London: A scientist has claimed that advances in cell engineering have paved way for a full human head transplant in future.
In a paper published recently, Dr Sergio Canavero, of the Turin Advanced Neuromodulation Group in Italy, said that these advancements mean that surgeons will now theoretically be able to fuse a human spinal cord just like it happened in Mary Shelley`s classic story `Frankenstein,` the Sun reported.
The last attempt was done in 1970 when the head of a Rhesus monkey was transplanted onto another at a lab in Ohio, US, and even though the simian lived for 8 days, it was never able to move below the neck, as the `axons` in its spinal cord could not be repaired.
However, Canavero believes that he will be able to do this thanks to chemicals called `membrane fusogens` or sealants, some of which are already used for making medicines.
He claimed in the paper that the greatest technical obstacle to endeavor like these is reconnecting donor`s and recipient`s spinal cords, adding that he believes that the technology now exists for such sort of linkages.
ANI
