Does death really mean the end of life? There is still genetic activity in the body.

After the animal dies, there is still active genetic activity in the body.
a new study suggests that although the mouse is dead, its genes may still function.
death really mean the end of our existence? From Plato to the American rock band Blue yster Cult, great thinkers have explored this issue.
now a new study has found that life continues after death -- at least in terms of genes: genes remain on after animal death.
use of this posthumous activity, researchers can make the donor's organs more functional during the transplant process and provide a more accurate way to estimate the time of death of homicide victims.
Of course the researchers in the study, Peter Noble, a microbiologist at the University of Washington at Seattle, and his colleagues are not trying to explore the "big events" of zombies sneaking into the Earth and sucking on the brains of careless people, but rather testing a new method they have developed to detect genetic activity.
Their research has long since turned to posthumous (they published an article two years ago about the presence of a large number of microbes in posthumous organs) and decided to use their new method in posthumous samples, Noble said.
" Although scientists have previously observed the activity of a small number of genes after death by analyzing blood and liver tissue in corpses, Noble and colleagues systematically evaluated more than 1,000 genes in their studies.
the genes they tested were derived from the tissues of recently dead mice and zebrafish, and genetic changes in the carcasses of the two species were tracked for two and four days, respectively.
, the researchers assumed that the genes would shut down shortly after the animal's death, as if they were car parts without gasoline.
and they found that many of the genes were running at full horsepower.
but most of these genes only increase activity 24 hours before the animal dies, and then gradually stop.
but some genes in fish remain active for up to four days after death.
many of these genes that work after death are useful in emergency situations, such as those that cause inflammatory reactions, genes that activate the immune system, and genes that relieve external stress.
other genes are even more surprising.
s "amazing" is that the development-related genes are turned on after death.
," Noble said.
these genes usually help shape embryos, but they are not needed after birth.
researchers say the posthumous gene awakening may be explained by the fact that the cellular environment is similar to that in an embryo in a newly dead corpse.
also found that some genes that promote the cancer process become more active after death.
noble said the results could explain why transplanting organs from recently passed-by has a higher risk of cancer.
" is a rare study.
," said Ashim Malhotra, a molecular pharmacologist at Pacific University in Oregon.
he had not previously been involved in the study.
it is important to understand what happens to organs after death, especially for organ transplants.
team's method of measuring genetic activity could be used to 'predict the diagnosis of transplant quality'.
article published in bioRxiv, Noble and two colleagues demonstrated another possible use of measuring genetic activity -- an accurate estimate of the time of death.
, a forensic scientist at Samantha University, was impressed by the results, saying: "The time of death is significant for many crime investigations, but unfortunately we're not very good at it.
" current death estimates often rely on evidence other than the body, such as the last phone call or text message on the victim's cell phone.
, Noble and his colleagues, as well as Carter, say a potential death investigation assistance technology has been built.
, no matter which gene turns on after death, it won't benefit mice or zebrafish (or do you hate the murder of mice?). )。
the patterns of genetic activity observed by the researchers may represent the state in which complex networks of gene interactions that maintain organ function stop working.
some genes, for example, may turn on (because the genes that normally silence them are turned off).
based on these changes, experimental studies may be able to learn more about these genetic networks, Noble said-- "and the title of this study is -- we may get a lot of information about life from death."
.