Decomposition (or spoilage) refers to the reduction of the body of a formerly living organism into simpler forms of matter. Electoral fraud is illegal interference with the process of an election. ... Perishable Records is an indie record label founded by Chicago musicians Ben Massarella and Tim Rutili. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Plant decomposition

See also: Compost

In most grassland ecosystems, fire is the primary mode of decomposition, making it crucial in nutrient cycling (DeBano et al. 1998). A handful of compost Compost is the aerobically decomposed remnants of organic materials (those with plant and animal origins). ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... A forest fire Fire is a rapid oxidation process that creates light, heat, smoke, and releases energy in varying intensities. ...

Animal decomposition

Ants eating a dead snake.

The body of a living organism begins to decompose (as part of a succession) shortly after death. Such decomposition can be simplified in two stages: In the first stage, it is limited to the production of vapors. In the second stage, fluidic materials form and the flesh or plant matter begins to decompose. The science which studies such decomposition generally is called taphonomy. Download high resolution version (1280x960, 696 KB)Meat ants cleaning out a dead snake Taken by User:Fir0002 File links The following pages link to this file: Ant Categories: GFDL images ... Download high resolution version (1280x960, 696 KB)Meat ants cleaning out a dead snake Taken by User:Fir0002 File links The following pages link to this file: Ant Categories: GFDL images ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Taphonomy is the study of the fate of the remains of organisms after they die. ...

Historically, the progression of decomposition of a living organism has been described as taking place in four stages: fresh (autolysis), bloat (putrefaction), decay (putrefaction and carnivores) and dry (diagenesis). In chemistry, autolysis is the production of a substance which catalyses the reaction it was made in, or catalyzes its own transformation into another compound. ... Putrefaction is the decomposition of proteins, especially by anaerobic microorganisms. ... In geology and oceanography, diagenesis is any chemical, physical, or biological change undergone by a sediment after its initial deposition and during and after its lithification, exclusive of surface alteration (weathering) and metamorphism. ...

Process

Decomposition begins at the moment of death, caused by two factors: autolysis, the breaking down of tissues by the body's own internal chemicals and enzymes; and putrefaction, the breakdown of tissues by bacteria. These processes release gases that are the chief source of the characteristic odor of dead bodies. These gases swell the body. In chemistry, autolysis is the production of a substance which catalyses the reaction it was made in, or catalyzes its own transformation into another compound. ... Ribbon diagram of the enzyme TIM, surrounded by the space-filling model of the protein. ... Putrefaction is the decomposition of proteins, especially by anaerobic microorganisms. ... Phyla/Divisions Actinobacteria Aquificae Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi Chlamydiae/Verrucomicrobia Chloroflexi Chrysiogenetes Cyanobacteria Deferribacteres Deinococcus-Thermus Dictyoglomi Fibrobacteres/Acidobacteria Firmicutes Fusobacteria Gemmatimonadetes Nitrospirae Omnibacteria Planctomycetes Proteobacteria Spirochaetes Thermodesulfobacteria Thermomicrobia Thermotogae Bacteria (singular, bacterium) are a major group of living organisms. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Scavengers play an important role in decomposition. Insects and other animals are typically the next agent of decomposition, if the body is accessible to them. The most important insects that are typically involved in the process include the fleshflies (Sarcophagidae) and blowflies (Calliphoridae). The green-bottle fly seen in the summer is a blowfly. Larger scavengers, including coyotes, dogs, wolves, foxes, rats, and mice may eat a body if it is accessible to them. Some of these animals also remove and scatter bones. For a person who scavenges, see Waste picker. ... Subfamilies Miltogramminae Sarcophaginae Fleshflies, family Sarcophagidae, are insects that are often mistaken for common houseflies, although they are somewhat larger in size. ... Subfamilies Miltogramminae Sarcophaginae Fleshflies, family Sarcophagidae, are insects that are often mistaken for common houseflies, although they are somewhat larger in size. ... Subfamilies Calliphorinae Chrysomyiinae The Blowflies are members of the family Calliphoridae of flies (Diptera). ... Subfamilies Calliphorinae Chrysomyiinae The Blowflies are members of the family Calliphoridae of flies (Diptera). ... Binomial name Canis latrans Say, 1823 Coyote range The coyote (Canis latrans, meaning barking dog) also prairie wolf [2]) is a member of the Canidae (dog) family and a close relative of the Gray Wolf. ... Trinomial name Canis lupus familiaris The dog (Canis lupus familiaris) is a domestic subspecies of the wolf, a mammal of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. ... Wolf Wolf Man Mount Wolf Wolf Prizes Wolf Spider Wolf 424 Wolf 359 Wolf Point Wolf-herring Frank Wolf Friedrich Wolf Friedrich August Wolf Hugo Wolf Johannes Wolf Julius Wolf Max Franz Joseph Cornelius Wolf Maximilian Wolf Rudolf Wolf Thomas Wolf As Name Wolf Breidenbach Wolf Hirshorn Other The call... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Species 50 species; see text *Several subfamilies of Muroids include animals called rats. ... Feral mouse A mouse (plural mice) is a rodent that belongs to one of numerous species of small mammals. ...

Factors

The rate and the manner in which an animal body decomposes is strongly affected by a number of factors. In a roughly descending degree of importance, those factors include:

• Temperature
• The availability of oxygen
• Prior embalming
• Cause of death
• Burial, and depth of burial
• Access by scavengers
• Trauma, including wounds and crushing blows
• Humidity, or wetness
• Rainfall
• Body size and weight
• Clothing
• The surface on which the body rests
• Foods/objects inside the specimens digestive tract (bacon compared to lettuce)

The speed with which decomposition occurs varies greatly. Factors such as temperature, humidity, and the season of death all determine how fast a fresh body will skeletonize or mummify. A basic guide for the effect of environment on decomposition is given as Casper's Law (or Ratio): when there is free access of air a body decomposes twice as fast than if immersed in water and eight times faster than if buried in earth. Fig. ... General Name, Symbol, Number oxygen, O, 8 Chemical series nonmetals, chalcogens Group, Period, Block 16, 2, p Appearance colorless (gas) very pale blue (liquid) Standard atomic weight 15. ... Embalming, in most modern cultures, is the art and science of temporarily preserving human remains to forestall decomposition and make it suitable for display at a funeral. ... This page deals with the cessation of life. ... For the musician, see Burial (musician). ... For a person who scavenges, see Waste picker. ... In medicine, a trauma patient has suffered serious and life-threatening physical injury resulting in secondary complications such as shock, respiratory failure and death. ... Superficial bullet wounds In medicine, a wound is a type of physical trauma wherein the skin is torn, cut or punctured (an open wound), or where blunt force trauma causes a contusion (a closed wound). ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... A distant Rain Rain is a type of precipitation which forms when separate drops of water fall to the Earths surface from clouds. ... Clothing protects the vulnerable nude human body from the extremes of weather, other features of our environment, and for safety reasons. ...

The most important variable is a body's accessibility to insects, particularly flies. On the surface in tropical areas, invertebrates alone can easily reduce a fully fleshed corpse to clean bones in under two weeks. The skeleton itself is not permanent; acids in soils can reduce it to unrecognizable components; this is one reason given for the lack of human remains found in the wreckage of the Titanic, even in parts of the ship considered inaccessible to scavengers. Freshly skeletonized bone is often called "green" bone and has a characteristic greasy feel. Under certain conditions (normally cool, damp soil) bodies may undergo saponification and develop a waxy substance called adipocere, caused by the action of soil chemicals on the body's proteins and fats. The formation of adipocere slows decomposition by inhibiting the bacteria that cause putrefaction. Acidity redirects here. ... Loess field in Germany Surface-water-gley developed in glacial till, Northern Ireland Technically, Soil forms the pedosphere: the interface between the lithosphere (rocky part of the planet) and the biosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere. ... For other uses, see Titanic. ... Saponification of a lipid with potassium hydroxide. ... Adipocere or grave wax or mortuary wax is the insoluble fatty acids left as residue from pre-existing fats from decomposing material such as a human cadaver. ... A representation of the 3D structure of myoglobin, showing coloured alpha helices. ... Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and largely insoluble in water. ...

In extremely dry or cold conditions, the normal process of decomposition is halted, by either lack of moisture or temperature controls on bacterial and enzymatic action, causing the body to be preserved as a mummy. Frozen mummies commonly restart the decomposition process when thawed whilst heat desiccated mummies remain so unless exposed to moisture. A mummy is a corpse whose skin and dried flesh have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or airlessness. ...

The bodies of newborns who never ingested food are an important exception to the normal process of decomposition. They lack the internal microbial flora that produce much of decomposition and quite commonly mummify if kept in even moderately dry conditions.

Embalming

Embalming is the practice of delaying decomposition of human and animal remains. Embalming slows decomposition somewhat, but does not forestall it indefinitely. Embalmers typically pay great attention to parts of the body seen by mourners, such as the face and hands. The chemicals used in embalming repel most insects, and slow down bacterial putrefaction by "fixing" cellular proteins, which means that they cannot act as a nutrient for bacteria, and killing the bacteria themselves. Embalming, in most modern cultures, is the art and science of temporarily preserving human remains to forestall decomposition and make it suitable for display at a funeral. ...

In sufficiently dry environments, an embalmed body may end up mummified and it is not uncommon for bodies in dry vaults to remain preserved to a viewable extent after decades, such as the murdered civil rights activist Medgar Evers. Another case of this would be the body of Vladimir Lenin, who was kept submerged in a special tank of fluid for decades, almost perfectly preserved. Bodies submerged in peat bog may become naturally "embalmed", arresting decomposition and resulting in a preserved specimen known as a bog body. The body of Evita Peron was kept perfectly preserved for many years, and as far as is known, may still be so (her body is no longer on display as it once was). A mummy is a corpse whose skin and dried flesh have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or airlessness. ... Civil rights or positive rights are those legal rights retained by citizens and protected by the government. ... Medgar Wiley Evers (July 2, 1925 – June 12, 1963) was an African American civil rights activist from Mississippi. ... “Lenin” redirects here. ... Peat in Lewis, Scotland Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter. ... Lütt-Witt Moor, a bog in Henstedt-Ulzburg in northern Germany. ... Grauballe man at Mosegaard-Museum, Denmark Bog bodies, also known as bog people, are preserved human bodies found in sphagnum bogs in Northern Europe, Britain and Ireland. ... Evitas image appeared on a wide variety of products, including stamps, coins, postcards and calendars. ...

The time for an embalmed body to be reduced to a skeleton varies greatly. Even when a body is decomposed, embalming treatment can still be achieved (the arterial system decays slower) but would not restore a natural appearance without extensive reconstruction and cosmetic work, and is largely used to control the foul odours due to decomposition. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Importance to forensics

Various sciences study the decomposition of bodies. These sciences fall under the general rubric of forensics, because the usual motive for study of the decomposition of human bodies is to determine the time and cause of death, for legal purposes: Forensic science (often shortened to forensics) is the application of a broad spectrum of sciences to answer questions of interest to the legal system. ... Lady Justice or Justitia is a personification of the moral force that underlies the legal system (particularly in Western art). ...

• Forensic pathology studies the clues to the cause of death found in the corpse as a medical phenomenon
• Forensic entomology studies the insects and other vermin found in corpses; the sequence in which they appear, the kinds of insects, and where they are found in their life cycle are clues that can shed light on the time of death, the length of a corpse's exposure, and whether the corpse was moved.
• Forensic anthropology is the branch of physical anthropology that studies skeletons and human remains, usually to seek clues as to the identity, race, and sex of their former owner.

The Body Farm, at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville has a number of bodies laid out in various situations in a fenced-in plot near the medical center. Scientists at the University study how the human body decays in various circumstances to gain a better understanding into decomposition. Forensic pathology, first recognized in the USA by the American Board of Pathology in 1959, is a branch of medicine concerned with determining cause of death usually for civil or criminal law cases. ... medicines, see medication and pharmacology. ... Forensic entomology is the science and study of insects and other arthropods related to legal investigations. ... Look up vermin in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Forensic anthropologists can help identify skeletonized human remains, such as these found lying in scrub in Western Australia, circa 1900-1910. ... Physical anthropology, often called biological anthropology, studies the mechanisms of biological evolution, genetic inheritance, human adaptability and variation, primatology, primate morphology, and the fossil record of human evolution. ... // For the Patricia Cornwell novel, see The Body Farm (novel). ... The University of Tennessee (UT), sometimes called the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UT Knoxville or UTK), is the flagship institution of the statewide land-grant University of Tennessee public university system. ... Nickname: Location within the U.S. State of Tennessee Coordinates: Cities in Tennessee Tennessee Government  - Mayor Bill Haslam (R) Area  - City 254. ...

Peter Greenaway's film A Zed and Two Noughts [1] has a sub plot which explores decomposition and is intercut with an escalating series of time-lapse sequences watching various plants and animals decomposing, culminating with the decomposition of the two main characters in the film. Image File history File links DecayingPeachSmall. ... It has been suggested that Toxic mold be merged into this article or section. ... Peter Greenaway Peter Greenaway (b. ... A Zed & Two Noughts (A.K.A. Zoo) is a 1985 film written and directed by Peter Greenaway. ...

External links

Books

• Kenneth V. Iserson, M.D., Death to Dust: What Happens to Dead Bodies, 1994, Galen Press, Tucson AZ (ISBN 1-883620-07-4)
• Mary Roach, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, 2004, Penguin Books Ltd., UK (ISBN 0-14-100745-1)
• Jessica Snyder Sachs, Corpse: Nature, Forensics, and the Struggle to Pinpoint Time of Death (ISBN 0-7382-0771-3)

1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... Galen. ... Nickname: The Old Pueblo Location in Pima County and the state of Arizona Coordinates: Country United States State Arizona Counties Pima Mayor Bob Walkup (R) Area    - City 505. ... Official language(s) English Capital Phoenix Largest city Phoenix Area  Ranked 6th  - Total 113,998 sq mi (295,254 km²)  - Width 310 miles (500 km)  - Length 400 miles (645 km)  - % water 0. ... Mary Roach at her Washington D.C. audition Mary Roach, 18, of Manassas, Virginia was one of many hopefuls who auditioned for American Idol Season 4. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Penguin Books is a British publisher founded in 1935 by Allen Lane. ...

Preservation

Pickling, curing, sucrating, salting, drying and freezing are ways to preserve biological matter, usually used to preserve food. Cucumbers gathered for pickling. ... In food preparation, curing refers to various preservation and flavoring processes, especially of meat or fish, by the addition of a combination of salt, sugar and either nitrate or nitrite. ... Sugaring describes the following processes: The collection and production of maple syrup Hair removal using a sticky paste This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Salting is the preparation of food with salt. ... Drying is a method of food preservation that works by removing water, which is required for decay and the growth of microorganisms. ... Frozen food is food preserved by the process of freezing. ...

References

• DeBano, L.F., D.G. Neary, P.F. Ffolliot (1998) Fire’s Effects on Ecosystems. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, New York, USA.

See also

• Cadaverine
• Putrescine
• Staling