Facts on death
1. Decomposing human flesh smells (sickly) sweet
It is difficult to describe what the stench of death is like, but most people agree it is bad. However, the smell of human decomposition is actually very complex, involving over 400 volatile sheet
We share many of these with other animals, but a recent study found that there might be five esters– organic compounds that react with water to produce alcohols and acids – that are unique to humans. This is compared to 26 in other animal species from frogs and robins to pigs. The interesting thing about them is that they are also produced by fruits, especially when they rot. Those familiar with the smell, such as forensic scientists or morticians, often report a “sickly sweet” smell when describing corpses. Now we might know why.
2. No, your nails and hair won’t keep growing
You may have heard that our nails and hair keep growing – at least for a while – after we die. This conjures up creepy images of exhumed corpses with an urgent need for barbers or pedicurists. The idea probably came from actual observations of hair and nail “growth”, but it’s all an illusion. The truth is that the rest of our bodies shrink due to dehydration, making the nails and hair look longer.
What we think of as hair and nails are actually already dead: the only living parts are the the hair follicle and nail matrix under the skin. But these organs require hormonal regulation to produce hair and nails, not to mention the supply of ingredients like proteins and oils which cease upon death, or very soon after.
Telomere length predicts lifespan
For a long time we thought that our cells might be immortal, and that under the right environmental conditions, they would go on replicating forever. But, as discovered in 1961, they don’t: after some 50 to 70 divisions, they stop. A decade later a hypothesiswas put forward: telomeres – repeated DNA sequences at the ends of our chromosomes – shorten with every division, and when they get too short, divisions stop and the cells die.
Since then, there has been increasing evidence that telomere length can be used to predict lifespan, and not just in human . However, not all researchconfirms this, and it is not yet clear whether shortened telomeres are the cause of ageing or just a symptom. If telomere length does control ageing, then it may be possible to significantly lengthen lifespans by manipulating their length. At the moment we still know too little about telomeres to do this, but watch this space.
4. The fear of death declines with age
It seems counter-intuitive to think that we would fear death less as we get older, but studies run in the United States have shown this is the case. One study found that people in their 40s and 50s, expressed greater fears of death than those in their 60s and 70s. Similarly, another study found that people in their 60s reported less death anxiety than both people in middle age (35 to 50 years) and young adults (18 to 25 years).
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