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Life and death, long perceived as opposing states, are now being challenged by the discovery of a "third state" that transcends these classical boundaries. Certain cells, derived from dead tissue, appear capable of reorganizing themselves and transforming old cells into new multicellular structures with unprecedented characteristics. These surprising transformations could well change our understanding of postmortem processes and open up revolutionary perspectives in biotechnology and medicine. Let's explore the mechanisms that allow certain cells to survive after the organism's death and the potential implications of these discoveries.
Reassessing Life and Death: An Emerging “Third State”
Traditionally, the death of an organism is defined as the irreversible cessation of its vital functions. However, advances in organ donation show that some tissues and cells can continue to function after the organism's death, raising the question of the underlying mechanisms enabling this postmortem resilience.
Recent studies have revealed that some skin cells extracted from dead frog embryos can, under laboratory conditions, spontaneously reorganize into ancient multicellular structures called "xenobots." These xenobots, equipped with cilia, orient themselves and move in their environment, a surprising behavior because, in the living organism, the frog's cilia are used primarily for the transport of mucus. Xenobots therefore illustrate an unexpected cellular plasticity, giving dead cells the ability to perform entirely new functions.
Researchers have also observed that human lung cells can coalesce into small, autonomous structures called "anthrobots." These mobile, multicellular structures have the ability to regenerate and repair damaged neural cells in their immediate environment, adding a new dimension of postmortem transformation and reactivity that alters traditional understandings of death.
Postmortem conditions and cell survival
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