164 | Would a Head Transplant Work?

What to Expect:

If we had to ask, then the answer is obvious. At this point, it seems unlikely. But even if we figure it out later, it may be unnecessary. A few experiments have mostly failed to demonstrate this with animals and one claimed to have succeeded with a human cadaver. By why would you want a head transplant anyway? One of our more humorous and thorough discussions IMHO.

Listen in, and remember that you can reach us directly at 775.525.0908, at info@wwdwwdpodcast.com, through the comments below OR on social via @wwdwwdpodcast or #wwdwwdpodcast.

Links for Today:

https://www.livescience.com/60987-human-head-transplants-will-never-work.html (Live Science article arguing that a head transplant isn’t possible)
https://youtu.be/IQQwQzzoQqQ (Short video describing the Ren study)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5705925/ (Ren study reporting their “successful” head transplant of cadavers)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6511668/ (2019 Article following up on Ren study to suggest what needs to be done to make this feasible)
https://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2017/nov/17/no-there-hasnt-been-a-human-head-transplant-and-may-never-be-sergio-canavero (Skepticism about the feasibility of a head transplant)

Recommendations

Shane: TED talks, the official TED guide to public speaking (https://www.ted.com/read/ted-talks-the-official-ted-guide-to-public-speaking)
Abraham: Mistborn Fantasy Book Series by Brandon Sanderson (https://www.goodreads.com/series/40910-mistborn)

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