Okay, here's an interesting one. Researchers are learning that we may have had a faulty understanding of what really happens when a person dies. Apparently after they stop receiving O2, some (or maybe al) cells go into a type of suspended animation, perhaps for hours. They eventually die without O2, but they also succumb if the O2 is re-introduced suddenly. Preliminary research indicates it might be possible to re-animate individuals after an extended time if we can figure out how to reintroduce the oxygen without tripping the self-destructive chain of events within the cells.
Interesting reading, but there's obviously a lot more work to be done before there are practical uses. Most of the application discussed in the article is about the cardiac emergencies, but I wonder about the possible beneficial impact on donor organs (allowing us to fill more of these requirements), extremely complex surgeries (maybe docs could get more time to work), and maybe trauma care (you still need to fix what is broken, but it would be great to have time to assemble the right team and tools). Maybe not much impact on gerontology and degenerative diseases, though I can see major potential for driving up end-of-life costs. Granny may have to die two or three times now . . .
Docs Change the Way They Think About Death | Newsweek Health | Newsweek.com
Interesting reading, but there's obviously a lot more work to be done before there are practical uses. Most of the application discussed in the article is about the cardiac emergencies, but I wonder about the possible beneficial impact on donor organs (allowing us to fill more of these requirements), extremely complex surgeries (maybe docs could get more time to work), and maybe trauma care (you still need to fix what is broken, but it would be great to have time to assemble the right team and tools). Maybe not much impact on gerontology and degenerative diseases, though I can see major potential for driving up end-of-life costs. Granny may have to die two or three times now . . .
Docs Change the Way They Think About Death | Newsweek Health | Newsweek.com