You thought that in the existence of a living being there was only life and death? Imagine that you are wrong! Indeed, doubt has set in in this team of American researchers who have just discovered a new state of existence that occurs after death.
After life, there is death … not really
It's a safe bet that our conception of life and death would be changed forever if this study were to be confirmed. And for good reason, a team of American scientists has just published a study in the journal Physiology in which they discovered a third state of existence. In other words, a state in which a living being would find itself that would be neither life nor death.
The authors of this study, who are microbiologists from the University of Washington (United States), were able to discover certain cells taken from a dead organism capable of staying alive and, even more incredibly, capable of developing new capacities.
Indeed, researchers explain that when we provide “nutrients, oxygen, bioelectricity or biochemical signals“, some cells could “transform into multicellular organisms with new functions after death“.
Scientists have created the first “living robots”
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January 18, 2020
The authors of this study explain that “the emergence of new multicellular life forms from the cells of a dead organism introduces a 'third state' that lies beyond the conventional boundaries” that we know of life and death.
For now, the researchers are not sure they really know the why and how of their discovery. They believe that this could come from “specialized channels and pumps embedded in the outer membranes of cells“ that “serve as complex electrical circuits” and these are capable of generating “electrical signals” that provide the possibility “cells to communicate with each other and perform specific functions such as growth and movement.”
Promising medical applications
As a reminder, scientists had discovered that solitary human lung cells could self-assemble to form miniature multicellular organisms and move around in their environment. While they were previously unable to do so, these organisms called anthropobots, biological robots, are now able to repair themselves. This point could be interesting for example, to administer drugs using anthropobots without having an undesirable immune response or even by combining them with genetics to eliminate mucus in people with cystic fibrosis.
With the discovery of this “3rd state of existence” will we soon see zombies or Frankenstein's monsters? Rest assured, this will not be the case because different factors such as age, sex, health or species must be taken into account. However, researchers claim that this discovery allows us to approach the “unexplored frontiers” in life and death.