Independent verification by the Brain Preservation Foundation and the Survival and Flourishing Fund — the results so far

Cultivating independent verification

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. In my previous post, "Less Dead", I said that my company, Nectome, has

created a new method for whole-body, whole-brain, human end-of-life preservation for the purpose of future revival. Our protocol is capable of preserving every synapse and every cell in the body with enough detail that current neuroscience says long-term memories are preserved. It's compatible with traditional funerals at room temperature and stable for hundreds of years at cold temperatures.

In this post, we’ll dive into the evidence for these claims, as well as Nectome's overall approach to cultivating rigorous, independent validation of our methods—a cornerstone of the kind of preservation enterprise I want to be a part of.

To get to the current state-of-the-art required two major developmental milestones:

Idealized preservation. A method capable of preserving the nanostructure of the brain for small and large animals under idealized laboratory conditions. Specifically, could we preserve animals well if we were allowed to perfectly control the time and conditions of death?

This work (2015-2018) resulted in a brand-new technique—aldehyde-stabilized cryopreservation—which was carefully [...]

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Outline:

(00:16) Cultivating independent verification

(05:11) In the lab: Ken Hayworth and the BPF

(05:16) What is the Brain Preservation Foundation?

(08:29) A protocol that works under ideal conditions: Aldehyde-Stabilized Cryopreservation, 2015

(10:05) Independent Verification by the Brain Preservation Foundation

(13:22) In the field: Andrew Critch and the SFF

(16:54) Independent evaluation by the SFF

(20:53) Whats next?

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First published:
March 19th, 2026