Exclusive eBook: Inside the stealthy startup that pitched brainless human clones

In a subscriber-only eBook, MIT Technology Review's Antonio Regalado reveals R3 Bio, a stealthy startup that has pitched an astonishing and ethically fraught plan: growing 'brainless clones'—human bodies that develop without a functioning brain or consciousness. These bodies would serve as empty vessels, ready to receive the mind of a person aiming for indefinite life extension. The concept pushes far beyond current organ replacement or anti-aging research, positing a complete physical reboot via a genetically identical but unoccupied body. While details are scarce, the startup's proposal challenges fundamental definitions of identity and what it means to be human.

R3 Bio's vision taps into the long-held transhumanist dream of escaping biological mortality, but it also opens a Pandora's box of bioethical dilemmas. Is it ethical to create a human-like organism solely as a spare part? Who gets access to such technology? And could a brainless body ever truly be considered 'empty'? The eBook promises to explore these questions alongside the science behind creating such clones. For now, R3 Bio operates in the shadows, but its pitch signals that the conversation around radical life extension is moving from philosophy into the realm of plausible engineering—with all the social and regulatory upheaval that entails.