After the death of scientist Einstein, his body was cremated and his brain was preserved by scientific research institutions. Cells in the brain, whether they are nerve cells or glial cells, are "somatic cells." If these cells are still intact, can we use these somatic cells to create totipotent stem cells, and then use totipotent stem cells to reproduce asexually an Einstein? Is this Einstein exactly the same as the Einstein born more than a century ago?
Unfortunately, this is impossible with the current level of human science and technology. The reason is that the reason why Einstein became Einstein was not only due to innate (genetic) factors, but also acquired factors. We can get Einstein's body through asexual reproduction, but we cannot replicate Einstein's growth experience and the resulting spiritual activities.
Genetic factors are undoubtedly important. They can determine the characteristics of our human body, such as skin color, blood type, appearance, height, and the probability of developing various diseases. So could genetic factors also affect the characteristics of a person's mental activity, such as personality, temper, reaction speed, and talent in certain aspects (such as music, sports, mathematics, painting, etc.)? The answer should be yes.
Human spiritual activities are achieved by connecting tens of billions of nerve cells into a complex network. The formation of this network is controlled by very complex mechanisms, involving the activities of hundreds of genes. Because each person's genetic material is unique, there will be slight differences in the activity of each gene. These differences combine to make the neural connections that have been established in each person's brain at birth different from each other.
However, genetic factors can only build an "initial platform" for spiritual activities, and cannot itself provide any external information. It's like a freshly assembled computer with hardware and software, but without any data input yet. No matter how strong a computer's ability to process information, if there is no information to "process" and no "products" can be produced, there will be no products of spiritual activity.
After the nervous system was initially formed, even if the fetus was still in the mother's stomach, the reception of signals had begun. These signals (such as auditory signals) enter along a predetermined "set" path and are "processed" in the associated loop. After the fetus is born, the various signals it receives increase greatly, and various circuits in the brain become "busy."
So when people come into this world, the "transformation" of the brain by external stimulation and signal processing has begun. Once the brain begins to receive and process external signals, it changes itself at the same time. A person's mental activity throughout his life is actually constantly changing the connections between nerve cells in the brain (the route and intensity of signal transmission). Because each person has different experiences every day, different signals input, and different connections are established in the brain, this distinguishes people from one another. Even if Einstein's body could be "copied", because this "substitute"'s experience after birth was different from that of the original Einstein, even if he was outstanding in logical thinking, he might not be interested in physics.
Moreover, acquired things such as thoughts, experience, knowledge, and skills are "stored" in the brain in the form of neural connections and circuits. They cannot be "sent" into DNA, nor can they be imported into another person's brain. What can be passed on through asexual reproduction is mainly the information carried by DNA. Therefore, Einstein's interests, ideas, scientific knowledge, and research plans were all wiped out with his death. It is impossible for the new "substitute" to continue research based on Einstein's knowledge of his "true body". Therefore, in terms of spiritual activities, we cannot place our hopes on the "giants" that have passed away, but can only rely on the people living now, which is our own efforts.