Scientists have established that there might be another state beyond what we know as life and death.
Traditionally, death has been understood as the moment when an organism stops functioning altogether and cannot be revived.
That said, practices such as organ donation show that organs, tissues and cells can still work even after the rest of an organism shuts down.
Now, researchers have been exploring the question of a 'third' state where certain cells can continue to operate even after the organism has died.
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In a new study, a team of experts have discovered that with the right kind of stimulation, some cells can “transform into multicellular organisms with new functions after death.”
When we think about what the third state actually means, it challenges what we originally acknowledged about cell behaviour, according to the paper’s lead authors, Peter A. Noble and Alexander Pozhitkov.
In an article for The Conversation, they explain: “While caterpillars metamorphosing into butterflies, or tadpoles evolving into frogs, may be familiar developmental transformations, there are few instances where organisms change in ways that are not predetermined.”
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For instance, the researchers found that skin cells taken from dead frog embryos could adjust to their new environment in a petri dish and reorganised themselves into multicellular organisms called xenobots.
“These organisms exhibited behaviours that extend far beyond their original biological roles,” added Noble and Pozhitkov.
“Specifically, these xenobots use their cilia – small, hair-like structures – to navigate and move through their surroundings, whereas in a living frog embryo, cilia are typically used to move mucus.”
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What’s even more fascinating is that xenobots can replicate their structure and function without needing to grow, which is very different from the usual way organisms replicate.
It was also revealed that single human lung cells can self-assemble into tiny multicellular organisms that can move around and behave in new ways. But not just move around, these cells could also repair themselves and even heal nearby neuron cells that were injured.
“Taken together, these findings demonstrate the inherent plasticity of cellular systems and challenge the idea that cells and organisms can evolve only in predetermined ways,” the team continued.
“The third state suggests that organismal death may play a significant role in how life transforms over time.”
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Certain factors can help determine whether particular cells and tissues can survive and function beyond the life of the organism, including environmental conditions, metabolic activity and preservation techniques.
“The third state not only offers new insights into the adaptability of cells. It also offers prospects for new treatments,” Noble and Pozhitkov concluded.