[Discussion] Is this a possibility for immortality ?

[Mellow]

Brain transplants. If you could get your brain transplanted into a different body , would you be able to use the new body like your old one ? Or would the nervous system no cooperate with the new brain ? Also wondering if your brain dies from old age or is it your body ( heart , liver ,etc.,).

Share your thoughts

 

[Alfred Pennyworth]

there might be some compatibility issues....

I've also heard of a version of brain transplant involving robotic bodies

 

[maggioso]

all cells can only divide a limited amount of times, the brain cannot last indefinitely just because the body and organs are new

 

[Sharingan King]

Brain transplants. If you could get your brain transplanted into a different body , would you be able to use the new body like your old one ? Or would the nervous system no cooperate with the new brain ? Also wondering if your brain dies from old age or is it your body ( heart , liver ,etc.,).

Share your thoughts

The brain can't survive outside the body for any reasonable amount of time. The brain is also connected to the spinal cord which makes transplantation impossible. Additionally, each body has an immune system which rejects/destroys foreign cells/organisms.

 

[Wabbit]

I watched a documentary on it.I remember that after some centuries your brain will be as small as lemon and you somehow have to find a replacement for that too.

 

[Madara Uzumaki Uchiha]

The question is, whether the brain would reject the body noticing that it is not in its original, or will the body somehow be able to reject the brain...


Theoretically, it is possible- however by that point it would be more plausible to simply replace your old cells with new stem cells allowing for regeneration.

The problem with transplants ( of all natures) is that the body's immune system Is highly selective, however, the body you are being transplanted into doesnot have a brain, meaning that the immune system doesnot work--

In my opinion, regeneration via stem cells is far more likely than brain implants- furthermore if brain implantation was possible I don't see why you would be transplanted into a human, more likely you would be transplanted into a synthetic replica of one ( basically an android)

- Lastly, you also have the question on whether or not humans have souls. If we do, then this may not be possible at all.

-TO OP
- The brains cells do die off after some point in time- as they die off people often loose memory and brain function ( this process is known as brain degeneration) So, even if you transplant your brain, it will still degenerate,- its cells will still die off faster then they regenerate. - That is why I said earlier, that the only "true solution" ( a solution that lasts forever) would be to prevent degeneration and enhance regeneration.

 

[Madara Uzumaki Uchiha]

all cells can only divide a limited amount of times, the brain cannot last indefinitely just because the body and organs are new

That is not true, all adult cells have a limit, that limit is known as the hayflick limit. However, baby stem cells, ( the stem cells found in the umbilical cord + the fetus) are known to not have a limit.

The stem cells found in adults ( pluripotent) are known to succumb to the hayflick
limit

The stem cells found at conception ( totipotent) - the original cells that exist, that eventually create a full human body- arenot known to follow the hayflick limit.

The reason totipotent stem cells arenot often studied is because of the ethical and practical problems of obtaining them.

- So, no not all cells are limited in the amount they can divide, however since their are no totipotent cells found in the adult brain- you are correct in saying that even with a transplant, the human brain will still suffer from degeneration and cease to function.

 

[Rιver]

Transplanting a brain (which if won't die after being removed from the body, would still function normally) is not as easy as it seems. The cells from one body reject another due to it f.e. let's say, unfamiliar. First, on a practical level, it sidesteps the fantastically complicated project of reconnecting the brain to the multitude of sensory organs and blood vessels in the head. If suddenly a new organ appeared in the body, the white blood cells would immediately respond with hostility - you can imagine yourself forming a brain cancer.

But even neglecting that fact, you also have to connect the brain to the central nervous system - which is highly unlikely to be possible. Defecting the brain from a body works by mainly severing it from central nervous system. That means, they have to be cut. Many organs and tissues in the body can recover after injury without intervention. Unfortunately, some cells of the central nervous system are so specialized that they cannot divide and create. The complexity of the central nervous system makes the formation of the right connections between brain and spinal cord cells very difficult. It is a huge challenge for scientists to recreate the central nervous system that existed before the injury.

And there's much more factors but I listed the main few things; so no, it's impossible with our current technology. But I am very curious to know how you get this body...? Surely dead bodies cannot work, while using a living one is not exactly a form of immortality unless you want to use those methods that are not exactly... legal.​

 

[wanderingcactus]

Cell division is your problem.

This will tell you about compatibility and life of it.

The sequence changes every division and this limits the lifespan of the organism.

If one were to find a way to get that one DNA sequence to repeat itself in (certain amount of division) you can grow continously (regrow limbs, get taller, etc)

If one manages to get a DNA sequence to go back and forth like: 123456789 to 987654321 then repeat (doesnt necessarily have to go to 1 or 9) you can live forever but would have to grow old (if goes to 8) and grow yound (if goes to 1) and wont regrow limbs back until the sequence resets back to 1 till 9.

There is a specie that can do this. Its a deep sea jellyfish, i think.

 

[Madara Uzumaki Uchiha]

Cell division is your problem.

This will tell you about compatibility and life of it.

The sequence changes every division and this limits the lifespan of the organism.

If one were to find a way to get that one DNA sequence to repeat itself in (certain amount of division) you can grow continously (regrow limbs, get taller, etc)

If one manages to get a DNA sequence to go back and forth like: 123456789 to 987654321 then repeat (doesnt necessarily have to go to 1 or 9) you can live forever but would have to grow old (if goes to 8) and grow yound (if goes to 1) and wont regrow limbs back until the sequence resets back to 1 till 9.

There is a specie that can do this. Its a deep sea jellyfish, i think.

This is true, the Immortal Jellyfish will never die of old age. Many scientist think this form of "agelessness" is only possible in simple life forms, however perhaps one day humans will also gain this ability.

lastly, the only thing with manipulating DNA sequences, is that manipulating the cells ( via viruses or plasmids) is much easier- however you are correct, theoretically DNA reconstruction could provide a form of "immortality"

@ versta

actually, since the body you are being transplanted into doesnot have a functioning nervous system, things like white blood cells wont attack, furthermore even if they did, their is so little blood in the skull that some minor immune suppressants would work.

The problem most likely faced in brain transplantation is after the fact,- would the brain reject the body as foreign? Or will the body simply not be compatible with the brain...

- The reason the body may not be compatible is that everyone's neural system is slightly different, so unless you change the entire system, merely transplanting a brain may not be enough ( unless they are your twin or something)

 

[Sharingan King]

This is true, the Immortal Jellyfish will never die of old age. Many scientist think this form of "agelessness" is only possible in simple life forms, however perhaps one day humans will also gain this ability.

lastly, the only thing with manipulating DNA sequences, is that manipulating the cells ( via viruses or plasmids) is much easier- however you are correct, theoretically DNA reconstruction could provide a form of "immortality"

@ versta

actually, since the body you are being transplanted into doesnot have a functioning nervous system, things like white blood cells wont attack, furthermore even if they did, their is so little blood in the skull that some minor immune suppressants would work.

The problem most likely faced in brain transplantation is after the fact,- would the brain reject the body as foreign? Or will the body simply not be compatible with the brain...

- The reason the body may not be compatible is that everyone's neural system is slightly different, so unless you change the entire system, merely transplanting a brain may not be enough ( unless they are your twin or something)

The funny thing is, if we were like that immortal jellyfish, we would first get old and then get younger and younger, until we are once again a fetus. Lol

 

[Sharkninja]

The essays given are tedious and not concise; let me step in.


Immortality can be achieved if you transplanted your brain into a new body; there are no issues since nanotechnology can fabricate a new body that's made from your material - brain won't be rejected.

The other option is uploading your conciousness to a computer; this however still remains equivocal on whether the person uploaded is actually you. Thus before proven I wouldn't go for this option - however this option is true immortality compared to the earlier one.

Also regardless of what people say; don't listen to them, if you're worried about these technologies not arriving in time exponential growth gives a great probability that you and me if we wish could take advantage of these technologies at around 2050.

 

[Lightbringer]

I've read that immortality might become a possibility within 40 years by taking one's conscious(not brain) but the actual data from the brain and transferring it; so no need for brain transplants. I hope this is true.

 

[Rιver]

This is true, the Immortal Jellyfish will never die of old age. Many scientist think this form of "agelessness" is only possible in simple life forms, however perhaps one day humans will also gain this ability.

lastly, the only thing with manipulating DNA sequences, is that manipulating the cells ( via viruses or plasmids) is much easier- however you are correct, theoretically DNA reconstruction could provide a form of "immortality"

@ versta

actually, since the body you are being transplanted into doesnot have a functioning nervous system, things like white blood cells wont attack, furthermore even if they did, their is so little blood in the skull that some minor immune suppressants would work.

The problem most likely faced in brain transplantation is after the fact,- would the brain reject the body as foreign? Or will the body simply not be compatible with the brain...

- The reason the body may not be compatible is that everyone's neural system is slightly different, so unless you change the entire system, merely transplanting a brain may not be enough ( unless they are your twin or something)

That is after the transplant when the central nervous system is connected to the brain. In a normal adult body there are 4,000 to 10,000 (average 7,000) WBCs per microliter of blood. When the number of WBCs in your blood increases, this is a sign of an infection somewhere in your body and the white blood cells start to react with hostility, scanning through the body for unfamiliar substance. Once it is found, most likely neutrophils will respond to the transplant - those that kill bacteria by ingesting them. You can imagine what happens to your brain.​

 

[Wabbit]

This discovery video shows many concepts,problem and their solutions including what is discussed above...watch it if you are into it.
[video=dailymotion;x14ob1y]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x14ob1y_can-you-live-forever-2012_shortfilms[/video]

 

[Sharkninja]

This discovery video shows many concepts,problem and their solutions including what is discussed above...watch it if you are into it.
[video=dailymotion;x14ob1y]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x14ob1y_can-you-live-forever-2012_shortfilms[/video]

That video is misleading more than anythin' else, it's not somethin' one should watch to educate themselves, rather research about people who know what they're doing: Abrey the grey, more importantly Ray Kurzweil.

 

[trick master]

this brain transplating thing implies we'd kill people for such purpose. bad idea.

 

[Aim64C]

Brain transplants. If you could get your brain transplanted into a different body , would you be able to use the new body like your old one ? Or would the nervous system no cooperate with the new brain ? Also wondering if your brain dies from old age or is it your body ( heart , liver ,etc.,).

Share your thoughts

Not exactly.

The reason why age destroys the body in the first place is because the genetic code used to transcribe RNA for protein synthesis becomes corrupted. While nerve cells are more resilient to this due to their lower rate of cell division - the end result is that the body begins to cease producing proteins vital to the function of cells.

This is why skin sags, bones become brittle, etc - entire layers of cells simply cease to divide properly and self-terminate.

Eventually - the same fate awaits the organic brain. It may take longer - it may be the cause of 'old age' dementia. There is a lot that isn't known.

I also wonder just how long the human brain/mind can actually persist. Imagine you could resolve the issue of DNA corrosion (cancer cells do this - as to bacterium and other single-celled organisms - even some animals have hedges against this process within certain tissues) and allow the organic body to survive indefinitely.

Can the mind simply 'collapse' and 'die' under the weight of hundreds of years of memories and experiences? Does there come a point where you simply start to lose sight of who you are?

Just what happens to the mind - in terms of information - as age goes on?

Brain trauma patients make for very interesting case studies into the power of the human mind. People will suffer brain damage and wake up with the 'same yesterday' each day - as if they are 'frozen in time.' People recall exceptionally minute details that they could not remember before the brain damage (and can be verified as correct) - it's interesting stuff.

I think it makes for a very interesting question as it challenges the notion of whether or not the human -mind- can live forever - or if it must eventually shut down and release whatever soul may be a part of it.

 

[Cornson]

Brain transplants. If you could get your brain transplanted into a different body , would you be able to use the new body like your old one ? Or would the nervous system no cooperate with the new brain ? Also wondering if your brain dies from old age or is it your body ( heart , liver ,etc.,).

Share your thoughts

they "american scientists" have already made several brain transplants on chimps back in the 50'thies/60'ties (i think it was, not sure actually), and the result was pretty much the same (after they god the techinque right) (before it was just death) the chimp that had its brain transplanted in to a other body was paralised from the neck down (it could move around it eyes and reacted to stimulie) but they always died a few days later.

you can just google it actually

 

[Taco King]

i'd never want to be immortal even if it was possible