Part-revived pig brains raise slew of ethical quandaries

Farahany, Nita A.; Greely, Henry T.; Giattino, Charles M.

doi:10.1038/d41586-019-01168-9

Cited by 22 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Furthermore, the extent to which the neuronal ensembles that interpret the world around us remain functional during recovery from the ischaemic challenge is equally unclear, because living neurons do not necessarily equate to a ‘functional brain’ defined by awareness, perception or other higher‐order brain processes (Vrselja et al., ). These unknowns have sparked widespread debate among clinicians, ethicists and society at large, questioning the current interpretation/clinical diagnosis of brain death and the complex decision‐making that underpins resuscitation and organ transplantation (Farahany, Greely, & Giattino, ; Youngner & Hyun, ).…”

Section: Beyond Limits; the Brain's Unexpected Resiliencementioning

confidence: 99%

Oxygen and brain death; back from the brink

Bailey

2019

Experimental Physiology

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New Findings What is the topic of this review?To explore the unique evolutionary origins of the human brain and critically appraise its energy budget, including limits of oxygen and glucose deprivation during anoxia and ischaemia. What advances does it highlight?The brain appears to be more resilient to substrate depletion than traditionally thought, highlighting greater resilience and an underappreciated capacity for functional recovery. Abstract The human brain has evolved into an unusually large, complex and metabolically expensive organ that relies entirely on a continuous supply of O2 and glucose. It has traditionally been assumed that its exorbitant energy budget, combined with little to no energy reserves, renders it especially vulnerable to anoxia and ischaemia, with substrate depletion and progression towards cell death largely irreversible and rapid. However, new and exciting evidence suggests that neurons can survive for longer than previously thought, highlighting an unexpected resilience and underappreciated capacity for functional recovery that has changed the way we think about brain cell death. Nature has the potential to unlock some of the mysteries underlying ischaemic survival, with select vertebrates having solved the problem of anoxia–hypoxia tolerance over millions of years of evolution. Better understanding of their survival strategies, including remarkable adaptations in brain physiology and redox homeostasis, might help to identify new therapeutic targets for human diseases characterized by O2 deprivation, ischaemia–reperfusion injury and ageing.

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Section: Beyond Limits; the Brain's Unexpected Resiliencementioning

confidence: 99%

Oxygen and brain death; back from the brink

Bailey

2019

Experimental Physiology

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“…. do not specify any protections for animals after their death" [21]. These experiments only confirm the need to institute animal protections after death-in the course of the above study, scientists "restored and preserved some cellular activities and structures" [21] of the pig brains, casting further doubt on what constitutes death or lack of sentience in animals, making these ethical-work-arounds all the more troubling.…”

Section: Legal Personhoodmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Due to the wide regulatory gaps between animals used in food production and those used in research, some research scientists have utilized these gaps to their advantage by conducting their experiments on animals slated for food production, experiments that would not be approved under animal research guidelines. In a Nature article entitled "Part Revived Pig Brains Raise Slew of Ethical Quandaries" (2018), scientists experimented on "brains of pigs that had been decapitated for food production four hours before" [21]. The report continues, "BrainEx study did not breach any ethical guidelines for research.…”

Section: Legal Personhoodmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(and) the committee decided that oversight was unnecessary. The pigs, having been raised as livestock, were exempt from animal welfare laws and were killed before the study started" [21]. This is a troubling research loophole; research scientists sidestepped federal regulations, garnered Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval, and lowered the protective bar, rather than upholding a higher ethical standard stipulated by animal research guidelines.…”

Section: Legal Personhoodmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Animals in Moral Limbo: How Literary Pigs May Help Lab-Generated Ones

Tuck

2020

Animals

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When considering that artistic and literary artifacts reflect the cultural views and mores of a particular time period, there is a significant misalignment between stories depicting increased moral status of pigs (e.g., vis-à-vis human-porcine relationships) and ongoing practices of pig consumption, commodification, and medical experimentation. In fact, there has been increased industrial farm meat production and biotechnological experimentation. Xenotransplantation trials, for example, are being heralded “the answer” to organ shortages needed for human transplantation, while significant ethical concerns persist. In this paper, I posit that literary reflections add a valuable dimension to animal ethics deliberations, providing a meta-narrative against which to assess normative practices. Beginning with synopses of three books: E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web (1952), Robert Newton Peck’s A Day No Pigs Would Die (1972), and Paul Griffin’s Saving Marty (2017), I illustrate a shifting moral status view of human–pig relationships. Next, I discuss personhood attributions through biological, philosophical, and legal frameworks; review benefits and risks of xenotransplantation; reflect on the moral status of non-human animals; and offer concluding thoughts.

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“…Existing guidelines for human-animal chimaera research do not explicitly consider the possibility that humanising animals’ brains could increase their moral status 17. Welfare protections afforded to research animals do not neatly extend to the revived brains of slaughtered animals, even if consciousness were to be restored 14. And artificial embryos fall within the gaps of some (but not all) jurisdictions’ regulation of embryo research 16.…”

Section: Regulatory Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lessons from Frankenstein 200 years on: brain organoids, chimaeras and other ‘monsters’

Koplin

Massie

2020

J Med Ethics

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Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has captured the public imagination ever since it was first published over 200 years ago. While the narrative reflected 19th-century anxieties about the emerging scientific revolution, it also suggested some clear moral lessons that remain relevant today. In a sense, Frankenstein was a work of bioethics written a century and a half before the discipline came to exist. This paper revisits the lessons of Frankenstein regarding the creation and manipulation of life in the light of recent developments in stem cell and neurobiological research. It argues that these lessons are becoming more relevant than ever.

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Part-revived pig brains raise slew of ethical quandaries

Cited by 22 publications

References 14 publications

Oxygen and brain death; back from the brink

Oxygen and brain death; back from the brink

Animals in Moral Limbo: How Literary Pigs May Help Lab-Generated Ones

Lessons from Frankenstein 200 years on: brain organoids, chimaeras and other ‘monsters’

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