Researchers at Yale University have restored circulation to the brains of decapitated pigs, and kept the organs alive for several hours.
耶鲁大学的研究人员给一头被斩首的猪的头部重建了循环系统，让头部的器官存活了几个小时。
Their aim is to develop a way of studying intact human brains in the lab for medical research.
他们的目标是要开发出一种在实验室里研究整体人类大脑的方法，用于医学研究用途。
Although there is no evidence that the animals were aware, there is concern that some degree of consciousness might have remained.
尽管还没有证据表明该动物是由意识的，不过还是有人担忧它的意识还在某种程度上残存着。
Details of the study were presented at a brain science ethics meeting held at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda in Maryland on 28 March.
关于这项研究的细节于3月28日在位于马里兰州贝塞斯达市的国家健康中心的一次大脑科学伦理学会议上进行了展示。
The research has also been reported on this week in the MIT Technology Review.
该研究本周也刊登在了《麻省理工科技创业》杂志上。
The work, by Prof Nenad Sestan of Yale University, was discussed as part of an NIH investigation of ethical issues arising from neuroscience research in the US.
改研究由耶鲁大学的内纳德.希斯坦教授带头，也成为了国家健康中心对美国境内神经科学研究引发的伦理学问题的调查对象之一。
Prof Sestan explained that he and his team experimented on more than 100 pig brains.
希斯坦教授解释道他和他的团队已经在超过100个猪大脑上进行了实验。
They discovered that he could restore their circulation using a system of pumps, heaters, and bags of artificial blood.
他们发现他可以利用一系列的泵，加热器和袋装的人造血来重建循环系统。
As a result the researchers were reportedly able to keep the cells in the brain alive and capable of normal activity for as long as 36 hours.
因此，研究员们据报道称可以让大脑中的细胞在长达36个小时的时间内保持存活，并且能够进行正常活动。
Prof Sestan is said to have described the result as "mind-boggling".
据说希斯坦教授将结果描述为“令人难以置信的”。
If this could be repeated with human brains, researchers would be able to use them to test out new treatments for neurological disorders.
假如这个实验能够在人脑上重复出来的话，研究员们就可以利用它们来测试治疗神经性疾病的新药物了。
But Prof Sestan is among the first to raise potential ethical concerns.
不过希斯坦教授也是首个提出潜在的伦理学问题的人。
These include whether such brains have any consciousness and if so deserve special protection, or whether their technique could or should be used by individuals to extend their lifespans - by transplanting their brains when their bodies wear out.
其中包括这些大脑是否还有一事，以及如果还有意识的话它们是否值得被特别保护，又或者他们的技术是否应该被人们用来延长自己的生命周期——通过在身体磨损之后将大脑移植走的方式。
In a commentary published in the Journal Nature this week, Prof Sestan and 15 other leading US neuroscientists called for clear regulation to guide them in their work.
在《自然》杂志这周发表的一篇评论文章中，希斯坦教授和其他15个美国顶尖的神经科学家呼吁出台清晰的条令来指导规范他们的研究工作。
"If researchers could create brain tissue in the laboratory that might appear to have conscious experiences or subjective phenomenal states, would that tissue deserve any of the protections routinely given to human or animal research subjects?", the researchers ask in the commentary.
“假如研究员们可以在实验室中创建大脑组织，并且它们可能会有意识体验或者主观的异常的表示，那么这些组织是否应该得到像人或者动物研究个体那样的常规性的保护呢？”研究员们在评论文章中问到。
"This question might seem outlandish.
“这个问题可能看起来有点古怪。”
Certainly, today's experimental models are far from having such capabilities.
当然，如今的实验模型还远远不具有这些能力。
But various models are now being developed to better understand the human brain, including miniaturised, simplified versions of brain tissue grown in a dish from stem cells.
不过现在有很多的模型被开发，用来更好地理解人类的大脑，包括用干细胞从培养皿里培养出来的小型的，简化版本的大脑组织。
And advances keep being made."
而且新的进展不断涌现。”
The researchers say that ways of measuring consciousness need to be developed and strict limits set for them to be able to continue their work with the public's support.
研究员们称我们需要研发出一套衡量意识的方法，并为他们继续工作设定出严格的标准，这样才能赢得公众的支持。
耶鲁大学的研究最近引发了伦理学争议。
Prof Blakemore said that he was "very uneasy about the quest for immortality" by those considering preserving their brains until surgery advances, in order to place them in a new body.
布莱克摩尔教授说，对那些想要通过把他们的大脑保存起来一直到技术完善为止，这样来追求永生的人们，他感到非常担忧。
"Our planet is already overpopulated.
“我们的地球已经人口爆炸了。”
You need space for young people and new ideas, and the notion of desperately clinging on to any mechanism possible for human beings living forever, I find very unsavoury."
“你需要给年轻人和新理念腾出空间，那些不择手段想要追求人类永生的理念，我觉得是非常令人讨厌的。”
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