Interesting papers to read 3
Piero Giacomelli
CIO | Group IT Manager at Fidia Farmaceutici SpA | Packtpub Book Author | Manning Publication Reviewer | Passionate about math
Death is inevitable but some visionaries scientist are working to try to reverse it. It's not a 80' horror b-movie but some frontier science. Today I share a very technical and provoking papers:
Restoration of brain circulation and cellular functions hours post-mortem
By Zvonimir Vrselja
In this study published in the journal Nature in 2019, a team of scientists from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem demonstrated that they were able to restore some function in the brains of dead pigs. The researchers used a technique called brain organoids, which are three-dimensional structures that are grown in a lab and mimic the structure and function of a human brain.
The scientists first removed the brains from pigs that had been recently euthanized. They then placed the brains in a special solution that allowed them to remain alive for several hours. During this time, the researchers stimulated the brains with electrical currents. This stimulation caused some of the neurons in the brains to fire, which is a sign of activity.
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The researchers also found that the brains were able to learn new information. For example, they trained the brains to associate a certain sound with a specific reward. After the training, the brains were able to remember the association and respond to the sound accordingly.
The study's findings are significant because they suggest that it may be possible to restore some function to the brains of people who have suffered brain damage or death. However, the researchers caution that there is still a long way to go before this technology could be used in humans.
In addition to the technical challenges, there are also ethical concerns that need to be addressed. For example, some people have raised concerns about the use of pigs in research. Others have questioned whether it is ethical to restore brain function in people who have died.
Despite these challenges, the study's findings are a promising step forward in the field of brain research. They suggest that it may be possible to one day develop treatments that can restore function to damaged or dead brains.
Although the paper is very technical the main idea can be gained without a Phd in brain biochemestry, and it opened new line of research even if to my knowledge nothing similar has been proved with humans.