Scientists discover a ‘third state’ beyond life and death – in breakthrough that could ‘redefine legal death’

In science fiction films like ‘Frankenstein’ and ‘Re-Animator’, human bodies are brought back to life while in a strange state between life and death.

While it may sound like fantasy, new research shows that a “third state” of existence does indeed exist in modern biology.

According to the researchers, the third stage involves cells from a dead organism that continue to function after the organism has died.

According to the biologists, it is astonishing that the cells of an organism acquire new capabilities after their death that they did not have during their life.

If more experiments using cells from dead animals – including humans – show that they can reach the third stage, they could redefine “legal death.”

In science fiction films like ‘Frankenstein’ and ‘Re-Animator’ human bodies are brought back to life while living in a strange state between life and death

The new study in Physiology was led by Professor Peter Noble at the University of Washington in Seattle and Alex Pozhitkov of the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California.

“Life and death are traditionally seen as opposites,” they say in a new piece for The conversation.

But the emergence of new multicellular life forms from the cells of a dead organism introduces a ‘third state’ that lies beyond the traditional boundaries of life and death.

‘Certain cells – when supplied with nutrients, oxygen, bioelectricity or biochemical signals – have the ability to transform after death into multicellular organisms with new functions.’

The team conducted a review of recent studies into the remarkable ability of cells to persist in new forms after an organism dies.

In 2021, American researchers discovered that skin cells from dead frogs could adapt to a petri dish in a laboratory and spontaneously reorganize into multicellular organisms called “xenobots.”

These organisms exhibited behaviors that went beyond their original biological role: they used their cilia – tiny, hair-like structures – to move through their environment.

In the classic 1980s film ‘Re-Animator’, a medical student discovers how to bring human tissue back to life

Shown are computer-designed organisms collecting individual cells into a Pac-Man-shaped ‘mouth’ and releasing ‘babies’ (green)

Other scientists also discovered that human lung cells can self-assemble into miniature multicellular organisms that can move – known as “anthrobots.”

These anthropobots can not only navigate their environment, but also repair themselves and damaged nerve cells nearby.

According to the team, these are examples of novel cell functions that do not occur in life, and that “show changes in ways that are not predetermined.”

How certain cells function in the third state after an organism dies remains unclear. One possible Frankenstein-style explanation is a hidden system of “electrical circuits” that bring the cells back to life.

The team says: ‘One hypothesis is that specialized channels and pumps in the outer membranes of cells serve as intricate electrical circuits.

Diagram A shows an anthrobot building a bridge over a scratched nerve cell over the course of three days. Diagram B highlights the ‘sting’ in green at the end of day three

This robot is made from human lung cells, which have been reshaped so that it can crawl and repair damaged tissue

Xenobots can collect hundreds of individual cells, squeeze them together and assemble them into ‘babies’ that are released from their Pac-Man-shaped mouths

‘These channels and pumps generate electrical signals that allow cells to communicate with each other and perform specific functions, such as growth and movement, thus shaping the structure of the organism they form.’

There are several factors that can influence whether cells have this capacity, including environmental conditions (such as temperature) and energy sources (whether they have access to fuel and can metabolize).

“Metabolic activity plays an important role in whether cells can continue to survive and function,” the research team adds.

Factors such as age, health, gender, and species also determine the postmortem landscape—in other words, whether a person can exist in the third state.

Ultimately, the research points to “uncharted territories” that could put animal cells into the third state, though it remains to be seen whether it will ever resemble “Re-Animator.”

In the classic 1980s film, a medical student discovers how to bring human tissue back to life – with violent consequences.

“This research has the potential to transform regenerative medicine, redefine legal death, and provide insights into the physiological limits of life, similar to research into embryogenesis,” the study authors conclude.