Bringing the dead back to life

Takaharu · May 3, 2016, 11:12pm

A groundbreaking trial to see if it is possible to regenerate the brains of dead people has won approval from health watchdogs.

A biotech company in the US has been granted ethical permission to recruit 20 patients who have been declared clinically dead from a traumatic brain injury, to test whether parts of their central nervous system can be brought back to life.

Scientists will use a combination of therapies, which include injecting the brain with stem cells and a cocktail of amino acids, as well as deploying lasers and nerve stimulation techniques which have been shown to bring patients out of comas.

The trial participants will have been certified dead and only kept alive through life support. They will be monitored for several months using brain imaging equipment to look for signs of regeneration, particularly in the upper spinal cord - the lowest region of the brain stem which controls independent breathing and heartbeat.

The team believes that the brain stem cells may be able to erase their history and re-start life again, based on their surrounding tissue – a process seen in the animal kingdom in creatures like salamanders who can regrow entire limbs.

It's fascinating but it makes you wonder if it's long-lasting and whether there are side-effects.

Calvus · May 3, 2016, 11:13pm

That is what research is for. =)

Commodore_64 · May 4, 2016, 12:14am

Zombie farms for teh body parts?

Mora · May 4, 2016, 11:20am

Zombie apocalypse incoming. This is how it all begins :)

Dje4321 · May 4, 2016, 1:27pm

We now need a game that uses this.

Call of duty Black Ops 4 Zombies?

Takaharu · May 4, 2016, 5:37pm

PVP kill, player gets back up as an NPC. Same gear, AI difficulty matches player level XD

Cosaga · May 4, 2016, 7:04pm

Reminds me of this

SoulFallen · May 4, 2016, 7:06pm

It's a race for what ends the world! Zombies or AI?!

Seriously though... if this research bears any fruit it will forever change how we see death.

anarekist · May 4, 2016, 8:27pm

Cue futrama talking heads

Also test tube babies
http://www.wsj.com/news/types/environment-science

Ethereal · May 4, 2016, 11:33pm

And here comes World War Z