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Brain loss

New Scientist (June 16, 2012) reveals the loss of 147 brains from a research laboratory – not stolen, but damaged due to freezer failure.

The world’s largest repository of human brains had freezer failure on May 31, leading to the loss of brains for research, including a rare collection of 53 brains from donors with autism. Researchers at the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, only noticed the thaw when they opened the door because both the temperature reading and the two alarms failed to register the problem.

The temperature display still read minus 79 degrees Celsius, and the rising temperature failed to trigger two alarm systems on separate circuits. Camera footage showed that the technical failures were not due to foul play. Currently two internal investigations are underway to determine the cause and why the early warning systems failed.

However, all may not be totally lost. All 53 autistic brains and 12 others had been cut in half, with one half frozen and the other half of each brain preserved in formaldehyde. Formaldehyde has retained the tissue intact and useful. Hence the brain-halves in formaldehyde can still be used for research.


(www.newscientist.com)

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