A new study has been spurring headlines recently, as scientists have shown restoration of cellular activity in post-mortem pig brains, hours after they have died. 

This has prompted some irresponsible headlines suggesting that these brains were "kept alive", a conclusion the authors themselves did not make. Rather, the authors showed that they could restore the electrical and metabolic activity of some brain cells and promote dilation of blood vessels. But should we consider this "alive?" 

The conversation about what counts as "alive" in a brain has been interesting. If we are to take this paper and consider electrical and metabolic activity in brain cells "live brains", we are forced to be consistent and conclude the same about cell culture and brain organoids, both of which can produce brain cells with electrical and metabolic activity.