Found the gene still active after our bodies die

An article that appears on the Motherboard page says that after all, it turns out we have "life" when we die.

What really happens to us after death? When a person stops breathing, the heart stops circulating blood, doctors will conclude that the person is in a "clinical death" state . In terms of biology, the final breakdown of body cells, organs and brain tissue, signaling the final stages are in progress and cannot be reversed.

But what if those things are not the end? Two recent studies show that hundreds of genes actually continue to function, and in some cases, they become more active after death occurs. This is a huge surprise for researchers because all research results have long held that gene activity decreases after a body dies. That is why people often calculate gene changes to calculate the time of death.

According to the University of Washington microbiologist Peter Noble, who is also the principal investigator of both articles, he discovered that genes that are "immortal" can help improve organ conservation. implant. His two papers are currently being published on BioRxiv (a website that hosts research manuscripts, where authors present their findings to the scientific community and receive feedback on ideas. Think of that research before they are published in the journal).

There are a number of genes that still work well in corpses for 12 hours after their death.

Noble said his latest research inspired a three-year study that was published in Forensic Science International, discovering that a series of genes still work well in corpses for 12 hours. after death

To study the release of genetic circulation, in recent studies, the team extracted and measured mRNA levels in the tissues of dead mice and seahorses. Because mRNA plays an important role in gene expression, if the level of these molecules is higher, it will show more genetic activity.

One of the two papers, Noble and colleagues described more than 1000 genes that existed after death. A total of 515 mice continued to function for 2 days, while 548 seahorses remained active for 4 days after death.

"It is an experiment of curiosity to find out what will happen after death," Noble told the scientific journal.

However, one of the most astonishing findings is that hundreds of genes actually increase, boosting the activity of organisms, within 24 hours of death. Noble suspects that many of these genes are suppressed by other genes when the host's body is alive, and when death occurs, the genes are free to "wake up".

The team also found that many genes survive after death, typically in embryonic development. This leads to a new theory that: at the cellular level, newly developed life forms can have many things in common with corpses.

Other genes identified by researchers are linked to promoting cancer cell growth. They believe that activating cancer-related genes may partly explain why many transplant recipients are at risk of developing cancer after being replaced by a new organ. Although earlier, this was thought to be due to immunosuppressive drugs that patients are often prescribed. This issue needs further research to get the correct answer.

The author of two research papers - Peter Noble.

"From the above results, we find that the system in the body has not reached a state of equilibrium." we deal with death by providing nutrients and oxygen to tissue? It is possible that the cells will be resurrected or there will be an interesting new way of turning into something different, such as in cancer.

Researchers hope that their findings could be used by forensic scientists to find a more accurate time of death , although this has just been said to be extremely difficult.

Noble said: "We can get a lot of information about life by studying death."