Ethics concerns as scientists keep pig brains alive for 36 hours
The brains, which are not conscious, are kept alive through the circulation of an oxygen-rich fluid through the organs
US-based researchers have successfully kept alive the brain cells of decapitated pigs for 36 hours, sparking concerns over the ethics involved in such frontline research.
The MIT Technology Review said a team at Yale University led by neuroscientist Nenad Sestan had carried out experiments on between 100 and 200 pigs sourced from an abattoir.
Sestan had presented the findings of the experiments, where his team restored blood supply to the dead pigs’ brains, in late March to a conference organised by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The researchers said they had succeeded in delivering oxygen to the cells via a system of pumps and blood maintained at body temperature, the MIT Technology Review said.
Thanks to this system, dubbed BrainEx, millions of cells were kept in good health and were capable of functioning normally, the review said.
However, there was nothing to indicate that these cells experienced some form of consciousness, it said, citing Sestan as saying he was “convinced” they did not.
Such experiments could herald advances in restoring blood circulation at the micro level, including in the brain, the article said.