Brain Teaser
“In a challenge to the idea that brain death is final, researchers have revived the disembodied brains of pigs four hours after the animals were slaughtered. Although the experiments stopped short of restoring consciousness, they raise questions about the ethics of the approach — and, more fundamentally, about the nature of death itself.” Nature: Pig brains kept alive outside body for hours after death. Does this breakthrough move us closer to hog heaven or hell on earth? Christof Koch of the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle explains that it’s complicated: “For most of human history, death was very simple. Now, we have to question what is irreversible.” (If your resurrection lasts for more than four hours…)