Surgeon claims to have carried out head transplant
Team hails 'successful' procedure on monkey and sets deadline for human operation
An Italian surgeon claims to have carried out the world's first head transplant on a monkey and plans to repeat the procedure on a living human by the end of next year.
Professor Sergio Canavero, working with researchers in China and South Korea, says he successfully grafted the head of a rhesus monkey on to the body of another at the Harbin Medical University in China.
On one level, the operation appears to have been a "success", said The Times, after the blood vessels in the donor's neck were hooked up to the other head without any obvious brain damage. However, there was no attempt to join the spinal cord, meaning the animal could not move, and the test subject was only allowed to live for 20 hours for ethical reasons.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Valery Spiridinov, a 31-year old Russian computer scientist who suffers from a rare muscle-wasting disease, is hoping to be the first person to have a head transplant in a "landmark" experiment set to be carried out by Christmas 2017.
The procedure has been greeted with scepticism from the scientific community along with condemnation from animal rights groups. Canavero's chief colleague in the experiment, Dr Xiaoping Ren, has already come under fire after admitting he had carried out head-transplant experiments on more than 1,000 mice.
As for self-described "maverick" Canavero, he caused a "worldwide storm" when, in an interview with New Scientist last year, he said he would be ready to transplant a human head within two years.
The fact he has gone public with the latest results before they have been officially published has also "raised eyebrows", said the publication yesterday. Official accounts of the procedure are set to be released in the journals Surgery and CNS Neuroscience and Therapeutics over the next few months.
"It's science through public relations," said Arthur Caplan, a bioethicist at New York University School of Medicine. "When it gets published in a peer-reviewed journal, I'll be interested. I think the rest of it is BS."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
How Harris and Trump differ on education
The Explainer Trump wants to disband the Department of Education. Harris wants to boost teacher pay.
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
How to minimize capital gains tax on investments
The Explainer It can take a chunk out of your profits
By Becca Stanek, The Week US Published
-
Crossword: November 4, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
New app tells you when's the best time for a toilet break during a film
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Pros and cons of a vegan diet for pets
Pros and Cons Plant-based food might have some health benefits for dogs
By Sorcha Bradley Published
-
Home Office worker accused of spiking mistress’s drink with abortion drug
Speed Read Darren Burke had failed to convince his girlfriend to terminate pregnancy
By The Week Staff Published
-
In hock to Moscow: exploring Germany’s woeful energy policy
Speed Read Don’t expect Berlin to wean itself off Russian gas any time soon
By The Week Staff Published
-
Were Covid restrictions dropped too soon?
Speed Read ‘Living with Covid’ is already proving problematic – just look at the travel chaos this week
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Inclusive Britain: a new strategy for tackling racism in the UK
Speed Read Government has revealed action plan setting out 74 steps that ministers will take
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sandy Hook families vs. Remington: a small victory over the gunmakers
Speed Read Last week the families settled a lawsuit for $73m against the manufacturer
By The Week Staff Published
-
Farmers vs. walkers: the battle over ‘Britain’s green and pleasant land’
Speed Read Updated Countryside Code tells farmers: ‘be nice, say hello, share the space’
By The Week Staff Published