The death is an inevitable outcome and one of the biggest mysteries of human existence.
Researchers have dedicated themselves to unraveling what happens after the last breath, and their findings point to a broader understanding of what it means to stop living.
8 interesting facts about death
Death has always provoked profound questions about existence and, with advances in science, some of these questions are beginning to find answers.
We explore eight scientific discoveries that shed light on what happens after death:
1. Energy transformation
After death, bodily energy follows the principles of thermodynamics, transforming and integrating with the environment.
For example, body heat dissipates into the environment, and the molecules that formed the body can feed other organisms and plants, perpetuating the energy cycle in nature.
2. Grief in the animal kingdom
Behavioral studies demonstrate that animals exhibit complex reactions to death.
This is because elephants can remain close to the bones of their missing companions, demonstrating recognition and stillness.
3. ‘Near-death’ experiences exist
In this type of experience, many reports from people who have been on the verge of death talk about “sighting lights” and “a feeling of floating”.
These experiences may include visual and auditory hallucinations, feelings of peace, and visions of loved ones.
These phenomena have been investigated in order to understand the recurrence of these cases.
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4. Brain reanimation
Resuscitation of brain tissue in pigs, performed hours after death, suggests that brain death may be more of a reversible state than an absolute endpoint.
5. Cotard Syndrome
This condition occurs when people see themselves as dead, despite being alive.
This fact challenges conventional perceptions about consciousness and the reality of death. The condition is associated with dysfunction in regions of the brain involved with facial recognition and perception.
6. The limits of longevity
Jeanne Calment’s prolonged existence until the age of 122 encourages research into genetics and evolution to understand the length of the human lifespan.
7. Some genes become active after death
Postmortem gene activity can affect the quality of organs for transplantation and challenge how we determine the time of death.
The discovery that some genes are activated after death suggests that the cell is trying to prepare to repair the damage, or initiate inflammation processes.
8. Persistence of consciousness
Research on the conscience after death have implications for understanding the subjective experience of death.
The possibility of consciousness persisting for a while after cardiac arrest challenges the perception of death as a state of non-existence and opens the way for new discussions about the care and recovery of critically ill patients.
