If I put my brain in another body, would I feel different?
A head transplant may seem sensational but the results will leave you speechless.
Asked by: Arthur Chambers, Eastleigh
You’d feel paralysed! The only time this has been tried was in 1970 when Robert White transplanted the head of a monkey onto the body of another, decapitated monkey. This gruesome hybrid was conscious, but paralysed from the neck down because we can’t yet reattach severed nerves. If we ever get past this obstacle, body transplants will still take a lot of getting used to. For one thing, your brain would be exposed to a different cocktail of hormones.
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Authors
Luis trained as a zoologist, but now works as a science and technology educator. In his spare time he builds 3D-printed robots, in the hope that he will be spared when the revolution inevitably comes.
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