The human body relaxes upon death, including the bowel and bladder, expelling urine and feces

A deep dive into how a body decomposes

Dead bodies are, understandably, scary and unsettling. Learn about the fascinating process of decomposition that takes place in every human, and how its teeming with life.

Each part of the human body experiences aging differently

With global average life expectancy cresting at 73 years, understanding how the body ages is imperative to effective medical treatment and maintaining a desired quality of life. This 13-minute video dives into how the body and its organs age "from head to toe."

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.

How the body produces urine

Things seem so simple when nature calls. But, how does the body actually produce the urine we so regularly and thoughtlessly expel? This detailed, comprehensive animation walks viewers through every step with precise illustrations, from the kidney's filters (known as nephrons) to the direct nerve connecting the bladder to the brain. See how the body does it here.

Cells can last in the human body from days to a person's entire life

Despite claims that a person's body replaces itself every seven to 10 years, the rate at which cells die and are replaced varies by cell type. Gastrointestinal cells that line the digestive tract and stomach last only a few days, while some heart muscle cells and most neurons are around from birth until death.

What happens in a dying brain?

Near-death experiences usually happen during death or on the border of life and death when a person isn't understood to be conscious. This article details the science of what's going on with the brain during NDEs.

Alkaline hydrolysis—dissolving the body—is one 'green' burial option

This approach, which is sometimes called flameless cremation, involves dissolving the body with water and chemicals. The remaining bone fragments can then be spread like ashes. It was reportedly incorporated into the funeral industry in 2011.

This is what happens inside your body when you're sick

This video details the biology of what happens inside the human body during illness.

Mummification involves drying a body to preserve it long-term

It was a common and respected practice in many ancient societies. The Egyptians perfected the ritual as part of their religious views of death, believing the dead needed to remain physically intact to reach the afterlife. Mummies were common also in ancient China, Mesoamerica, and the Canary Islands.

Organ donation isn't usually logistically possible if you die at home

Since organs need to be well-preserved for organ donation, with oxygen flowing through the body, internal organs often aren't viable for organ donation if someone dies at home. But some tissues—like eye corneas and skin tissue—may still be donated since they remain usable for a longer period without oxygen flow.

Your pet might eat you if you die

Cats and dogs can eat their deceased owners. Experts say it typically occurs after days without food and reflects basic survival instincts, rather than aggression, affection loss, or a sudden behavioral shift.

Without liver bile, human poop would be a pale silver color

Stomach acid and enzymes break down food into smaller particles, expelling a semi-fluid mass called chyme into the small intestine, where bile is added. As the intestines absorb nutrients and water, the chyme solidifies and changes color.

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

Awareness of local burial and grieving traditions eventually helped healthcare workers fight the spread of the virus. As healthcare workers and burial teams altered their procedures during the 2014 West African Ebola outbreak, and as community leaders pressed people to adapt traditional ceremonies, the spread of Ebola began to slow.

Gibberish, urine, and utter chaos: what happens when you sleepwalk

Sleepwalking, or somnambulism, occurs most frequently in children who are in the deepest stages of sleep. REM, the sleep stage in which most people dream, often causes temporary muscle paralysis, so it’s only when sleepers pass to the deeper stages of sleep that sleepwalking—and sleep talking—can occur.

Virtually experience a euthanasia roller coaster

In 2010, Lithuanian artist Julijonas Urbonas came up with a fictional euthanasia coaster to generate conversation about humanely ending life. His idea involved using extreme G-forces on a roller coaster, aiming to give participants feelings of euphoria before death. In reality, the ride would probably be extremely unpleasant.

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

Grief is defined as the anguish and physiological distress experienced after significant loss

It usually occurs following the death of a loved one, and symptoms may include confusion, apprehension about the future, separation anxiety, and ruminating on the past.

Every organ in a mother's body changes during pregnancy

There's limited real estate inside a mother's body; as the uterus grows both up and out, it shifts other organs to make space. A pregnant woman's body produces hormones to loosen muscles to allow for this expansion. Pregnancy also triggers other changes, including faster breathing to compensate for decreased diaphragm range.

Learn how your body is, scientifically, like a firework with its own slow, controlled burn.

Falling into a black hole would stretch and shred your body beyond recognition

As you approach a black hole, you initially feel weightless. Eventually, the difference in gravity between your feet and head would create a powerful stretching force that overcomes the molecular bonds in your body and pulls you apart.

When a pension holder dies, payments are sometimes passed on to a relative

Those relatives are often the pension holder’s surviving spouses or dependents. This article offers tips from a financial expert on how to make sure your spouse is taken care of during retirement, including navigating a pension’s ultimate destination.

A doctor answers the internet's burning questions about the gut

Gastroenterologist Dr. Ugo Iroku answers the internet’s burning questions about digestion and bowel movements. Get the lowdown on what it means when your stuff is super dark, the impact of coffee on evacuating bowels, and much more.

How heatstroke—from overexertion or extreme heat—affects the body

When core body temperature soars to 104 degrees Fahrenheit or higher and remains there for about 30 minutes, it sets off a cascade of problems in the body. Proteins and cell membranes can degrade and begin to leak, potentially leading to liver damage, blood clots, GI tract damage, and organ failure, among other issues.

The stages of fasting

What happens to the body when it goes without caloric intake? This article overviews the immediate physical effects of fasting. Within a day of going without food, the body will have used up its glucose stores and ordered the liver and muscles to convert their glycogen (glucose storage) into usable glucose. By the second day, glycogen stores will run out, forcing the body to use fat as energy. This process is known as ketosis.

A living will is a legal document spelling out your medical wishes for emergency care

This legal document makes it explicit if you want medical interventions in the event of an emergency, including CPR, feeding tubes, ventilator assistance to push air into your lungs to help you breathe, and more. Talking with your doctor about this is covered by Medicare.

Explore a series of bedtime exercises to improve sleep

Low-impact, mindful movements can potentially help the body and mind relax before sleeping. Such exercises could be a helpful complement to regular exercise during the day.

Pooping or puking out pathogens is sometimes recommended with food poisoning

Sometimes stopping food poisoning-linked diarrhea with over-the-counter medications is a bad idea because it may prolong illness. Doctors can advise you if your diarrhea or vomiting is severe about what medications to take and when, but generally doctors recommend trying to stay hydrated during a bout of food poisoning and letting the body naturally remove pathogens from the body via vomiting or diarrhea, as needed.

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year

Apollo astronauts left items in the moon's 'toss zone,' including golf balls, family photos, and bags of human waste, to make room for lunar rocks.

Volcanoes 'die' when their supply of magma runs out, if they are shifted away from their underlying magma reservoir, or if they get clogged by collapsing or their magma cooling back into rock.

Human-to-human transmission of hantavirus remains extremely rare, so the 2026 hantavirus cruise ship outbreak doesn't mean we're facing a COVID-style pandemic risk.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

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

The syncytiotrophoblast is the outer layer of the placenta and the largest human cell, spanning an area about twice that of a king-sized bedsheet.

To reduce wrinkles in clothing, research recommends gentle wash cycles with more water and tumble drying with smaller loads and longer times.

For centuries, it was common to sleep in two shifts: a few hours at the beginning of the night, and a longer period beginning around midnight

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

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

The use of fungi to detoxify land and water—a process known as mycoremediation—has been used to clean up natural resources affected by the 2025 California wildfires.

Tattoos remain visible on your skin thanks to immune cells called macrophages

Most of the observable universe's volume consists of voids and supervoids—enormous regions of space with little to no galaxies, stars, or light.

Between 10 million and 50 million people in the US develop rashes from poison ivy, poison sumac, and poison oak each year.

Explore the history, structure, and species of Australia's Great Barrier Reef with this interactive journey narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

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.

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by over 1.5 million Muslims.

Watch contemporary footage covering the US-backed Shah of Iran fleeing the country in the face of the 1979 Iranian Revolution

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.

Discover the catastrophic consequences of a failure of the US electrical grid—something that is more likely than many Americans think.

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.

Comedy legend Catherine O'Hara, star of 'Schitt's Creek' and 'Home Alone,' quit 'Saturday Night Live' after just one week to return to her old job.