04 September, 2019 – Episode 737 – Ethics and the Brain

What is in the This Week in Science Podcast?

Interview w/ Dr. Veljko Dubljevic, Ancient Magma Oceans, 8th Grade Smarty Computer, Ancient Lake, Adventures in Jellyfishing, Squirrel Busy Bodies, Crystalline Nets, Cornea Transplant, Long Beautiful Hair, Super Fast Snail, And Much More…

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Throughout the history of humanity

Humans have been attempting to answer one question with only modest result

What are we?

And while the obvious answer these days is that we are upright bipedal mostly hairless apes,

With greater than usual blood flow to a larger than obvious brain…

The original questioning of what we are lingers still

And in our current age of medical technology we have new ways of answering these questions

You can loses a limb and have a prosthetic replacement

A failed heart, liver, lung or kidney? Transplants are available.

Lacking a gene here or there that’s causing an ailment?

A medication may supplement you.

The human anatomy can largely be considered as parts…

Interchangeable, exchangeable and more and more often replaceable…

There is however one part that we would hesitate to replace even if we needed to

Our brain.

For a full brain replacement would essentially be an “us” replacement

So important is your brain, that each week we find something interesting to think about

Here on this week in Science.

Coming Up Next…

First up, an interview with Dr. Veljko Dubljevic!

Veljko Dubljevic Ph.D.,D.Phil., is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy and affiliate of the Science, Technology and Society program at North Carolina State University. Veljko’s <a href="https://news.ncsu.