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Researchers are keeping pig brains alive outside the body

technologyreview.com

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Re: Researchers are keeping pig brains alive outside the body

#41

Post by onetimemanytime »

torgian wrote: post #33

Spoiler warning: I didn’t read the article (can’t access now due to vpn not working) So from reading others comments and such: yeah, I understand the idea that the pigs could be comatose and not experiencing anything. From the science behind brains as we know it, that seems to be the case. Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with this because, in the end, it will benefit humans. And we are more important than pigs…

>>Give me, or my family enough money, and I’d be happen to be a brain in a bucket for a fixed period of time. Who knows what could happen. Maybe I’d be dead, maybe I’ll be in a waking dream, or maybe nothing at all. We don’t know.

That's an interesting perspective. Someone, extremely aware of what he's doing, taking one for the team--while being rewarded. Maybe the family will enjoy the $$ but at least you leave a legacy. Obviously it has to be a major experiment, the final one after all animal testing is exhausted. People sacrifice themselves to save others all the time, soldier jumping on top of grenade, people running into burning houses to save others, going to Mars etc etc

Re: Researchers are keeping pig brains alive outside the body

#42

Post by vectorEQ »

people have too much assumptions on what experience is, how that arises in the brain / mind and what those things are to say if these animals are suffering or not. i'd prefer if there was a more clear understanding of consciousness, experience and how that relates to our brains, hearts and other bodily functions before playing with it like this. that being said, like many posted, it's better to govern such experiments properly than to drive them underground as clearly there's many people with different opinions on this and basically before there's a thorough understanding on things it's not possible to say who's right or wrong. i'd just wish people did less work based on assumptions in science and medicine, because that always tends to lead to messy situations. from a personal perspective i think this kind of research is disgusting regarding the lack of information on this topic, but that's my personal opinion and i respect other's for having a different opinion even though that grosses me out. have fun in hell :-) guess we gotta fill that place too :D ( joking! for those atheists jumping on hate train)

Re: Researchers are keeping pig brains alive outside the body

#43

Post by redisman »

Dylan16807 wrote: post #26
jobigoud wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And yet is done everyday for food production.

Sometimes it happens as a side-effect of cost-cutting, but it's not desired. The goal is to have animals wander around a barn/field for months to years and then get instantly killed before being cut up.

Is that the goal? Of the ad departments of meat companies maybe lol

Re: Researchers are keeping pig brains alive outside the body

#44

Post by redisman »

__blockcipher__ wrote: post #18
mattnewton wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the brain was likely totally comatose, from the article: “”” Sestan now says the organs produce a flat brain wave equivalent to a comatose state, although the tissue itself “looks surprisingly great” and, once it’s dissected, the cells produce normal-seeming patterns. The lack of wider electrical activity could be irreversible if it is due to damage and cell death. The pigs’ brains were attached to the BrainE…

Ah, good catch there. I stand corrected. I definitely agree a flat-line is way different from being fully conscious.

But if something goes wrong (which sounds very likely at some point in such an imprecise operation)? That'll be a helluva existential crisis situation.

Re: Researchers are keeping pig brains alive outside the body

#45

Post by vbuwivbiu »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #19
_8j50 wrote: post #17

This is too much. Uncrossable lines must be drawn immediately. Humanity cannot afford to "wing it" when it comes to ethics and morality at this scale. There needs to be clear lines where crossing means the highest criminal consequence to the researcher. And people funding it. And it needs to be a global effort. Everything needs a balance.

7 billion people on this planet, pick an “uncrossable” line and I’ll find you someone who will cross it. You can’t put the genie back in the bottle. Best to find ways to govern ethical practices, instead of driving the research underground.

"You can’t put the genie back in the bottle"

You can though. You can do whatever you want! Although you can't unknow something, you can choose not to do it

Re: Researchers are keeping pig brains alive outside the body

#46

Post by redisman »

ALittleLight wrote: post #30
berbec wrote: post #8

The terrifying implications of this tech makes me shudder. Science fiction has beaten me to considering the potential for abuse. I'm picturing Hyperion meets Brainship with some Altered Carbon thrown in. It hurts my brain even to contemplate.

I'm torn between wanting to be cryogenically frozen and cremated.

The brain would have to be harvested very soon after death I'd imagine so burial method probably doesn't help

Re: Researchers are keeping pig brains alive outside the body

#47

Post by PeterStuer »

onetimemanytime wrote: post #41
torgian wrote: post #33

Spoiler warning: I didn’t read the article (can’t access now due to vpn not working) So from reading others comments and such: yeah, I understand the idea that the pigs could be comatose and not experiencing anything. From the science behind brains as we know it, that seems to be the case. Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with this because, in the end, it will benefit humans. And we are more important than pigs…

>> Give me, or my family enough money, and I’d be happen to be a brain in a bucket for a fixed period of time. Who knows what could happen. Maybe I’d be dead, maybe I’ll be in a waking dream, or maybe nothing at all. We don’t know. That's an interesting perspective. Someone, extremely aware of what he's doing, taking one for the team--while being rewarded. Maybe the family will enjoy the $$ but at least you leave a l…

Just keep on piling ever more of the spoils of 'progress' on the 0,1%, while keeping the rest in a dog eat dog 'job hunt' struggle for survival, and you will have no shortage of 'volunteers'.

Re: Researchers are keeping pig brains alive outside the body

#48

Post by onetimemanytime »

PeterStuer wrote: post #47
onetimemanytime wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> Give me, or my family enough money, and I’d be happen to be a brain in a bucket for a fixed period of time. Who knows what could happen. Maybe I’d be dead, maybe I’ll be in a waking dream, or maybe nothing at all. We don’t know. That's an interesting perspective. Someone, extremely aware of what he's doing, taking one for the team--while being rewarded. Maybe the family will enjoy the $$ but at least you leave a l…

Just keep on piling ever more of the spoils of 'progress' on the 0,1%, while keeping the rest in a dog eat dog 'job hunt' struggle for survival, and you will have no shortage of 'volunteers'.

What is an astronaut, especially the early ones ?

Re: Researchers are keeping pig brains alive outside the body

#49

Post by badminton1 »

torgian wrote: post #33

Spoiler warning: I didn’t read the article (can’t access now due to vpn not working) So from reading others comments and such: yeah, I understand the idea that the pigs could be comatose and not experiencing anything. From the science behind brains as we know it, that seems to be the case. Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with this because, in the end, it will benefit humans. And we are more important than pigs…

[flagged]

Re: Researchers are keeping pig brains alive outside the body

#50

Post by kortilla »

badminton1 wrote: post #49
torgian wrote: post #33

Spoiler warning: I didn’t read the article (can’t access now due to vpn not working) So from reading others comments and such: yeah, I understand the idea that the pigs could be comatose and not experiencing anything. From the science behind brains as we know it, that seems to be the case. Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with this because, in the end, it will benefit humans. And we are more important than pigs…

[flagged]

>where the average individual is N times more intelligent than you.

Nobody said anything about intelligence ratios except for you. Of course that’s a stupid metric. How many times more intelligent are you than a mushroom? Why is that an acceptable amount and not this pig ratio.

>Of course you would not do that.

Don’t call people liars without evidence to turn them into straw men that are easier to tear down.

>Variations of that same argument were used to enslave, abuse and kill millions of people. It is sad your comment is the most upvoted. Our society sucks.

It’s not op’s argument. It’s yours. Nobody said anything about intelligence ratios except for you. You then disregarded the part where op said he/she would volunteer because it didn’t fit your narrative.

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