28/10/2025
🧬 What really happens when life shuts down? Scientists have uncovered an astonishing "third state" between biological life and decay.
After clinical death, cells don't simply stop functioning—many genes in mammals and humans become more active, regulating inflammation, immune defense, and even cancer, for hours or days postmortem. T
his phenomenon, termed the thanatotranscriptome, was pioneered by Peter Noble and Alexander Pozhitkov, whose experiments showed over a thousand genes turn on following death, as if cells are mounting a last defense or attempting new forms of survival.
Subsequent research by the Centre for Genomic Regulation in Barcelona reinforced this view, revealing that gene activity after death varies by tissue and can even help estimate time of death. Breakthrough studies have revived activity in pig brains hours postmortem, while human brain surges hint at conscious-like states after cardiac arrest. These findings challenge our understanding of what it means to be dead, suggesting death is not a sudden off-switch, but a dimming process where cells may try to reorganize or transform, akin to embryogenesis in reverse.
Some cells, like those making new multicellular forms—xenobots—show that postmortem cellular creativity can have medical implications, from organ transplants to possible healing therapies. Yet, this "third state" raises profound biological, psychological, and ethical questions as science redefines life's boundary.
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📄 RESEARCH PAPER
📌 Peter A. Noble et al, "Perspective on Death: A Gateway to a New Biology", BioEssays (2024)