100 brains missing from University of Texas

[pixy0stix]

www.9news.com/story/news/nation/2014/12/03/texas-missing-brains/19819601/

The University of Texas at Austin has lost track of about 100 jars of brains, possibly including that of Charles Whitman, the ex-Marine sniper who killed and wounded dozens of people from a campus clock tower nearly 50 years ago, according to school officials and local media.

The university's Animal Resources Center originally received the missing organs in 1986 from the Austin State Hospital, formerly known as the Texas State Lunatic Asylum, under a "temporary possession" agreement.

The specimens, originally assembled by Dr. Coleman de Chenar, a resident pathologist at ASH, were to be used by UT as a teaching tool in its psychology lab.

The missing organs, which represent about half of the university's collection, had been stored in jars of formaldehyde in a basement because the lab did not have enough room for all of them, the Austin American-Statesman reported.

Psychology professor Lawrence Cormack, co-curator of the collection, says the specimens may have been removed over the years as a prank.

"It's entirely possible word got around among undergraduates and people started swiping them for living rooms or Halloween pranks," he told the newspaper.

It is not entirely clear whether the missing organs include the brains of 25-year-old Whitman, who killed 16 people, including his mother and wife, before he was fatally shot by police in 1966.

All identifying data was removed from the specimens when the center took them in, the newspaper reported.

"It would make sense it would be in this group. We can't find that brain," Tim Schallert, a neuroscientist at UT and the collection's co-curator, told the American-Statesman.

In a written note before his shooting rampage, Whitman complained of his"many unusual and irrational thoughts" and "violent impulses."

He said he hoped that there would be an autopsy on his body "to see if there is any visible physical disorder."

The autopsy, performed by pathologist de Chenar from the Austin State Hospital, showed that he had a small brain tumor. A state commission report later found that "the highly malignant brain tumor conceivably could have contributed to his inability to control his emotions and actions."

Co-curator Schallert tells The Atlantic that the jars were supposed to be returned to ASH in the mid 1990s when the university found it did not have enough room to keep them.

Jerry Fineg, the center's then-director, tells the magazine that he believes the organs were sent back to the hospital, but a spokesman for ASH tells The Atlantic that the last they saw of the specimens was when they were originally shipped out.

The university said in a statement that it will investigate "the circumstances surrounding this collection since it came here nearly 30 years ago" and that it's "committed to treating the brain specimens with respect."

The 100 remaining brains at the school have been moved to the Norman Hackerman Building, where they are being scanned with high-resolution resonance imaging equipment, Cormack said.

"These MRI images will be both useful teaching and research tools. It keeps the brains intact," he told the newspaper.

[KateAggie]

I...

Probably best if I don't respond.

[pixy0stix]

So many jokes, so little time?

[wawa]

Am I not supposed to be laughing? I'm not am I?

Ok...I'm not laughing. Much.

[karinothing]

This seems to be a rampant problem in Texas

[smock]

This is how it starts . . .

[andrealynn]

I thought the ZA was in Florida?

[cattledogkisses]

These were just kept in an unlocked room? That seems absurd, and yet how else do they think people just swiped them?

Who wants a brain in a jar sitting in their living room?

[Scout'sHonor]

[pixy0stix]

Dec 3, 2014 11:50:07 GMT -5 cattledogkisses said:

Who wants a brain in a jar sitting in their living room?

Definitely not me.

[tres3]

Dec 3, 2014 11:47:57 GMT -5 KateAggie said:

I...

Probably best if I don't respond.

I went there and was going to comment.... my roommate was lacking a brain.... 

[Deleted]

Dec 3, 2014 11:50:07 GMT -5 cattledogkisses said:

These were just kept in an unlocked room? That seems absurd, and yet how else do they think people just swiped them?

Who wants a brain in a jar sitting in their living room?

creepy as fuck people!

[blink]

People put brains in their living room?

[Velvetshady]

Dec 3, 2014 11:59:31 GMT -5 blink said:

People put brains in their living room?

Well they aren't going to put them in their breakfast nook...

[decemberwedding07]

Dec 3, 2014 12:04:40 GMT -5 @majorwife said:

throw some glitter on a brain and its a great pinterest project

Adding the brain to the jar really is the perfect compliment to one of those glitter shaker jars.

[penguingrrl]

Dec 3, 2014 12:02:51 GMT -5 Velvetshady said:

Dec 3, 2014 11:59:31 GMT -5 blink said:

People put brains in their living room?

Well they aren't going to put them in their breakfast nook...

Seriously! I mean, that would just be tacky!

[josieposy]

I was going to ask if body parts were regulated, but then I remembered Texas.

[Vespasia]

Dec 3, 2014 12:19:03 GMT -5 josieposy said:

I was going to ask if body parts were regulated, but then I remembered Texas.

Only the uterus. 

[kapoentje]

TOO EASY

Signed,
Anyone/Everywhere

[Skyesthelimit1212]

DIY brain snow globe

[sparrowsong]

Gross.

And Lololololol to the rest of the comments. Thank you for getting a laugh out of me after leaving the latest ferguson thread.

[Skyesthelimit1212]

[AJL]

Only 100?

[elleblue]

Is Dr. Hfuhruhurrr working on a sequel? The Man With 101 Brains? 

[bluelily]

Update:

www.utexas.edu/news/2014/12/03/brain-specimen-disposal/

Brain Specimens were Disposed of by Environmental Workers in 2002

Dec. 3, 2014

AUSTIN, Texas — A preliminary university investigation has revealed that UT environmental health and safety officials disposed of multiple brain specimens in approximately 2002 in accordance with protocols concerning biological waste.

This was done in coordination with faculty members who determined that the specimens had been in poor condition when the university received them in the 1980s and were not suitable for research or teaching. Faculty members then maintained possession of other brain specimens in the collection that the university continues to own.

This occurred prior to the renovation of the Animal Resources Center, where the specimens had been stored in a secure location. We believe the workers disposed of between 40 and 60 jars, some of which contained multiple human brains, and worked with a biological waste contractor to do so safely.

We have no evidence that any brain specimens were shared with other universities or health institutions, though we will continue to investigate those reports.

We have no evidence at this time that any of the brain specimens came from Charles Whitman, though we will continue to investigate those reports.

The university will also investigate how the decision was made to dispose of some of these specimens and how all brain specimens have been handled since the university received its collection from the Austin State Hospital in the 1980s.

University officials will appoint a broader investigative committee to examine these issues. As researchers and teachers, we understand the potential scientific value of all of our holdings and take our roles as stewards of them very seriously.

[pixy0stix]

Huh.

[decemberwedding07]

Dec 3, 2014 12:20:26 GMT -5 Vespasia said:

Dec 3, 2014 12:19:03 GMT -5 josieposy said:

I was going to ask if body parts were regulated, but then I remembered Texas.

Only the uterus. 

Vespasia wins the Internet today.

[pamela]

I didn't realize they had determined the bell tower shooter had a tumor.

And I've already heard several aggie jokes about this.

[auntie]

This article says they're in San Antonio.

www.nydailynews.com/news/national/100-missing-brains-found-san-antonio-article-1.2031727

The headline disappoints.

[cattledogkisses]

Well that was anticlimactic. It went from, "Well, undergrads may have filched them for Halloween decorations," to "Oh, never mind, they were properly disposed of years ago." I don't know what to think about the fact that it took 12 years for someone to notice they were missing.