Thanatology: Beyond the grave

Guppies reproduce from beyond the grave.

GUPPIES REPRODUCE FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE Humans can be forgiven for assuming that successful reproduction requires both partners to be alive. Amazingly, this isn’t the case for the Trinidadian guppy. Under laboratory conditions, female guppies are able to store sperm for up to a year, potentially allowing them to produce offspring even if the males are no longer around. However, several other st...

Pan thanatology

Chimpanzees' immediate responses to the death of a group-member have rarely been described. Exceptions include maternal care towards dead infants, and frenzied excitement and alarm following the sudden, traumatic deaths of older individuals [1-5]. Some wild chimpanzees die in their night nest [6], but the immediate effect this has on others is totally unknown. Here, with supporting video materi...

Comparative thanatology

A quick guide on comparative thanatology, the study of death and dying, particular how individuals respond to a conspecific's death, across animal phylogeny.

Beyond the Grave –The Use and Meaning of Human Body Parts: A Historical Introduction

Beyond the Grave: Facebook as a Site for the Expansion of Death and Mourning

Online identities survive the deaths of those they represent, leaving friends and families to struggle with the appropriate ways to incorporate these identities into the practices of grief and mourning, raising important questions. How are practices of online memorialization connected to conventional rituals of grief and mourning? What is the role of online digital identity postmortem? How do t...