As humans, we have a long history of coming to terms with the concept of death. We do
our best to cope with the loss of our loved ones, as well as with the anticipation of
our own impending demise. Many of us turn to spiritual guidance to bring us comfort
with stories relating to the idea of an afterlife. Death has mystified us throughout the ages
and across many different cultures. This is probably why our video, “What Happens When
You Die?” has been so immensely popular. It is only natural to wonder about what happens
and whether some distant future will provide us with the technology to bring us back to
life after we pass on. Recent research suggests that this may be sooner than we could have
ever previously imagined. In April 2019, scientists wanted to test the
extent that oxygen deprivation in the brain was irreparable. They wanted to find out if
cells in a lifeless, intact brain could have some of their functions repaired. They probably
didn’t expect for their attempts to lead to any major breakthroughs. After all, how
much can you really restore in a dead brain? But, as it turned out, they were in for a
huge surprise. An experiment was conducted on the brains
of 32 pigs, acquired by researchers at Yale University. The pigs were already dead when
their brains were collected for experimentation, taken from a slaughterhouse that distributed
their meat for consumption. The intact brains of the pigs had been without blood and stored
in room temperature for four hours after death before the experiment began. A system known
as “BrainEx” was used to pump experimental solution into the brains, acting as artificial
blood circulation. This solution contained a chemical so that it would be more easily
detectable when scientists later used an ultrasound to track the flow of it. After six hours of
allowing the solution to transfuse through the pigs’ brains, researchers were stunned
by what they found. It is like something out of a science-fiction
movie. The brains regained the ability to take in air and glucose, restoring oxygen
to their tissues. There was also a shocking return of some synaptic activity between neurons
as well as reduced cell deterioration. Clinically speaking, though it couldn’t be classified
as a living brain, it was a cellularly active one. This floored the scientists who probably
couldn’t believe what they were witnessing. Researchers did not want to risk the brains
regaining consciousness, so the solution that was used in transfusion contained chemicals
intended to block nerve signals – y’know, just in case. Had any conscious activity been
detected, the team planned on medicating the brains with anesthetic drugs and then freezing
them immediately in order to shut down the process before it could go too far. Perhaps
they were afraid of experiencing the horror of accidentally creating zombie pig brains.
As interesting and creepy as it sounds to turn The Walking Dead, or Frankenstein, into
potential, foreseeable reality, the scientists more likely took this precaution due to ethical
concerns. After all, allowing consciousness in these brains, however unlikely that may
be, would be undeniably cruel given their detachment from their bodies. Certainly, this
would create quite a a problem for the board of ethics.
The pig brain study suggests that being alive or dead is not that simple and that these
two concepts are not as black and white as they may seem. There may not be a definitive
line distinguishing the two, and there could be such a thing as being “partly alive”
or “partially dead.” In essence, the study has opened eyes to the possibility of a new
way of being, and it has shown us that death can occur in stages with some of our functions
able to continue after other parts have long deteriorated.
We tend to think that we were gone once we were declared clinically dead by a doctor.
What is construed as “clinically dead,” however, does not hold consistent meaning
and has undergone considerable changes throughout the years. Death used to be pronounced as
a certainty once the heart stopped beating. Later, the conceptualization of death turned
to the brain, and we decided that official death could only be determined after this
vital organ stopped functioning. But, now, the findings from this research have given
us a reason to challenge everything that we know. As the haunting evidence suggests that
cellular activity can be restored in the brain after death, how can we now define true “clinical
death?” With the advent of new knowledge comes more
questions and this is certainly true as it pertains to ethical considerations. As cited
in Medical News Today, “The study throws into question long-standing assumptions about
what makes… [us] alive.” The newsletter also mentions that there may be limitations
in future research regarding regulations for animals used in experiments. Determining that
there may be some form of life after death creates confusion in what is considered harmful
to creatures and how dead an organism needs to be before it can be used for testing.
To say this is a small advancement in medical knowledge is a colossal understatement. The
technology used to spread the experimental solution into the intact brains of the pigs
has paved the way for finding new treatment methods for people who suffer strokes, brain
injuries and diseases like Alzheimer’s. The New York Times explains that this study
may lead the way to a future consisting of fewer “brain-dead” patients and less need
for organ donors. This is because, if doctors can use something like BrainEx to work more
extensively on resuscitating their patients, there may be less need to harvest organs.
So, now we turn to the big questions. Do the results from the pig study mean that we have
found a way to bring the dead back to life? Does this imply that zombies could be such
a thing? Technically but not entirely. There’s no need to evacuate into your underground
bunker just yet. Although scientists prepared to stop the brains if they did regain consciousness,
there were no signs of budding intelligent activity during the study. Although active,
the brains were not close to establishing awareness. Still, if even some cellular functions
can be brought back to life, this opens the avenue for other areas of research that could
potentially lead to learning more about the mechanisms of action that drive consciousness.
Though this type of experiment has a long way to go before human trials can begin, we’ve
already come a long way. Since the dawn of our existence, we assumed
that our bodies can only ever be in one of two different states. That is, either the
state of being alive or of being dead. Once we’re dead, that’s it. Lights out. There’s
no returning to life without a miracle or some form of divine intervention. This reality
has long been presumed as an absolute truth, despite many of us wishing otherwise. But
there are many supposed “truths” that have been debunked by science. Until the late
1990’s, for instance, we thought the expansion of the universe was slowing down. Since then,
we’ve discovered the opposite, that the universe is expanding with increasing speed.
We also used to think that humans, as a species, possessed more genes than simple organisms
like amoebas. Thanks to the Human Genome Project in 2003, however, we have since learned that
a tiny moss plant has more genes than us. Nothing is above inquisition, this includes
the idea that we cannot be brought back to life once we are fully dead.
It is probably not beyond the realm of possibility that we could eventually learn how to bring
ourselves back to life, but we’re just not quite there yet. Perhaps learning how to do
this will bring us forward into a new step in our evolution. But the question is, would
you actually want to be resurrected? Or would you rather just be left in peace? Though immortality
sounds like it would be cool, being continuously resurrected every time you die and living
forever while getting to see future advancements of mankind, it may not be all that great.
You could get bored and fed up of your existence. Some elderly people report feeling ready to
die because they’ve lived long enough. The longest living woman on record was Jeanne
Calment, a French woman who lived a whopping 122 years and 164 days. Calment was born in
1875, just ten years after the American Civil War ended. She was alive to witness the inventions
of the light bulb, telephones, cars, televisions, and computers. She saw three American presidential
assassinations, both world wars, as well as the emergence of the internet. Despite witnessing
the progress of mankind, however, her longevity provided her with a lonely existence. Living
so long was both a blessing and a curse, as she outlived her husband, her daughter, and
even her grandson. With no remaining relatives, she made a deal with a lawyer that he could
inherit her house after she died if he paid her 2,500 francs per month. Then she outlived
him too. Seeing so many people and things come and go, she was ready when she finally
passed in 1997. She once stated, “I wait for death and journalists,” poking fun of
the fame she earned for living so long. After enduring such a lengthy existence, we don’t
imagine she’d be very happy if some scientist suddenly came out of nowhere from the future
and reanimated her consciousness. She might say something like, “ugh, I thought I was
done! Why did you have to bring me back?” Thus, we suggest you think carefully before
deciding that you want to come back to life after you die, if it ever becomes a choice.
So, just for fun, let’s return to the question of impending zombie apocalypse. Since the
pig study only suggests in the resurrection of some cellular functions, even if there
were zombies derived from this, they probably wouldn’t be able to consciously think. At
most, maybe they’d have restored motor functions like Mike, the famous, headless chicken. We
imagine that any reanimated human corpses would just continuously walk into a wall with
no concept of direction. For this reason, an outbreak of zombies would probably be very
easy to defeat while posing no real threat to human civilization. We do, however, have
a certain type of zombie in existence now. There’s something known as walking corpse
syndrome or Cotard’s syndrome – a rare condition where people believe they are dead.
Their delusion may cause them to think they are missing body parts or have lost their
soul. There was a case of a 53-year-old Filipino woman with Cotard’s syndrome who believed
that she smelled like rotting fish. She requested to be brought to the morgue so that she could
be “amongst her own kind.” She was given antipsychotics and antidepressants to treat
her condition, which improved her symptoms. Cotard’s syndrome was first described in
1882 by Dr. Jules Cotard as being a condition with which patients find it difficult to deal
with their external reality. Though this isn’t quite as dramatic as the zombies who have
an appetite for brains in television and movies, it’s still creepy to wonder what life would
be like if everyone suddenly came down with this condition, sluggishly meandering around
city streets thinking that they are dead. So, what do you think of the results of the
recent, 2019 pig study? Will we ever be able to bring the dead back to life? Would you
want to be brought back after you die? Let us know in the comments! Also, be sure to
check out our other video what Happens When you Die! Thanks for watching, and, as always,
don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe. See you next time!