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.
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.
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Study: Sticking with heart rehab boosts survival
Dec 21, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Medicare beneficiaries with heart disease who attended more cardiac rehabilitation sessions had fewer heart attacks and were less likely to die within four years than those who went to rehab less, researchers ...
Study: Swine flu poses a threat to new moms
Dec 23, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Swine flu is not only dangerous to pregnant women, but it's a threat to new mothers too, the first study to document this risk shows. An analysis of pregnant women and new mothers who were hospitalized with swine ...
Air bags not a risk to pregnant women in motor vehicle crashes, study finds
Dec 22, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new ground-breaking study from University of Washington researchers has found that air bags do not seem to elevate risk of most potential adverse outcomes during pregnancy.
Physician-assisted suicide: A perspective from advocates for people with disability
Dec 23, 2009 |
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Although public opinion in the United States on physician-assisted suicide is evenly divided, about half of states have either defeated bills to legalize assisted suicide or have passed laws explicitly banning it and only ...
Adverse consequences of obesity may be greater than previously thought
Dec 23, 2009 |
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The link between obesity and cardiovascular mortality may be substantially underestimated, while some of the adverse consequences of being underweight may be overstated, concludes a study published in the British Medical ...
Heart transplant patients appear to have elevated risk for multiple skin cancers
Dec 21, 2009 |
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Many heart transplant patients develop multiple skin cancers, with increased risk for some skin cancers among patients with other cancers and with increasing age, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of ...
China bloggers fined for defamation: report
Dec 26, 2009 |
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Two Chinese bloggers were ordered to pay about 290,000 yuan (42,478 dollars) in compensation to the widow of film director Xie Jin for claiming he died in the arms of a prostitute, a report said Saturday.
Scientists retrieve Caravaggio's presumed remains
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Dec 21, 2009 |
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Italian scientists Monday collected from a small chapel bones that are presumed to be the remains of celebrated Renaissance artist Caravaggio who died 400 years ago.
Mutant CTRC gene has a new way to trigger pancreatitis
Dec 22, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The CTRC gene is a lot like your baby brother—mutant and annoying. Drs. Miklos Sahin-Toth and Richard Szmola of the Department of Molecular & Cell Biology at Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental ...
Growing evidence suggests progesterone should be considered a treatment option for traumatic brain injuries
Dec 22, 2009 |
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Researchers at Emory University in Atlanta, GA, recommend that progesterone (PROG), a naturally occurring hormone found in both males and females that can protect damaged cells in the central and peripheral nervous systems, ...
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