Bexorg’s Controversial Brain Research
A biotech startup named Bexorg is pushing the boundaries of science in a way that feels like it comes straight out of a sci-fi movie. Yes, it’s as strange as it sounds. The company extracts human brains shortly after death and connects them to specialized life support machines. According to reports, while these brains no longer show electrical activity, many of their essential functions remain operable, enabling scientists to conduct groundbreaking drug tests, including some aimed at treating Alzheimer’s disease.
You’d want to believe that these brains are definitively lifeless. Interestingly, one of Bexorg’s machines, called BrainEX, reportedly keeps the brains in a state that teeters between life and death. There’s no consciousness, yet they are kept alive with artificial fluids—their functions unnervingly supported.
Some might think this vagueness is a marketing strategy for attention, but it might also highlight just how uncertain the line between life and death can be. Yet, Brendan Parent, one of the startup’s ethicists, reassures us. He states that the extracted brains lack the coordinated neural firing necessary for any semblance of consciousness. To further reduce any chance of unusual electrical activity, they administer anesthetics like propofol. This precaution, while perhaps comforting, also raises some unsettling questions.
It’s vital to approach the ethical implications of this research carefully. Bexorg’s CEO, Zvonimir Vrselja, emphasizes the scientific potential of these extracted brains. They come with rich histories—environmental exposures, past drug treatments, and more—making them a unique resource for drug testing. “You get cells that have been there for 60 to 80 years,” he explains.
Bruna Bellaver, a researcher in neurodegeneration at the University of Pittsburgh, shares enthusiasm about this advancement. “It’s a huge step up from mouse models,” she notes.
Bexorg previously made headlines when it successfully kept pig brains alive for about 36 hours with an earlier version of the BrainEX machine. In contrast, their human brain experiments do not last indefinitely. After a day, the brains are cut into hundreds of pieces for scientific analysis, with plans to use a robotic arm to facilitate the slicing of as many as 1,600 brains each year.
While Bexorg has yet to release its own studies on human brains, other companies are already utilizing them for research. For instance, the pharmaceutical company Biohaven has tested 130 of these brains, exploring potential drugs, including one for Parkinson’s disease, and is set to initiate a clinical trial based on their findings.
In the realm of neuroscience, the possibilities seem both promising and deeply complex.
