Capsule Reviews

The Undead, Frankenstein's Cat, The Universe Within, and Physics in Mind

Written byAnnie Gottlieb
| 3 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
3:00
Share

By Dick Teresi
Vintage Books (paperback), December 2012

What’s not to like about organ transplantation? A heroic technological feat that gives life to the suffering and avoids wasting lives tragically cut short, it’s even good for the economy, reaping $20 billion a year. Veteran science journalist Dick Teresi, too, had checked the box on his driver’s license—until he discovered that some “brain-dead” donors might not be dead.

Historical research revealed that determining death has never been a simple matter; certain medical states can mimic it—hence earlier centuries’ fears of being buried alive. Safest, traditionally, was to wait three days until decomposition began. “Brain death” became the new criterion in 1968, just as transplantation ramped up, but few know that not even an EEG is required, ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to digital editions of The Scientist, as well as TS Digest, feature stories, more than 35 years of archives, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here
July Digest 2025
July 2025, Issue 1

What Causes an Earworm?

Memory-enhancing neural networks may also drive involuntary musical loops in the brain.

View this Issue
Genome Modeling and Design: From the Molecular to Genome Scale

Genome Modeling and Design: From the Molecular to Genome Scale

Twist Bio 
Screening 3D Brain Cell Cultures for Drug Discovery

Screening 3D Brain Cell Cultures for Drug Discovery

DNA and pills, conceptual illustration of the relationship between genetics and therapeutic development

Multiplexing PCR Technologies for Biopharmaceutical Research

Thermo Fisher Logo
Discover how to streamline tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte production.

Producing Tumor-infiltrating Lymphocyte Therapeutics

cytiva logo

Products

The Scientist Placeholder Image

Sino Biological Sets New Industry Standard with ProPure Endotoxin-Free Proteins made in the USA

sartorius-logo

Introducing the iQue 5 HTS Platform: Empowering Scientists  with Unbeatable Speed and Flexibility for High Throughput Screening by Cytometry

parse_logo

Vanderbilt Selects Parse Biosciences GigaLab to Generate Atlas of Early Neutralizing Antibodies to Measles, Mumps, and Rubella

shiftbioscience

Shift Bioscience proposes improved ranking system for virtual cell models to accelerate gene target discovery