The idea of cheating death is audacious – and yet, undeniably tempting. If we could preserve our minds or bodies indefinitely, who wouldn’t at least consider it?

Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston
Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston
Dr Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston is a neuroscientist at Monash University, Australia, where he investigates methods for characterising the nature of conscious experiences. In 2019, he obtained his PhD from University of Melbourne, where he researched how genetic and environmental factors affect cognition. His research interests range from the decline, preservation and rescue of cognitive function at different stages of the lifespan, through to comparing different people’s conscious experience of colour.
By contributing to research that clarifies the neurobiological, cognitive and philosophical basis of what it is to be a person, he hopes to accelerate the development of medical infrastructure that will help prevent him and everyone else from dying.