
Erik Uden on Instagram: "Babe, wake up. New man-made horrors beyond comprehension dropped!!
In the end of the day, these companies probably realized that, just like with AI, they can somehow use scare tactics to attract venture capital. It's still a horrifying thing to think of, but possibly overblown to get money.
The headline of the Science article reads: Not alive, but not dead: disembodied human brains used for drug testing
By restoring some functions to intact brains from deceased donors, the startup Bexorg hopes to create a better drug development test bed for neurodegenerative diseases, written by Sara Reardon, published on the 20th of May 2026.
Though, reading this Science article made me think: aren't we the brain? Am I missing something here?
Now, of course the devil lies in the detail and the article makes it clear that this startup only restores “some functions”, which is certainly more complex in action than it is in theory written here, but certain language of the article makes me question the author's understanding of what is a human.
The article writes: “Just a day ago, the brain was in a living person. Now, hours after its owner died, it sits on a cart draped in tubes [...]”
What do you mean “it's owner” — isn't the brain it's owner? Isn't that where it's owner is?
I mean, certainly the brain had no more activity, the person must've been declared brain dead by all standards before being sent to this startup, still it's odd hearing someone donated their brain instead of saying they've donated... themselves?
Also “using a set of proprietary brain-sustaining machines” is a terrible sentence
I always thought the people who don't donate their full body to hospitals are religious lunatics, but this is the first time I wrote something on my organ donor card.
They can take my brain, but not as one piece."
45K likes, 971 comments - erik.uden on May 21, 2026: "Babe, wake up. New man-made horrors beyond comprehension dropped!!
In the end of the day, these companies probably realized that, just like with AI, they can somehow use scare tactics to attract venture capital. It's still a horrifying thing to think of, but possibly overblown to get money.
The headline of the Science article reads: Not alive, but not dead: disembodied human brains used for drug testing
By restoring some functions to inta…