Biohacker's Shocking Claim: Has Bryan Johnson Really Cloned Himself?

One of the most controversial figures on the internet at the moment, self-proclaimed biohacker Bryan Johnson , claims to have “cloned” himself “as a newborn”, but has no intention of raising or nurturing the baby. Instead, the man who aims to live forever says that he will be using the clone as his own “blood boy” to test and develop new treatments. The bonkers announcement comes just days after Johnson revealed that he has been diagnosed with an incurable autoimmune disease, Gastritis . Shockingly, building a baby of himself is perhaps not the most outlandish method Johnson has used to try and “de-age” himself or live forever. Along his journey to eternal life, he has injected himself with his son’s blood, eaten magic mushrooms and even tracked his erections . The embryo will be harvested for stem cells to treat his disease Describing how he would use the lab-made baby to treat his illness, Johnson said it would be used to “grow organs for transplantation”, and “inject young cells”. In the X post announcing the ominous news, Johnson explained: “This baby-Bryan lives in a petri dish for now. “This may be scary to some people…a dystopian future. But, for others, they will see it as the inevitable future of health. “Clinical trials are already using this technology to restore dopamine neurons for Parkinson's , heart health and eyesight.” In the same bizarre post, he outlined the process of creating the embryo from his own genetics, claiming that he drew blood, then had his cells extracted and exposed to “Yamanaka factors" and resetting the epigenetic age, before restoring the cells to an “embryonic-like state”. The biohacker is trying to find a way to cure his autoimmune disease. Credit: Instagram / Bryan Johnson The preposterous plan is not as dystopian as it sounds Despite Johnson’s proclamation that he has created a “clone” of himself, according to the International Business Times , the process seems to be how pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are made. These stem cells are effectively early stages of cells which can then adapt into many different types of specialised cells, which yes, can help treat numerous diseases, defects or deficiencies. Therefore, Johnson’s harebrained scheme is not as terrifyingly dystopian as it seems at all, as scientists and doctors have used stem cells for many years to repair all manner of damaged tissue. So, by creating his own stem cell farm, the biohacker would be able to “rebuild” his body and do things like repair his eyesight or hearing, or be used to restore liver and kidney function, as well as repair damaged skin. Johnson explained: “As cells age, they accumulate epigenetic errors compounding into dysfunction and disease. This technology gives us a path to reverse aging.” “I mentioned getting diagnosed with an incurable disease is one of the best things that has happened to me in a long time,” he concluded. “It’s opened up a frontier of new paths to repair and strengthen the body. This is the first example.” Featured image credit: Instagram / Bryan Johnson