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Summary: Scientists have been granted permission to try to revive the dead.
The idea of raising people from the dead may finally become a reality. In news that is stranger than fiction, an American biotech company has been granted permission to try to restart dead brains. According to IFL Science, the Institutional Review Board has granted permission for Bioquark to stimulate nervous systems as part of a ReAnima project.
The project is scheduled to start next year.
The panel of experts includes Dr. Calixto Machado, a neurological researcher who has written extensively on brain death. IFL Science said it’s important to note that no one is sure how realistic or serious this endeavor is, but it’s too early to discount the project also.
The team will focus on living but brain dead patients, people who are on life support machines. They plan to inject the brain with stem cells, which in theory should be able to regenerate damaged brain tissue.
Ira Pastor, the CEO of Bioquark, told the Telegraph that he hopes to see results in the first two or three months.
The team’s goal is to stimulate the regeneration of neurons in brain-dead patients. However, IFL Science stated that “there is a long way to go before stem cells can simply be injected into humans, allowing them to regenerate any type of lost cell.”
The trials will start in India at Anupam Hospital. At the early stage, brain-dead patients will be given a cocktail of peptides and stem cell injections. The Institutional Review has given Bioquark permission to recruit 20 people for their test. Parameters include patients on life support and patients who do not have any religious restrictions.
According to the Telegraph, the team believes the stem cells may erase memories and re-start life. The scientists likened the brain revival to that of salamanders that can regrow torn limbs.
Source: IFL Science