Article By Frank Bergman
A chilling new report is raising fresh alarm over how far elite-backed science may be willing to go, revealing that some researchers are openly discussing the possibility of growing “brainless” human body clones for future use by wealthy individuals who are aging or dying.
The idea sounds like dystopian fiction.
However, according to a new investigation, a billionaire-backed startup has been tied to discussions about creating non-sentient replacement bodies, human clones without functioning brains, that could one day serve as vessels for brain transplants.
Billionaire-Backed Startup Tied to ‘Brainless Clone’ Discussions
The startup, R3 Bio, recently surfaced in reporting as it sought funding to develop what it described as non-sentient monkey “organ sacks.”
The structures that would reportedly contain all major organs except the brain.
As first reported by Wired, the concept was presented as an alternative to animal testing and a possible future source of transplantable organs and tissues.
But a follow-up investigation by MIT Technology Review reported that the company’s founders had privately discussed a far more disturbing long-term goal.
They are pushing to create full human bodies without brains so wealthy elites could potentially transfer their brains into them should they die or become sick.
According to the report, one reason for excluding the brain would be to avoid some of the ethical and legal objections that would come with creating a sentient cloned human.
Company Denies Plot While Leaving Door Open
After the reporting drew attention, the company pushed back on the claims.
R3 Bio said its founder “never made any statement regarding hypothetical ‘non-sentient human clones’ [that] would be carried by surrogates.”
The company said that “any allegations of intent or conspiracy to create human clones or humans with brain damage are categorically false.”
At the same time, cofounder Alice Gilman acknowledged to the publication that the “team reserves the right to hold hypothetical futuristic discussions” involving brainless human clones.
That response is likely to do little to calm critics, who see the idea itself as a glaring warning sign of where biotech ambitions may be heading.
Experts Warn Idea Is Morally and Scientifically Fraught
Scientists cited in the report also made clear that the proposal faces enormous ethical and biological barriers.
Jose Cibelli, a Michigan State University researcher who was among the first to try cloning human embryos in the early 2000s, said the obstacles are immense.
“There are so many barriers,” Cibelli said.
He pointed to legal restrictions, safety concerns, and the fact that artificial wombs remain science fiction.
“You’d have to convince a woman to carry a fetus that is going to be abnormal,” he added.
Even with those barriers, the report said R3 Bio founder John Schloendorn has continued exploring the concept for years, including through private seminars and investor pitches.
A Dystopian Vision Hiding Behind Biotech Language
The broader concern is not just whether the idea is currently possible, but that it is being seriously discussed at all.
Animal cloning has been pursued since the 1990s, with Dolly the sheep becoming the first mammal cloned from an adult cell in 1996.
But moving from cloned animals to human bodies has long been viewed as a line that should never be crossed.
Now, critics warn, that line appears to be under pressure from ambitious researchers and billionaire-backed ventures determined to push the boundaries of life, death, and identity.
In a 2024 LinkedIn message cited by the report, Schloendorn wrote:
“We will try to do it in a way that produces defined societal benefits early on, and we need to be prepared to take no for an answer, if it turns out that this cannot be done safely.”
That statement may sound cautious on the surface.
But for many Americans, the fact that “brainless” human clones are even being floated as a serious futuristic discussion is disturbing enough.
The question is no longer just what scientists can do.
It is what they are preparing to justify doing next.
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