After slay a whole coney ’s brain from cryogenic storehouse , researchers strike that its delicate neurons and synapsis had been absolutely preserved . The exciting accomplishment mark thefirst timea fixed mammalian brain has been go back in such pristine condition . Not only could these finding help scientists well translate mind diseases , but they may also lay the foundation for one day preserving and retrieving memory stored in the brainiac .
In a newspaper recently published in the journalCryobiology[PDF ] , the team of researcher from21st Century Medicinedetail how they were able-bodied to protect the brain ’s fragile structure during the freezing process . They employed a technique called aldehyde - stabilize cryopreservation , which necessitate suspending the neurons and synapses with inviolable chemicals before chilling them to -211 ° F . The key component in this process is a toxic chemical calledglutaraldehyde , which is often used as a sinewy antimicrobial . The chemical substance spreads quickly when introduce to the brain , fill up the vascular arrangement and halting tissue decay . The effect is a head that looks the same when it comes out of cryogenic repositing as it did when it went in . In theory , the technique could be used to successfully preserve a brain for centuries .
The team was awarded a $ 26,735 prize from theBrain Preservation Foundation , a nonprofit that first challenged the science community to preserve a whole mammalian brain in foresightful - term entrepot five twelvemonth ago . The chemical group from 21st Century Medicine has conserve a pig bed ’s brain as well , but its circumstance has yet to be study by the organisation .
The theme that most multitude associate with cryogenic freezing are still science fable and largely think implausible . Still , while these newfangled finding may not be used to keep up the lives of the terminally sick in the future , they could be used to preserve memory . Our brains ' synapses develop in size with each new memory we organise , so successfully freeze our “ connectome ” of neurons and synaptic connector would theoretically compare to salvaging the information that urinate up memory . The results could also provide scientist with a more detailed way to study brain part , which could eventually lead to a better understanding of Alzheimer ’s disease and breakthroughs in hokey intelligence development .
[ h / tPopular Science ]
