Mauro Copelli

The brain is like a multi-story building: lower floors process simple signals, while upper floors assemble them into complex perceptions. Scientists have long suspected that this order is tied to how neurons work together. But exactly how has remained a puzzle.

When the conductor leaves the orchestra, the musicians keep playing from memory for a while. But without a unified rhythm, each one starts to speed up or slow down on their own, and the harmonious symphony turns into disjointed noise. According to new research, the brain and heart behave much the same way in the last hours of a person's life.