So, "brain dead" might not actually mean brain dead?
An intriguing new study out of Montreal might redefine our concept of being "brain dead." Researchers for the first time think that the brain remains active even in patients whose EEG lines have gone flat, reports the Los Angeles Times. The study sprang from an unusual case in Romania in which a patient lapsed into a coma, then got put into a deeper coma by doctors. Much to their surprise, doctors then detected cerebral activity in his hippocampus, never before seen in such a deep coma. The University of Montreal study replicated the feat with cats under heavy anesthesia.
I'm sure we can all come up with people or even whole groups of them about whom we will now have to revise our opinions. If you'd like to nominate a certain newspaper editorial writer and blogger, feel free.
