Everest’s Graveyard: Permanent or Purgatory (Part I)
It’s no mean feat to recover the fallen from Everest, Earth’s highest mountain; the climb is notoriously deadly for all kinds of reasons (hurricane-level sub-zero winds; thousand-foot fatal...
Is the World Ready for Deep Space Burials?
So besides the launching of cremated remains into or out orbit as part of a final farewell (an option of such growing popularity that there are businesses built...
Is Total Death Even Real? Mathematicians Suggest It’s All an Illusion
Higher mathematics suggests that maybe there is “no death.” Could it be an illusion? Come on, now. Sounds cryptically new age-y… but there’s hard research behind it. It’s...
Picking the Brains of the Pros: Recent Research into the Field of Death Care
The field of death care is a thriving area of formal research. Structured studies explore how the public – and the pros – are affected by (and work...
Prions: “Immortal Diseases” Enduring Beyond the Grave
Pathogens that stay viable in the environment for decades after the death of their host, opportunistically infecting whoever happens along, may sound like something out of a horror...
Mortality Salience: How Death Makes Life Better
Awareness of death, or “mortality salience,” has been shown in not a few instances to increase one’s sense of the value and fleeting quality of life. Not always,...
Two Types of Death
When someone says “brain death”, pretty much everyone understands. Some death is reversible, some not; brain death is the sort that isn’t, not usually. Most people are already...
Bite-Size, Portable Burial Grounds: Cemetariums are a Thing Now
Apparently, there’s a whole thriving subculture built around the putting-together and displaying of miniature cemeteries in glass terrariums. The sole purpose of these “cemetariums” seems to be their...
Mushroom… Coffins?
“Mushroom suits” arrived first, around 2011; they were initially celebrated as eco- and cost-conscious alternatives to traditional burial, a green and environmentally beneficial method of disposition. And they...
Does Grief Accelerate Aging?
Yes, indeed – getting old before your time is a real thing, and losing someone precious can leave one more vulnerable to it. A recent study suggests that...