UPDATE: It turns out the missing brains were, in fact, destroyed over a decade ago, according to guidelines for disposing of biological waste, the Houston Chronicle reports. They are only half of 200 that were part of the school's collection. According to the paper, they were already in poor condition when the university received them and couldn't be used for research. The university also says it has no evidence sniper Charles Whitman's brain was disposed of with the others.
Dive Brief:
- The University of Texas at Austin has reportedly lost 100 human brains.
- The brains, encased in formaldehyde-filled storage containers, were acquired almost 30 years ago and were kept in the UT-Austin Animal Resources Center's basement.
- As of right now, the university isn't really sure what happened to the brains, but they are believed to have been stolen.
Dive Insight:
Among the brains: Charles Whitman, the 1966 Austin clock tower sniper who killed 16 people on the campus. As you might expect with this sort of story, speculation as to who could have taken the brains is running wild, with Time citing guesses that include mischievous students looking for outlandish Christmas ornaments. In all seriousness, however, this could be a huge blow for psychology research at the university, as a collection of that many brains donated for research — especially including the brains of Whitman and anyone else in the collection who may have suffered from mental illness — is surely hard to come by.