Death
hideDeath is the permanent termination of the biological functions that define a living organism. It refers to both a particular event and to the condition that results thereby. The true nature of the latter has for millennia been a central concern of the world's religious traditions and of philosophical enquiry. Many religions maintain faith in either some kind of afterlife or reincarnation. The effect of physical death on any possible mind or soul remains for many an open question.
Animals almost without exception (see hydra) die in due course from senescence. Intervening phenomena which commonly bring death earlier include malnutrition, predation, disease, accidents resulting in terminal physical injury, or, in extreme circumstances, grave ecosystem disruption. Intentional human activity causing death includes suicide, homicide, and war. Roughly 150,000 people die each day across the globe. Death in the natural world can also occur as an indirect result of human activity: an increasing cause of species depletion in recent times has been destruction of ecological systems as a consequence of the widening spread of industrial technology.
Death in this context is now seen as less an event than a process: conditions once considered indicative of death are now reversible. Where in the process a dividing line is drawn between life and death depends on factors beyond the presence or absence of vital signs. In general, clinical death is neither necessary nor sufficient for a determination of legal death. A patient with working heart and lungs determined to be brain dead can be pronounced legally dead without clinical death occurring. Precise medical definition of death, in other words, becomes more problematic, paradoxically, as scientific knowledge and technology advance.
For more information about Death, read the full article at
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News tagged with death
Naturally occurring lipid blocks RSV infection in lungs
Dec 21, 2009 |
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Researchers at National Jewish Health have discovered that a naturally occurring lipid in the lung can prevent RSV infection and inhibit spread of the virus after an infection is established. RSV is the major cause of hospitalization ...
Anemia drug not helpful for kidney disease patients
Dec 22, 2009 |
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An international study authored by a UT Southwestern Medical Center researcher has concluded that the anemia drug darbepoetin alfa works no better than a placebo in several other applications previously thought to be promising.
Pores finding reveals targets for cancer and degenerative disease
Dec 18, 2009 |
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Walter and Eliza Hall Institute scientists have identified a key step in the biological process of programmed cell death, also called apoptosis.
Older adults may have a higher risk of complications and death after abdominal surgery
Dec 21, 2009 |
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The risk of complications and early death after commonly performed abdominal surgical procedures appears to be higher among older adults, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of Surgery.
Probing Question: Is the death penalty on the decline in America?
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
Dec 17, 2009 |
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In November, the Commonwealth of Virginia executed John A. Muhammad, the infamous “D.C. sniper” responsible for 10 murders seven years earlier. On the eve of his execution, a Washington Post poll found 66 ...
Nanoparticles used in common household items caused genetic damage in mice
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Nov 16, 2009 |
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Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles, found in everything from cosmetics to sunscreen to paint to vitamins, caused systemic genetic damage in mice, according to a comprehensive study conducted by researchers at UCLA's Jonsson ...
Newly Discovered Fat Molecule: An Undersea Killer with an Upside
Nov 05, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A chemical culprit responsible for the rapid, mysterious death of phytoplankton in the North Atlantic Ocean has been found by collaborating scientists at Rutgers University and the Woods Hole ...
Drug kills cells through novel mechanism
Dec 10, 2009 |
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MIT and Boston University researchers have discovered that the drug hydroxyurea kills bacteria by inducing them to produce molecules toxic to themselves — a conclusion that raises the possibility of finding ...
New way to kill cancer found using body's immune system
Jul 21, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have discovered a new way of killing cancer cells in a breakthrough that could eventually lead to new treatments for a range of different cancers.
Experts: Colon cancer deaths could make big drop
Dec 07, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Colon cancer deaths could drop dramatically in the next decade because of better screening and treatment, according to an optimistic new prediction by top researchers.
New understanding about mechanism for cell death after stroke leads to possible therapy
Nov 22, 2009 |
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Scientists at the Brain Research Centre, a partnership of the University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, have uncovered new information about the mechanism by which ...
Not all parents place their babies 'back to sleep,' research finds
Dec 07, 2009 |
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Placing infants on their backs for sleep can help reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). But a study by Yale School of Medicine researchers and their colleagues shows that while the practice helped reduce ...
Delinquent boys at increased risk of premature death and disability by middle age
Dec 07, 2009 |
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Men who have a history of delinquency in childhood are more likely to die or become disabled by the time they are 48, and not just from the obvious consequences of antisocial behaviour, new research indicates.
Scientists ID ten genes associated with a risk factor for sudden cardiac death
Mar 22, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- One minute, he's a strapping 40-year-old with an enviable cholesterol level, working out on his treadmill. The next, he's dead.
Alzheimer’s Findings Resolve Dispute Over How Disease Kills Brain Cells
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Apr 15, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- For a decade, Alzheimer's disease researchers have been entrenched in debate about one of the mechanisms believed to be responsible for brain cell death and memory loss in the illness.
