A fascinating read- Afraid of death? Take comfort that youll live on in varied and surprising ways

[malaise]

http://bhekisisa.org/article/2017-03-31-00-death-brings-life-this-is-what-happens-after-you-die
<snip>
Far from being dead, a rotting corpse is teeming with life. A growing number of scientists view a corpse as the cornerstone of a vast and complex ecosystem, which emerges soon after death and flourishes and evolves as decomposition proceeds.

Decomposition begins several minutes after death with a process called autolysis, or self-digestion. Soon after the heart stops beating, cells become deprived of oxygen and their acidity increases as the toxic by-products of chemical reactions begin to accumulate inside them. Enzymes start to digest cell membranes and then leak out as the cells break down. This usually begins in the liver, which is rich in enzymes, and in the brain, which has a high water content.

Javan's study suggests that this microbial clock may be ticking in the decomposing human body, too. It showed that the bacteria reached the liver about 20 hours after death and that it took them at least 58 hours to spread to all the organs from which samples were taken. Thus, after we die, our bacteria may spread through the body in a systematic way, and the timing with which they infiltrate first one internal organ and then another may provide a new way of estimating the amount of time that has elapsed since death.

"Degree of decomposition varies not only from individual to individual but also differs in different body organs," says Javan, "Spleen, intestine, stomach and pregnant uterus are earlier to decay, but on the other hand, kidney, heart and bones are later in the process."

[ck4829]

1. Im a hypochondriac, terrified of death. Germs and things inside me too. But still, K&R

And the only way to treat it is to think about it... I like to think we’re like Schroedinger’s Cat, everything happens.

Afterlife in some Elysian Field where I think generally good people of every faith or lack of faith go? Sometimes lean toward that.
Reincarnation? Kinda lean towards that IMO, a little bit more than the first one.
Nothing? Maybe.
Or maybe we’re not even ‘alive’ right now and we are the products of a simulated reality; whether it’s a hologram, a computer simulation, or the imagination or dream of some being? Maybe that too.

It just helps to remember that things like the gender binary, the gap between rich and poor, the line between white and non-white, and even the binary of life and death are just that... constructed binaries made from shared human perceptions and rule-making rather than biological or physical facts.

[malaise]

4. What an interesting response

I can see you've into metaphysics a la Wilson Harris.
I have no such fears. I have no religious beliefs and live with one philosophical truth - everything that lives dies. I have tried to practice the other truth that matters - do unto others as you would have them do to you.
I'm just delighted that I was born healthy and have had such a fabulous life to date. When I think of the poverty, hate, envy and greed on our planet, life has been really good to many of us.
I couldn't care less what they do with my remains but there will be no funeral and no burial. I will either be cremated or leave my body to the med. school.

You sound a lot like Wilson Harris.

[ck4829]

8. I dont care what happens to my body after death

I think it would be nifty if everything from my brain tissue to my toenails ended up in a Petri dish or a histology slide, that would be the physical immortality I’ve always wanted.

[malaise]

12. LOL

My youngest sister died back in 2005 on April 2. She was terrified of dying and didn't want the worms to eat her. She was cremated.

[RandomAccess]

33. I'm like Woody Allen (in this one regard only) --

"I'm not afraid to die, I just don't want to be there when it happens."

[malaise]

36. I think he speaks for most of humanity

I'd settle for dying in my sleep or on the operating table.

[RandomAccess]

38. I'm with you on that.

[dixiegrrrrl]

30. Have you read.. "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lack"?

Actually, the Wiki page on her pretty well covers it.She is physically immortal, in a manner of speaking.
Won't spoil it for you, do recommend the look up on her.

[ck4829]

35. I think I skimmed it a while back.

About the HeLa cell cultures if I remember correctly.

[leftynyc]

24. Well, we Jews believe in eternal life

What that means is anyone's guess but I guess that makes us free to make of it what we want. Personally, I recently had to put down a beloved kitty who got very, very sick, very, very quickly. I comforted myself in imagining him in my dad's lap watching sports.

[ck4829]

34. That is always tragic. I still picture my cat of 17 years sitting in my lap.

I know there’s a part of her spirit so to speak in me. If the metaphysical stuff I described is true, I hope animals experience it as well.

[malaise]

37. I buried my beloved dog years ago

and cried for a month

[peggysue2]

2. We Are . . .

Multitudes. Alive or dead

Great book on the subject. Disconcerting if you're squeamish but a scientific look at the symbiotic relationship we all have with our microscopic friends. The original Bed and Breakfast arrangement!

[malaise]

6. It's all life and death

We die, they live and on and on life goes.

[MineralMan]

9. You are either an eater, or you are food.

And that's all there is to that.

[MineralMan]

3. The worms crawl in; the worms crawl out.

The worms play pinochle on your snout.

Or so the song goes... GRAPHIC WARNING: Listen at your peril if you are a sensitive sort.

[malaise]

5. ROFL

That's the truth

[MineralMan]

7. Wikipedia discusses the song:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hearse_Song

[malaise]

10. I could see someone writing that while watching death and decomposition

all around.

I've often wondered about the US civil war fields filled with dead young men full of promise.

[MineralMan]

11. What's funny is that the article refers to it as a children's song.

I remember singing at least parts of it as a child. Gross! Ewwww!

[malaise]

13. Truthfully most kids don't grasp the nastiness

of decomposition so I could see them singing it. It is gross

[MineralMan]

14. Children are surprising, really.

I remember finding a dead opossum in a vacant lot near my childhood home. I visited it every day and watched the process of its decomposition, stage by stage. I'm probably not typical, but it interested me, so I observed it until all that was left was fragments of skin and a skeleton.

Ever the naturalist, I suppose, even as a child. I also had a small collection of skulls I found on my explorations. There's still a deer skull sitting on the shelf of a bookcase next to my desk, and an ornamented and decorated goat skull from Nepal I bought at a garage sale. Apparently they are used over the doorways of houses there. Mine is mounted over the stairwell to the basement. It's a good conversation stimulator.

[malaise]

15. I always loved animals and birds

and had dogs and cats. I was going to be a vet until one of our pups was killed by a family friend who came over to visit. After seeing my precious puppy dead - the blood and the gore, that was the end of that career choice. I was close to 11 at the time.

[MineralMan]

16. Circumstances matter.

Age, too. 11 is a sensitive and impressionable age, I think. It's a time of transition. It's also my favorite age to interact with children. If I had become a teacher, I would have chosen that age group to teach.

[malaise]

17. True - 11 year olds

are fascinating.

[Achilleaze]

18. I'm, like, eternally grateful for eternity

[kairos12]

19. I like this article as it has some Rigor to it.

[malaise]

20. Mortis too

[kairos12]

22. The Mortis the merrier!

[malaise]

23. Ha

Where is Pinboy2niner when we need him

It's nearly a year since he died.

[kairos12]

25. I think of him often. I miss him.

[malaise]

26. Same here

He was a DU treasure

[dixiegrrrrl]

31. and yet..he lives on.

Just now, for example.

[malaise]

32. True

[Roland99]

21. Some may need to keep a stiff upper lip while reading

[malaise]

27. Well the dear departed sure have that

[DavidDvorkin]

28. That's not very comforting.

[malaise]

29. By the time we get there

comfort won't be one of our needs

[spanone]

39. K&R...

[VOX]

40. Just when you *finally* get things figured out, and you feel the connection of all living things...

And have a proper sense of awe toward the universe in which we reside -- bang! Death pulls you out of the game. It's mildly insulting.

I don't look forward to "not being," as I'm having too much fun "being." There's always something new to learn, but our expiry dates limit us,

My perpetual claustrophobia flares up when I think about life in my 70s-80s-90s (if I'm lucky); when one reaches that point, each day could be THE day one checks out. Is it today? No, not yet. But with each passing day, that "special day" has moved closer. And what guise will it assume? Heart attack? Stroke? Cancer? Not ONE good choice on the menu.

The only (and best) consolation: EVERYBODY DIES. NO EXCEPTIONS.

[malaise]

41. As my friends and I say all the time

We're all heading for or are already in the departure lounge - some have had their flights called. None shall escape death.
That's why I'll never understand the greed and quest for power.

[VOX]

42. Precisely. And the lust for fame. We'll all be stardust (again) at some point...

So what difference does it make? Rich or poor; famous, infamous or unknown, we're all heading for the same exit door.

[malaise]

43. Which is why there will be no ceremony or burial

for me. In the scheme of things I am as important as an ant.