1. transcript
  2. Slicing a famous brain, streamed live on the web

Slicing a famous brain, streamed live on the web

By apalazzo on December 4, 2009.

I'm siting at my breakfast table when I read this in the NY Times science section:

Dissection Begins on Famous Brain

The man who could not remember has left scientists a gift that will provide insights for generations to come: his brain, now being dissected and digitally mapped in exquisite detail.

The man, Henry Molaison -- known during his lifetime only as H.M., to protect his privacy -- lost the ability to form new memories after a brain operation in 1953, and over the next half century he became the most studied patient in brain science.

This dissection is being documented LIVE ON THE WEB. So here I am, watching a streaming video, dirrectly from "The Brain Observatory" of an embeded brain being shaved.

3:30 am: The brain marathon continues. The current crew of Paul Maechler, Natasha Thomas, and Dr. Annese are approaching the posterior end of the thalamus. The lesion persists in the left parahippocampal gyrus. The distance from the first tissue section is the bottom left green number on the console (plus 40,500 cut yesterday) in microns. (1 micron=0.001mm)

Click here to see for yourself.

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