After You Die, These Genes Come to Life

“We really know nothing about what happens when you die.”

By Kate Golembiewski
Aug 2, 2019 2:42 PMApr 26, 2020 7:37 PM
Genes DNA - Shutterstock
(Credit: Immersion Images/Shutterstock)

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From the time we see Bambi’s mom bite the dust, we all know what death is. At least, we think we do. But the simple definition of death — that the body stops working — doesn’t take into account how weird our bodies actually are.

“We really know nothing about what happens when you die,” says Peter Noble, a former professor at the University of Alabama. Noble knows firsthand that surprises await scientists studying the end of life: he helped discover that long-dormant genes can spring into action hours or even days after an organism dies.

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