The True Pos(Web News) Albert Einstein’s physical legacy, especially his brain, has been a major source of curiosity for scientists for centuries.
The brain was preserved and sectioned into 240 sections after his death in 1955, and the question has been raised ever since whether modern methods can solve this cellular puzzle. A recent breakthrough in RNA mapping technology (Stereo-seq V2) introduced by Chinese researchers has renewed hope. The new technique is designed primarily for experiments in which samples have been exposed to unfavorable conditions for long periods of time — for example, if the established genetic structure has been weakened or the samples have undergone chemical changes. Stereo-seq V2 has enabled researchers to extract parameters that traditional methods cannot capture: mosaics of cell types, specific genetic expression patterns, and the identification of cell subtypes involved in tumors or other diseases.
Safety standards and condition of samples: Sampling techniques from the 1950s were very different from today’s standards, which may have led to chemical damage or denaturation in the samples over time.
Over time, RNA and other molecules can break down — and even modern methods like Stereo-seq V2 can only do as much as the sample will allow them to do. Ethical permissions, probate rules, and family consent are important in experiments on historical human specimens — all of which can influence the research path.
Potential Scientific Benefits
While it is not easy to find a direct “brain tumor,” modern analysis of old brain specimens can yield valuable results: neuronal mapping and identification of specific cell types, patterns of genetic activity in brain tissue, and identification of certain biomarkers associated with intellectual abilities in humans. Similarly, applying this technique to old preserved specimens could yield new insights into diseases such as cancer, such as its centers, immune responses, or genetics.
Technology like Stereo-seq V2 has opened the door to studying old and fragile genetic samples, and it is possible that in the future some meaningful data could be obtained from rare specimens such as Einstein’s brain. However, practical challenges such as the state of the samples, technical limitations, and ethical/legal approvals are major obstacles to success in this regard. Therefore, it is important to maintain a distinction between “possible” and “certain” in this matter: there is hope, but the definitive result is still far away.