Ever feel like your body keeps going even when your brain has completely checked out? Turns out, your cells might have their own little existential crisis when you die. Scientists believe some cells can reorganize and even make decisions after death, raising the question—are we just a walking democracy of tiny, conscious entities? If so, my stomach cells need to explain why they crave ice cream at 2 AM.

A ‘Third State’ Exists Between Life and Death—And That Suggests Your Cells Are Conscious, Some Scientists Say