US startup Nectome preserves pig brain structure hours after death

U.S.-based startup Nectome said it has preserved the cellular structure of a pig brain for more than a day after the animal's death, in an experiment detailed in recent scientific reporting. The company worked with a pig brain, selected for its similarity to the human nervous system, injecting aldehyde-based fixatives into the blood vessels 10 minutes after death to stabilize proteins. Researchers then replaced intracellular water with cryoprotectants and cooled the brain to minus 32 degrees Celsius. The company noted that beginning the same process 14 minutes after death would allow tissue decay to set in. Nectome's work is based on the hypothesis that the brain's "connectome," a map of all neuronal connections, carries part of what makes up a person's identity. Scientists stress, however, that preserving neural structure has not been shown to bring back personality or memory. No existing technology has revived a frozen brain or read its stored memories. The company is preparing to offer the procedure in Oregon to patients with terminal conditions. Biologist Joao Pedro de Magalhaes of the University of Birmingham described the technique as a tissue-preservation method for future research rather than a path to immortality.