THIS IS NOT REALLY SCIENCE. THIS IS OUTSIDE THE REALM.

talked to, they seem relatively skeptical it will work at all.

“Sergio seems pretty confident. The risk is (Valery Spiridonov, the first human volunteer) could die. That’s a pretty obvious risk. But I think if anything, my material mitigates that risk.

“I am conflicted. I’m not sure exactly where I stand. But my feeling is, (Spiridonov) is going to die very soon anyway, and he’s volunteered for the surgery. Sergio is going to do it, regardless of what I do, or what I give him. But I can make it safer. I can lower the risk.

“This is not really science. This is outside the realm of science at this point. I did not think I’d get involved in anything like this when I was starting my undergraduate degree. But then I pursued biomedical nanotechnology, and this field opens up possibilities for things that have never been done before. I’m also working on an artificial retina that will potentially give high-resolution vision to blind people. “I’m more interested in the potential of Texas-PEG for spinal cord repair. I’m less interested in the whole body transplant Sergio has planned. Even if the head transplant surgery doesn’t work, I think this material holds great promise for the thousands of paraplegics and quadriplegics around the world.

“My dad and mom are both scientists. My dad is a physics prof at Trinity Western University; my mom is a horticulturist. We’ve talked about (the head transplant) a little bit. They just think it’s fantastic this material has the promise to do spinal cord repair; they haven’t told me not to do the science because it’s ‘evil.’ They realize people were opposed to heart transplants and blood transfusions, even, because it sounded weird and strange.

“(When not in the lab) I play the violin. I keep bees. Right now I’m preparing for my wedding (Dec. 28). We’re getting married in Kelowna.

“I hope (the surgery) will work. If it does work, it would be fantastic for my career. Right now I’m just a grad student. It would be great to have that on my resume, if it works.”