Head in a jar..Like futurama. Possible?

Sounds funny but I was having an arguement with a friend on this topic.
I know there would really be no point in doing it, but is it possible? I think it would be. Am I right in saying that all a brain needs to function is oxygen and a fresh blood supply?

Say you have your head in a jar, connect an artificial heart or pump to the main arteries with a constant supply of blood and make sure no capillaries are not blocked so it can oxygenate the brain.

And if it did work there would most likely no way to keep the brain sane.

What do you guys think?

The heart isn't the only thing that keeps a person alive. There are no kidneys for the waste. No liver to store nutrients, No lungs for oxigen, no creation of new bloodcells, platelets and antibodies, no central nervous system etc... A body can live without limbs, but not without a torso.

Hmm...so i guess a head and torso would work in a jar, not just a head.

A head and torso would work in a jar either, unless there were holes in that jar and tubes with catethers to insure that the person receives food. But no one in their right mind would allow themselves to be in that position.

It is currently possible to do this with a heart/lung machine for a short amount of time. In theory, with enough effort and research into it, one could make a fully sustainable system to keep a brain alive simply by duplicating the effect of the body for nuetrient and oxygen absorbtion.

One could then go on to talk about using the now severed spinal cord as a connection point for a bio-mechanical connection to use nerve impulse to control a computer system or mechanical body.

Currently we have the beginings of the technology to create a full human cyborg with only the head remaining.

The only question is the bio ethics behind it. This kind of technology would take a LOT of money to perfect ot the point of safety and the implication of being able to have a human brain encased deep in a machine operating it as if it was it's natural body is vast.

I'm sure some government research has touched on this but public tech is centuries from being able to deal with the social and ethical effects.

After all, what do you do with a senile cyborg who can lift 3,000 pounds with one hand. Who gets the luxury of a cybernetic body on the death of their natural one. And is it ok to be modified w/o medical need?

As we have seen from the past, the bigest loss of a soldier in war is thier experience, training, and practice...so what if most of war was simple replacement of a mechanical body and keeping the knowledge and know-how of a soldier.

I'm sure deep in the bowls of military research, this is nothing new. At least in concept.

So it could be possible.

I personally don't think cybernetic limbs and legs controlled by impulses from the brain are to far off, but actually putting a human brain into a machine, i dont think will be in my life time.

I know the military is hard at work on exoskeletons/battle suits, but those are muscle controlled. Mind controled exoskeletons might be on the way though.

the brain floats in a biological 'jar' of the dura mater and neural tube, filled with cerebro-spinal fluid. This fluid must be within a fairly tight range of temperature and pressure, or the brain dies.

The cerebro-spina fluid, or CSF is only dimly understood. It is thought to be generated in the chorriod plexa, areas bordering the ventricles. The lower parts of the nervous system seem to help digest and remove old csf as waste. The process is very mysterioius, since obviously, with any tampering at all, the patient dies.

The nature of a functioning brain is that it sits atop a complex interaction of various body systems, any one of which can kill the brain if there is a malfunction.

The old 'head in a jar' sci-fi schtick if funny, but pretty well impossible, imo.