Story perspectives

Brain Biopsy Reveals Survival of Cryopreserved Tissue, Skepticism Remains

3/30/2026

Summary

Story summary

In 2014, biogerontologist L. Stephen Coles was declared legally dead and his brain was cryopreserved in Arizona.
Over a decade later, cryobiologist Greg Fahy began a biopsy on Coles' preserved brain tissue.
Coles opted for brain-only cryopreservation to study damage from extreme temperatures.
Fahy reported the brain chunks survived relatively well, but some damage was acknowledged.
Skeptics such as John Bischof question the brain's restoration, leaving the work unpeer-reviewed.

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Story summary

In 2014, biogerontologist L. Stephen Coles was declared legally dead and his brain was cryopreserved in Arizona.
Over a decade later, cryobiologist Greg Fahy began a biopsy on Coles' preserved brain tissue.
Coles opted for brain-only cryopreservation to study damage from extreme temperatures.
Fahy reported the brain chunks survived relatively well, but some damage was acknowledged.
Skeptics such as John Bischof question the brain's restoration, leaving the work unpeer-reviewed.