Pig’s brain function restored hours after death

Scientists at Yale University in the US have restored activity in a pig’s brain hours after its death.

The findings challenge assumptions about the irreversible ending of brain function after death.

The findings could fuel debate about the barrier between life and death, and provide a new way of researching diseases like Alzheimer’s.

The study showed the death of brain cells could be halted and that some connections in the brain were restored.

The scientists behind the research claim the development could help in the study and treatment of brain disorders.

The team from Yale University in the US stressed the brain lacked any recognisable global electrical signals associated with normal brain function.

But after restoring the brain, they observed some basic functions return. Functions previously thought to cease seconds or minutes after oxygen and blood stop circulating in the brain of a deceased animal.

Via Yale University