Would You Put Your Brain Into a New Body
behind closed doors: in private, away from public view; in secret
A startup called R3 Bio told the public it was growing animal bodies for organ research. These bodies would have no brain and no ability to think or feel. But according to MIT Technology Review, the company was discussing something much different behind closed doors. They were telling investors about brainless cloned human bodies that old or sick people could one day transfer their brains into.
When the story became public, the company denied everything. Founder John Schloendorn said he never talked about cloning humans.
But co-founder Alice Gilman told a different story. She said the team has the right to talk about “hypothetical futuristic” ideas, including brainless clones. In simple terms, she did not deny they were talking about it.
Scientists found the idea absurd. Researcher Jose Cibelli listed many problems. Cloning humans is illegal, artificial wombs are science fiction, and growing a full human body would still require a real pregnancy. “You’d have to convince a woman to carry a fetus that is going to be abnormal,” he said.
R3 Bio denied the story and confirmed it at the same time. The science may be impossible, but the company already has a billionaire investor behind it.
Sample sentences
They say they support us in meetings, but behind closed doors, they complain about everything we do.
The politician gave a friendly speech in public, but behind closed doors, his tone was very different.
I thought my parents agreed on everything, but later I learned they argued a lot behind closed doors.
Origin
The phrase comes from the literal act of closing a door to keep outsiders from seeing or hearing what happens inside. It became common in political and business language in the 1800s and is still used today to describe decisions or conversations that are kept hidden from the public.
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A Startup Was Secretly Pitching Investors on Cloning Your Body and Moving Your Brain Into It
