Experts have long thought that the human brain is one of the first organs to rot and decompose after we die, but new research suggests that is not the case. And in fact, it turns out that brains preserve quite well, according to a team of scientists at Oxford University - though they don't know how nearly a third of the brains lasted as long as they have. Until now, any time archaeologists found an old, well-preserved brain, it was regarded as something of an oddity - or at least the product of intentional preservation efforts by ancient people.