The Athanatos Foundation has launched a new funding pool on ResearchHub, committing up to $23K to independent replication studies investigating the reported effects of epothilone B on anesthetic sensitivity. 🧵
2
6
22
1,234
The context
A few recent studies reported a surprising finding.
Epothilone B appeared to make mice and rats take longer to lose consciousness under the anesthetic isoflurane.
If true, it could reshape how scientists think about anesthesia and deepen our understanding of consciousness.
Have they lost their minds ?
Microtubules are proposed as the physical substrate of biological consciousness.
Microtubule modulators delay effect of anesthetic.
sciencedirect.com/science/ar…
2
1
3
661
What this RFP funds
Researchers are invited to propose the strongest replication possible, including:
→ Rodent replication (up to $15K)
→ Tetrahymena replication (up to $5K)
→ One high-value extension or data audit (up to $3K)
Positive, negative, and inconclusive results are all valuable.
Sep 24, 2026 · 3:17 PM UTC
1
2
184
Researchers in anesthesiology and related fields are encouraged to submit proposals.
Community members can also contribute directly to the funding pool.
Submit a proposal or fund the research ↓
researchhub.com/grant/32943/…
2
186