A scientist cuts off the head and puts it on a new body. It sounds like a horror story, but one neurosurgeonA surgeon specialising in the brain, spinal cord and nervous system.   says he is going to do it.

Sergio Canavero plans to transplant the head of a sick person onto a healthy body, using a method called the GeminiIn Greek mythology, Castor and Pollux were twin half-brothers. Pollux was immortal but Castor was human. When Castor died, Pollux begged his father Zeus to make his brother immortal. They were united in the star constellation called Gemini. protocol.

Doctors can already transplant hearts, livers and kidneys. They can even give people new hands and a new face. But no one has transplanted an entire body. Many say it is impossible.

When people damage their spines, they lose control and feeling in their body. The damage is often permanent and in extreme cases, patients are paralysed from the neck down. Every year, up to half a million people have such injuries. Canavero says a head transplant could help them.

But it raises many ethical questions. Can someone agree to be decapitatedWhen the head is cut off. ? Are you the same person after the operation? What happens to your personality? What happens to your soul?

Canavero says people are shocked by his ideas. They accuse him of creating a Frankenstein's monsterIn Mary Shelley's novel, Victor Frankenstein creates a living monster from the dismembered body parts of corpses. and "playing God". But he points out that the same arguments were made before the first kidney and heart transplants.

His inspiration is Robert White, who dedicated his life to head transplants. He was a Catholic who believed the soul was in the brain. By saving people's brains, he was saving their souls. He wanted to use his ideas to save the brilliant mind of Stephen HawkingOne of the most revered modern physicists, he is best known for his book A Brief History of Time. by giving him a new body.

However, others think it is too dangerous and won't work. In experiments, animals died after a few hours or days. Patients may not be able to control their bodies and will have to take drugs to keep them alive.

Scientist Paul Root Wolpe says it is a terrible idea. Our body is just as important as our brain. We will lose a big part of who we are without both.

Another scientist, Dean Burnett, says Canavero makes bold claims but has done nothing. In 2017, he said he transplanted the first human head. In reality, he operated on a corpse. "Head transplants are fake news," says scientist Arthur Caplan.

In 1970, Robert White put one monkey's head on another. It did not live very long - although it did survive long enough to bite him. If Canavero's plan works, we will be able to change our bodies when we get old.

Yes: If the science is ready, it should not be held back by the squeamish. Medical discoveries often look like miracles. But over time, head transplants will become another ordinary procedure.

No: This is not the same as getting a new kidney. Your brain is only 8% of your body mass. If you put it in another body, most of you will have once been someone else. You will be a different person.

Or: Maybe, but not yet. Science does not progress by extravagant claims in the media. We need more laboratory tests to prove the technology works and is safe to try on humans.