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Researchers isolate a pig's brain from it's body, keeping it alive and functioning for several hours (www.popularmechanics.com)

submitted 7 months ago by Gaywallet@beehaw.org to c/science@beehaw.org

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[–] jarfil@beehaw.org 41 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (10 children)

Researchers were able to isolate blood flow to the brain

could also help researchers design improved machines for human cardiopulmonary bypass that better replicate natural blood flow to the brain.

They didn't separate the brain from the body, only made a brain blood bypass.

Guess that wouldn't've made for a sensational enough title.

[–] I_am_10_squirrels@beehaw.org 3 points 7 months ago (3 children)

You missed part of the quote

Researchers were able to isolate blood flow to the brain, separate that brain from the rest of the body, and use a new device to keep the brain alive and functioning.

[–] Lowbird@beehaw.org 7 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

The article does say that, but the source paper the article links to says this in the Abstract:

Thus, we set out to mechanically render cerebral hemodynamics fully regulable to replicate or modify native pig brain perfusion. To this end, blood flow to the head was surgically separated from the systemic circulation and full extracorporeal pulsatile circulatory control (EPCC) was delivered via a modified aorta or brachiocephalic artery. This control relied on a computerized algorithm that maintained, for several hours, blood pressure, flow and pulsatility at near-native values individually measured before EPCC. Continuous electrocorticography and brain depth electrode recordings were used to evaluate brain activity relative to the standard offered by awake human electrocorticography. Under EPCC, this activity remained unaltered or minimally perturbed compared to the native circulation state, as did cerebral oxygenation, pressure, temperature and microscopic structure. Thus, our approach enables the study of neural activity and its circulatory manipulation in independence of most of the rest of the organism.

And nothing whatsoever about physically removing the brain from the body. It's teeechnically separated from the body's circulatory system - with the experimental, artificial connection replacing the natural one between tthe body's circulatory system and the brain's blood flow - but that really seems to be it.

The article is extremely misleading and only barely connected to the actual study, in short.

I'm personally gonna add Popular Mechanics to my internal list of pop sci rags that can't be trusted.

[–] I_am_10_squirrels@beehaw.org 2 points 7 months ago

Ah, thank you. I did not read the original source.

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