6 ms·

What if it turns out that people can greatly extend their lifespans, or even live forever, by undergoing successive head transplants -- but every time one perso

by csense 12y ago

What if it turns out that people can greatly extend their lifespans, or even live forever, by undergoing successive head transplants -- but every time one person gets transplanted, someone else has to die to provide the body? What if we're headed for a world where the rich and powerful hire body snatchers to kidnap people off the street to provide bodies whenever they need a transplant? What if there are loopholes in the criminal justice system or covert government agencies that will allow people with the right connections to get access to an organized supply of helpless victims?

dmitrygr 12y ago
Scary, but science marches on no matter the possible misuses of it. Outlaw it here and China'll do it. Outlaw it there and Russia will. Outlaw it there and somebody will buy an aircraft carrier and pay to do this in international waters. It will happen eventually. Might as well enable it and provide ethical guidance as opposed to banning it and letting someone else do it covertly and with no oversight or considerations of ethical ramifications.
- sqrt17 12y ago
  Sorry, but the "science marches on" bit is bullshit. There's a difference between Russia and China having the atomic bomb and your friendly neighbourhood drug mafia having one. It also makes a difference whether China gets a bad rapping for pumping political prisoners full of anticoagulants before shooting them so that they can serve as organ donors, after the execution, or whether they can do that in the full conscience that such things are considered desirable and normal. If a technology has only criminal uses, it is commonly accepted that research into it is not worthwile. Think of all the exciting ways to build new explosives that are more suitable for suicide bombers, or of all the new and exciting ways of taking planes off the sky with a store-bought laser pointer. These must surely be things that science will pass through eventually, but I doubt anyone will be encouraged or funded to do so.
  - fractallyte 12y ago
    Conversely, when embryonic stem cell research was crippled in the US in 2006, South Korea (and others) leapt ahead... China, for instance, has no legislation prohibiting such research - the ethics are judged quite differently in other economic (and even religious) cultures.
cristianpascu 12y ago
The brain gets old too, you know. :)
- atmosx 12y ago
  Yes, there are many problems at cellular level, e.g. telomerases[1]. I wonder how it would work out if you get an old man's head in a young man's body. I don't think it's going to work. On the other hand, you never know... [1] http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0022283692900963 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/00222836929...
adventured 12y ago
That world already exists for organs in some third world nations. If they can actually perfect this concept, you can be absolutely sure there will be a black market for it. However I would question whether this technology will be perfected sooner than other forms of regenerative and organ growing medicine that will make it mostly pointless.
callmeed 12y ago
Sounds like a good sci-fi plot
callmeed 12y ago
Sounds like a good sci-fi plot
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
onewaystreet 12y ago
This is already happening with organ transplants.
damian2000 12y ago
That's the plot outline for Repo Men ... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1053424/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1053424/
ENGNR 12y ago
Unless you could grow clones of your own body in vats that leave a cavity where the brain should be when they grow. More like a meat shell than a person. May be ethical?
pcrh 12y ago
Genetically engineered pigs are almost ready for use as sources for organs to be transplanted into humans [1]. It's just one extra step to transplant the head to the pig... [1] http://www.sciencemag.org/content/340/6140/1509.summary http://www.sciencemag.org/content/340/6140/1509.summary
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
pling 12y ago
There are plenty of bodies. Fatal head injuries are surprisingly common. If it meant a £100k donation to my family, they can have my body. What I did with it will always remain in my head though ;-)

by csense 12y ago

dmitrygr 12y ago

Scary, but science marches on no matter the possible misuses of it. Outlaw it here and China'll do it. Outlaw it there and Russia will. Outlaw it there and somebody will buy an aircraft carrier and pay to do this in international waters. It will happen eventually. Might as well enable it and provide ethical guidance as opposed to banning it and letting someone else do it covertly and with no oversight or considerations of ethical ramifications.

sqrt17 12y ago
Sorry, but the "science marches on" bit is bullshit. There's a difference between Russia and China having the atomic bomb and your friendly neighbourhood drug mafia having one. It also makes a difference whether China gets a bad rapping for pumping political prisoners full of anticoagulants before shooting them so that they can serve as organ donors, after the execution, or whether they can do that in the full conscience that such things are considered desirable and normal. If a technology has only criminal uses, it is commonly accepted that research into it is not worthwile. Think of all the exciting ways to build new explosives that are more suitable for suicide bombers, or of all the new and exciting ways of taking planes off the sky with a store-bought laser pointer. These must surely be things that science will pass through eventually, but I doubt anyone will be encouraged or funded to do so.
- fractallyte 12y ago
  Conversely, when embryonic stem cell research was crippled in the US in 2006, South Korea (and others) leapt ahead... China, for instance, has no legislation prohibiting such research - the ethics are judged quite differently in other economic (and even religious) cultures.

cristianpascu 12y ago

The brain gets old too, you know. :)

atmosx 12y ago
Yes, there are many problems at cellular level, e.g. telomerases[1]. I wonder how it would work out if you get an old man's head in a young man's body. I don't think it's going to work. On the other hand, you never know... [1] http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0022283692900963 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/00222836929...

adventured 12y ago

That world already exists for organs in some third world nations. If they can actually perfect this concept, you can be absolutely sure there will be a black market for it. However I would question whether this technology will be perfected sooner than other forms of regenerative and organ growing medicine that will make it mostly pointless.

callmeed 12y ago

Sounds like a good sci-fi plot

callmeed 12y ago

Sounds like a good sci-fi plot

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

onewaystreet 12y ago

This is already happening with organ transplants.

damian2000 12y ago

That's the plot outline for Repo Men ... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1053424/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1053424/

ENGNR 12y ago

Unless you could grow clones of your own body in vats that leave a cavity where the brain should be when they grow. More like a meat shell than a person. May be ethical?

pcrh 12y ago

Genetically engineered pigs are almost ready for use as sources for organs to be transplanted into humans [1]. It's just one extra step to transplant the head to the pig... [1] http://www.sciencemag.org/content/340/6140/1509.summary http://www.sciencemag.org/content/340/6140/1509.summary

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

pling 12y ago

There are plenty of bodies. Fatal head injuries are surprisingly common. If it meant a £100k donation to my family, they can have my body. What I did with it will always remain in my head though ;-)