partially revive pig brains four hours after the animals were slaughtered.
"Frankenstein" scientists in the US have managed to partially revive pig brains four hours after the animals were slaughtered.
The re-vitalised organs were said to be "cellularly active" – although there was no evidence that suggested awareness or consciousness.
Experts say it raises some "fascinating questions" about the potential to discover new treatments for brain diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's and could lead to debate about the definition of death.
Lead scientist Professor Nenad Sestan, from Yale University, said: "The intact brain of a large mammal retains a previously under-appreciated capacity for restoration of circulation and certain molecular and cellular activities multiple hours after circulatory arrest."
Advertisement
It was previously thought that, once the blood supply to the brain was cut off, it would mean irreversible damage within minutes, but this new study now questions that theory.
The ground-breaking experiment, using 32 pig brains obtained from a meat-packing plant, involved circulating a specially designed "chemical blood" preservative through them for six hours.
More from US
During this period, the scientists noticed a reduction in cell death and the restored functionality of certain nerve, blood vessel and glial cells – which are important brain "support cells."
The revived activity even included some synaptic function, the transmission of signals between neurons.
Details of the study are published in the latest issue of Nature journal.
Co-author Dr Zvonimir Vrselja, also from Yale, said: "At no point did we observe the kind of organised electrical activity associated with perception, awareness, or consciousness.
"Clinically defined, this is not a living brain, but it is a cellularly active brain."
Scientists say the study could help doctors discover ways to save brain function in stroke patients, or those involved in accidents.
Andrea Beckel-Mitchener, from the US National Institute of Mental Health, which co-funded the research, said it "could lead to a whole new way of studying the post-mortem human brain."
But the team stressed any future studies involving human tissue or the possible revival of global electrical activity in "dead" animal brains wouldRead More – Source
[contf] [contfnew] 
Sky News
[contfnewc] [contfnewc]
