Scientists Successfully<br />Revive Brain Cells in Dead Pigs Researchers at Yale University have discovered the line<br />between “alive” and “dead” isn’t as set as once believed. Scientists were able to trigger the metabolic activity<br />of brain cells and even restore function in the<br />blood vessels of a deceased pig’s brain. The system, dubbed BrainEx,<br />pumped an experimental<br />solution into the brains of<br />32 slaughtered pigs. The pig’s brains had been at room<br />temperature and without blood for four<br />hours by the time the experiment started. The BrainEx solution was pumped into<br />the brains for six hours and successfully<br />brought oxygen to the surrounding tissue. While the results don’t qualify as a “living brain,”<br />the experiment does prove that function can<br />be restored to an intact dead brain. Researchers hope to now create electrical<br />activity in the brain by removing the<br />nerve blockers within the BrainEx solution. The nerve blockers were included in the initial<br />study to protect against the unlikely chance of<br />the brains regaining consciousness. This new discovery could benefit future stroke victims,<br />as well render the need for organ donations obsolete.
