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  "path": "/story/26/04/01/0553228/startup-pitches-brainless-clones-to-serve-the-role-of-backup-human-bodies?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-01T11:05:55.141Z",
  "site": "https://science.slashdot.org",
  "tags": [
    "biotech",
    "Read more of this story"
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  "textContent": "MIT Technology Review discovered that startup R3 Bio has pitched an ethically and scientifically explosive long-term vision beyond its public work on non-sentient monkey \"organ sacks\": creating human \"brainless clones\" or replacement bodies for organs as part of an extreme life-extension agenda. From the report: Imagine it like this: a baby version of yourself with only enough of a brain structure to be alive in case you ever need a new kidney or liver. Or, alternatively, he has speculated, you might one day get your brain placed into a younger clone. That could be a way to gain a second lifespan through a still hypothetical procedure known as a body transplant. The fuller context of R3's proposals, as well as activities of another stealth startup with related goals, have not previously been reported. They've been kept secret by a circle of extreme life-extension proponents who fear that their plans for immortality could be derailed by clickbait headlines and public backlash. And that's because the idea can sound like something straight from a creepy science fiction film. One person who heard R3's clone presentation, and spoke on the condition of anonymity, was left reeling by its implications and shaken by [R3 founder John Schloendorn's] enthusiastic delivery. The briefing, this person said, was like a \"close encounter of the third kind\" with \"Dr. Strangelove.\" [...] MIT Technology Review found no evidence that R3 has cloned anyone, or even any animal bigger than a rodent. What we did find were documents, additional meeting agendas, and other sources outlining a technical road map for what R3 called \"body replacement cloning\" in a 2023 letter to supporters. That road map involved improvements to the cloning process and genetic wiring diagrams for how to create animals without complete brains. A main purpose of the fundraising, investors say, was to support efforts to try these techniques in monkeys from a base in the Caribbean. That offered a path to a nearer-term business plan for more ethical medical experiments and toxicology testing -- if the company could develop what it now calls monkey \"organ sacks.\" However, this work would clearly inform any possible human version.\n\nRead more of this story at Slashdot.",
  "title": "Startup Pitches 'Brainless Clones' To Serve the Role of Backup Human Bodies",
  "updatedAt": "2026-04-01T11:00:00.000Z"
}