A new study reveals that dead cells spring to life in unexpected ways, developing new functions. These shocking discoveries suggest that reality can be just as fascinating as fiction.
Frakenstein and the Afterlife Photo Shutterstock
Although it sounds like a sci-fi scenario, similar to those in “Frankenstein” or “Re-Animator”where bodies were brought back to life and continued their existence in an unusual form, recent research shows that this phenomenon can also exist in the real world, in modern biology being called “third stage” or “third estate” of existence, reports the Daily Mail.
According to researchers, the cells of a dead organism can continue to function and acquire new abilities that they did not have during life. If these results are confirmed by further studies on dead animals, including humans, they could change the definition of legal death.
The amazing ability of human cells to transform after the body dies Collage YouTube
“The third state, beyond the classical boundaries of life and death”
The study, published in Physiology, led by Professor Peter Noble of the University of Washington in Seattle and Alex Pozhitkov of the City of Hope National Medical Center in California, suggests that life and death are not completely opposites, as they stated in a published article in The Conversation: “The emergence of new multicellular life forms from the cells of a dead organism introduces a ‘third stage’ beyond the classical boundaries of life and death.”
The authors argue that certain cells of dead organisms, when given nutrients, oxygen, bioelectricity or biochemical signals, can transform into multicellular organisms with new functions, even after death.
Xenobots and anthrobots – the remarkable ability of cells to transform
The study reviews recent scientific research that explored this remarkable ability of cells to survive in a new form. In 2021, US scientists discovered that the skin cells of dead frogs spontaneously reorganized into multicellular organisms called “xenobots”, which outgrew their original biological role and were able to move around their environment using cilia, fine hairlike structures.
Other researchers have discovered that human lung cells can self-assemble into miniature multicellular organisms that can move – called “anthrobots”.
Not only can they navigate around themselves, but they also have the ability to repair themselves and repair nearby nerve cells that are damaged.
The mystery of the functioning of cells after the death of the organism
The research team suggests that these are examples of new cellular functions that do not exist in normal life and “shows changes in ways that are not predefined”.
How certain cells work in this “third estate” after the death of the organism remains a mystery. However, a possible explanation, of the sort “Frankenstein”suggests the existence of a hidden system of “electrical circuits” which could reanimate the cells.
These channels and pumps produce electrical signals that allow cells to communicate with each other and perform specific functions, such as growth and movement, thus helping to form and shape the body’s structure.
Several factors can influence cellular regeneration, the ability of cells to function, including environmental conditions, such as temperature, and energy sources, such as fuel availability and metabolic capacity.
Factors influencing the ‘post-mortem landscape’
The research team points out that metabolic activity is essential for the survival and continued functioning of cells. In addition, factors such as age, health, gender and species influence “the post-mortem landscape”determining whether cells can exist in this third state.
Finally, research suggests that there is “unexplored frontiers” which could allow animal cells to be brought into a third state, though if it ever resembles the ones shown in the film “Re-Animator” remains to be seen.
In this classic 80s film, a medical student discovers a method to bring human tissue back to life, but with violent effects, to prove that there is life after death.
The authors of the study emphasize that this scientific research could revolutionize regenerative medicine, redefine the concept of legal death and provide new insights into the physiological limits of life, similar to studies in embryogenesis.
