Neuroscientist Plans to Do a Human Head Transplant Soon

Good news, everyone!
This article is over 9 years old and may contain outdated information

Recommended Videos

An Italian neuroscientist has a plan to make a human head transplant happen as soon as 2017, and he’ll be announcing the project at a surgical conference in June.

Sergio Canavero of the Turin Advanced Neuromodulation Group believes that the trouble spots of such a surgery—like preventing the body from rejecting the transplant and, oh, fusing the spinal cords together so the head can actually use the body—will be sufficiently surmountable by 2017.

Canavero has recently published new information on the “Gemini” spinal cord fusion technique that would allow the transplant head to make use of its brand new body. The blood vessels in the head and body are first connected by small tubes, and then the spinal cords must be cleanly cut and fused together with polyethylene glycol, which makes fat in cell membranes mesh together.

Even with this new advancement, only ten to fifteen percent of the neurons are likely to fuse together, but Canavero told New Scientist that the person who underwent the procedure would be able to move their face and speak with their own voice and may even be able to walk with a year of physical therapy. So while we won’t become immortal heads in jars or start hot-swapping heads like the aliens in Mars Attacks, the outlandish-sounding procedure may actually have a chance at giving people whose bodies have failed them—Canavero says he already has several volunteers—a new lease on life.

(via Gizmodo)

Are you following The Mary Sue on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, & Google +?


The Mary Sue is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy
Author
Image of Dan Van Winkle
Dan Van Winkle
Dan Van Winkle (he) is an editor and manager who has been working in digital media since 2013, first at now-defunct Geekosystem (RIP), and then at The Mary Sue starting in 2014, specializing in gaming, science, and technology. Outside of his professional experience, he has been active in video game modding and development as a hobby for many years. He lives in North Carolina with Lisa Brown (his wife) and Liz Lemon (their dog), both of whom are the best, and you will regret challenging him at Smash Bros.