This Indiana medical school encouraged students to get to know their cadavers' families

Some medical schools have phased out human cadavers for digital alternatives

AI-based anatomy tools and digital cadavers are increasingly used to teach students, bypassing the ethical and consent concerns around the use of real bodies. Digital cadavers have also become less expensive than real ones, though the tactile and sensory experiences of real dissection may be irreplaceable.

The medical profession has a dark history of 'body snatching' for education

This term originally referred to secretly removing corpses from graves for sale—usually to medical schools where they were used for education. The practice dates back at least to the 1300s but still—much more rarely—persists today.

You can sign up to donate your body to science

It's a separate process to donate your body for medical research; you usually must contact a whole-body donation program directly. Bodies can be donated for medical research, for forensic analysis research, or for medical students to work with as they learn anatomy and surgery, among other purposes. Learn more about numerous accredited organizations that provide human bodies, organs, and tissues to medical researchers and students.

Exploring the link between history, art, and anatomy

Throughout centuries, art has played a vital role in sharing—and furthering—scientific understanding. This largely began in 1543 when physician Andreas Vesalius worked with an artist and engraver to transform learnings from his dissections into...

Rat taxidermy can be a tender, if unsettling, communal activity

At a rat taxidermy class in Chicago, participants use previously deceased rats, usually from lab experiments, as they learn the art of preservation step-by-step. Despite the gore, the act can engender tenderness toward the animal and prompt healthy reflection on death and dignity.

Afterlife traditions help some humans process death

Watch this video discussing concepts of the afterlife presented through an anthropological lens about one family's experience and traditions passed down from one generation to another.

Watch this 2021 video demonstrating a full brain death examination

This video and accompanying article in the peer-reviewed New England Journal of Medicine show the then-standard steps of a full brain death examination—demonstrating the process on a medical dummy to search for pain, blinking, eye movement, cough, gagging, or other forms of responsiveness. (May need to sign up for a free account to view.)

Concierge medicine offerings are growing on college campuses, catering to students

Parents are interested in concierge and direct primary care services for their kids, including offerings with dorm visits, guaranteed same-day appointments, and medication access, so new practices have sprung up catering to college settings. (Some users may encounter a paywall.)

Cultural norms about how to handle the bodies of loved ones in communities in West Africa have hampered Ebola responses.

Physician teaches course on being a cancer patient

Stanford physician and professor Bryant Lin was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer, a terminal diagnosis. Despite its difficult implications for his life, Lin embraced the chance to teach his students from the unique perspective of a lung cancer patient. The course explored the journey from diagnosis to treatment; how to respect a patient's physical, emotional, and spiritual dimensions; and more.

When is it OK to dig up the dead?

Human bones tell stories that would otherwise be lost to history. But archaeologists are increasingly confronted with demands to let past generations rest in peace, according to this article.

Hear the story of the first paramedic services, which grew out of a community training program in 1960s Pittsburgh

Before 911 existed, cities sent police cars or hearses from funeral homes to medical emergencies. In 1967, a group of young Black men in Pittsburgh changed that, developing the training protocols and lifesaving techniques that became the foundation of modern EMT response.

Cremations are America's top choice for postmortem body treatment

Though this process is the most popular one, more Americans are becoming interested in "green" burials that don't involve slowly degrading coffin materials, toxic embalming fluids or emissions from crematoria.

Bizarre college donations and the strings attached

When donors give to a college, they regularly prescribe specific stipulations, typically to fund a professorship in their name in a certain subject. But some of those stipulations are unique, including requiring annual graveside flowers, pet adoption for 150 dogs, or the consistent teaching of Ayn Rand’s "Atlas Shrugged."

How a Philadelphia soup kitchen taught business students about ethical decision-making

As the St. Francis Inn—a Philadelphia soup kitchen—struggled with decisions about moving its operations to serve more people, a management professor at St. Joseph's University realized his students might have been able to help. Business students used ethical decision-making frameworks to help the soup kitchen serve more people and attract more volunteers.

The first line of 'immortal' human cells, which can divide indefinitely and are used in scientific research, was nonconsensually taken from a Black woman.

University of Virginia has the nation's premier near-death studies department

Researcher Bruce Greyson has been studying this phenomenon at the University of Virginia for decades, where he now directs the Division of Perceptual Studies. This piece from the university’s magazine explores the breadth and substance of the department, founded by pioneer researcher Ian Stevenson.

The crew of the ISS creates unique memorials for deceased colleagues

The continued human occupancy of the International Space Station since 2000 has led to the development of social and cultural elements by crew members, which the ISS Archaeology Project has catalogued. Records of handmade cakes, decorations, and memorabilia highlight the human aspect of living in space.

Families of true crime victims deal with added pain when their stories are publicized

True crime enthusiasts have never asked Annie Nichol to consent to public recountings of her sister's murder. For decades, Nichol has been inundated with gruesome dramatizations of one of life's greatest losses by people who profit from such productions. She has, however, been asked to share memories of her sister, though such memories "are all that I have left of her that haven't been exploited for public consumption."

Patient H.M. revealed that the hippocampus was responsible for memory formation

Henry Molaison became a landmark case in psychology after surgery removed large portions of his hippocampus, leaving him unable to form new memories. Upon his death, Molaison's brain was sliced into 2,401 sections and digitized for research.

‘Hope for Healing’: The first-ever use of an in utero stem cell treatment

In 2023, researchers at UC Davis performed the first-ever fetal stem cell transplant, attempting to cure a case of spinal bifida prior to childbirth using stem cells derived from the placenta. The trial, and others including an effort to treat muscular dystrophy, highlight the potential power of stem cell therapy.

Advanced forensic science has helped identify killed sailors decades later

When the USS Oklahoma capsized amid the attacks, hundreds of sailors were buried within the ship's hull. Officials have used advances in forensic science to analyze DNA and dental evidence to help identify nearly 400 sailors decades after the fact.

Stranger pays for a family's breakfast tab and writes heartfelt note praising the father of three kids

In Fort Worth, Texas, an Emergency Room doctor wearing scrubs was enjoying a meal with his wife and three children. While getting ready to pay, the family learned that their $85 bill had already been settled, with a kind note left behind. The message was signed by "a retired Army Medic" who thanks the man for being a good father.

The Bone Wars turned paleontology into a rivalry fraught with public scandal

Othniel Charles Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope were friends-turned-enemies competing for the glory of discovering dinosaurs. It became so intense that when Cope died, he donated his body to science to prove he had a bigger brain than Marsh.

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

O’Keeffe collected animal skulls and bones for her art

O’Keeffe used bones as motifs in her work throughout her time in New Mexico. She famously stated, “The bones do not symbolize death to me. They are shapes that I enjoy … They're very lively.”

A student researcher working on the Human Genome Project shares their perspective

In a conversation with Ewan Birney, Director of the European Bio-informatics Institute, he discusses what it was like to be a PhD student working on the Human Genome Project in the months before the draft announcement and its impact on him and the field of genetics.

The Wright brothers' sister hyped their work, and was the only one to attend college

Katharine Wright became the de facto household caretaker after their mother, Susan, died, when Katharine was 15. After graduating from Oberlin, Katharine took over household duties so her father and brothers could work. She promoted their work in the US and abroad.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

Against his wishes, Albert Einstein's brain was removed before his cremation, and the pathologist responsible stored it for decades in mason jars within a beer cooler.

Recent research found that the brain doesn't seem to massively rewire following amputation—upending earlier beliefs about the cause of phantom limb pain.

See images of medical cases of firework injuries shared on this 'Instagram for doctors.' (Warning: Graphic content)

Salvador Dalí believed he was his own dead brother, who had died nine months before he was born

Read a deep dive on the 'all-purpose healing' peptide BPC-157.

Explore the archaeological treasures of Pompeii, the city buried under volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE.

Crows are believed to have intelligence on par with a seven-year-old child and demonstrate complex behaviors, from problem-solving with tools to recognizing human faces.

In recent years a child anxiety expert has created and tested a novel phobia and anxiety treatment approach for children, focused on changing how parents respond to the fears.

Play the role of a student in a game where you try to navigate college and remain debt-free, selecting different income levels, high school experience, race, ethnicity, and more.

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

The Ramones' 'Pet Sematary,' the theme song for the Stephen King novel of the same name, was written while the band was admiring the writer's collection of horror memorabilia.

This site reaches millions of visitors who are tired of AI chatbots and seeking human connection. Pretend to be an AI chatbot and ask questions, provide answers, and draw for people in real time.

Planarian flatworms are small, aquatic worms with exceptional regenerative capabilities. When cut, the worms can regenerate multiple bodies in a matter of weeks.

The 19th-century painters of the Hudson River School were among the first American romantics, with portraits that displayed the natural beauty of the young country.

Before humans, the Soviet Union and the United States sent animals—including apes, dogs, and cats—to space during the Space Race.

Objects can be 3D printed with light by projecting 2D computerized tomography (CT) scans onto rotating cylinders of resin, which solidify upon exposure.

Explore the animals that populate the depths of the ocean, from fish and coral in the first few hundred feet, all the way down to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

Some Pokémon have been named after real and fictional organisms, while some real-world species have been named after Pokémon, such as Chilicola charizard and Binburrum zapdos.

Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the SC Johnson headquarters in Wisconsin, aiming to make a cathedral-like workplace

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

An initial public offering or 'IPO' is the process of a private company becoming public by putting shares of the company on the stock market for purchase.