TECH

Freezing and scanning the brain may be possible
Imagine the scenario: your body is flooded with embalming fluids and your brain is summarily compressed in a freezer as science advances in the process of reverse engineering the human brain so that you eventually achieve immortality - even in one version digital. It sounds simple, fast and practical, right? But there is one, and it is quite aggravating: first it would be necessary to die.Do not you believe it? Well, MIT neuroscientists do not either. In fact, they are finding all this plan of the startup Nectome to make a backup of the human conscience a great bullshit, and even intend to cut ties with the startup. The lawsuit must still include terminating a partnership agreement with Media Lab professor Edward Boyden, even more so after the controversy in question has caused a stir in the neuroscience community.A scientist at the Karolinska Institute, located in Sweden, said in an interview that everything is so unethical that there is no way to describe how. The MIT Media Lab further added that the idea is unrealistic, explaining that "neuroscience has not advanced sufficiently to the point of knowing if any method of preserving the brain is powerful enough to preserve all the different types of biomolecules related to memory and mind ".
In response, the Nectome issued a statement stating that it would only go ahead with the proposal with the support of the scientific community: "We believe that [we] rush to apply the vitrification; today would be extremely irresponsible and would hinder the eventual adoption of a validated protocol. " Still, the startup has accumulated a waiting list of volunteers who are more than ready to put their brains in a freezer. The process would cost about $ 200,000 per person, but now that MIT has withdrawn its support for the project, Nectome's financial future may be at stake.
Despite the statements, the Media Lab still does not intend to completely rule out the proposal, stating that it may someday be possible to simulate, "in a computer, neural circuits with great accuracy, based on detailed enough biomolecular maps."
Despite the statements, the Media Lab still does not intend to completely rule out the proposal, stating that it may someday be possible to simulate, "in a computer, neural circuits with great accuracy, based on detailed enough biomolecular maps."
The concept of digital consciousness, for the time being, can only be seen in practice in futuristic science fiction works. However, in real life, suggesting the euthanasia of a terminally ill patient, pumping his body with embalming fluids, is a source of controversy and ethical and moral debate. Science has not yet reached a level where it is above these segments, and even if it is in favor of technological advances for humanity, the idea of asking humans to give up their lives to be part of such an experiment is at least questionable.

Source: Canaltech