Heading Into the Future

Michael Jackson would have loved it!

Head transplants are no longer the stuff of science fiction. Chinese surgeon Xiaoping Ren has performed the 10-hour procedure about 1,000 times on unsuspecting mice who ended up with different color heads and bodies: brown on black, white on brown, black on white, etc. Unfortunately the poor guys only lived for a short time with their new heads, but doctors are working on that annoying little glitch as I write this. Next up is a Russian man with a muscle-wasting disease who is hoping to get a healthier body while he keeps his original head.

Head transplants are different from brain transplants in that they involve decapitation of the patient. Considering that I am still sad over my cataract surgery last February, I'm pretty sure I won't be having any of this. Still, for the bravest among us, once head transplantation is perfected it will truly revolutionize the fashion industry, not to mention confusing the police and possibly putting an end to racism once and for all. Sadly, new heads will only be available to the wealthy as the surgery currently costs about $15 million. Michael Jackson would have loved it.