Biohacker Bryan Johnson has sparked a new debate over the future of regenerative medicine after claiming he "cloned" himself as a newborn.
Johnson, known for his aggressive efforts to slow aging and optimize his health, said in a social media post that scientists had taken his blood cells and used so-called Yamanaka factors to reset their epigenetic age and return them to an embryonic-like state.
"This baby-Bryan lives in a petri dish for now," Johnson wrote, suggesting the cells could eventually help him test treatments, develop new therapies, grow replacement organs and even provide "young cells" for his body.
However, experts say Johnson did not create a clone in the traditional sense. Instead, the process he described is consistent with a technology called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), a promising area of research that could one day transform regenerative medicine, but remains far from the futuristic applications Johnson envisions.
Scientists Push Back on the 'Clone' Claim
Genetics expert Alex Dainis told USA TODAY that Johnson's description is inaccurate and could leave the public with the impression that scientists have created a genetically identical version of him.
iPSCs are made by taking mature cells, such as those from blood or skin, and reprogramming them into a stem cell-like state. These cells can then potentially be directed to develop into different cell types, including neurons, heart muscle cells and retinal cells.
"They're not quite the same thing, but now they're pretty malleable cells," Dainis said, explaining that researchers can use different protocols to turn them into specialized cell types.
Dainis said that describing the process as "cloning" is "attention-grabbing but inaccurate." The cells may be genetically similar to the person they came from, she said, but they are not a cloned human or a newborn version of that individual.
The Future Johnson Describes Is Not Here Yet
Johnson's claims are built around a genuine scientific breakthrough. Researchers are studying iPSCs as a potential source of replacement cells for conditions including Parkinson's disease, heart failure and certain forms of vision loss.
The technology could also allow scientists to create patient-specific cells in the laboratory and use them to study diseases or test potential treatments.
But turning those cells into fully functioning replacement organs is a far greater challenge.
"We're currently able to make organoids, which are sort of like organ-like small balls of cells, but organs are such complex structures," Dainis said. The possibility of eventually creating organs from iPSCs remains, but it is not an established medical capability.
Danielle Spice, a molecular and developmental biologist and biotech scientist, similarly said iPSCs could represent an important frontier in medicine, but warned against describing the technology as if scientists are already cloning people or producing complete organs on demand.
"His post isn't entirely wrong," Spice said. "He did make some cells from his body that are now pluripotent that can then be made into other types of cells."
But the idea of a "baby Bryan" living in a petri dish, she added, "just isn't accurate."
The debate comes as regenerative medicine advances rapidly, raising hopes that stem-cell-based therapies could eventually repair damaged tissues or replace cells lost to disease.
Johnson said his reprogrammed cells could potentially help him "rebuild my body, organ by organ," while reducing the risk of immune rejection because they originated from his own body.
Researchers, however, caution that the science is not yet at that stage. Although clinical trials are investigating iPSC-derived cells for several serious diseases, personalized stem-cell treatments are not widely available, and the development of fully functional replacement organs remains an enormous scientific and engineering challenge.
