It turns out that the body has genes that are "turned on" only a few days after death. This was stated by a group of US biologists led by Peter Noble from the University of Washington in Seattle. The so-called "zombie genes" have been found in the cells of mice and zebra fish. But presumably they are also present in other animals, including humans.
"Life after death
At first, the researchers euthanized the experimental rodents and fish (several dozen in number) with the help of poison, and then began to observe the processes taking place in the deceased organism.
Experts noticed that the activity of genes and proteins in the dead cells changed in a certain way, and not chaotic, which would be expected after the heart and brain died. This indicated that the life processes in the tissues did not stop completely.
Three types of posthumous genes
Further research showed that the body contains hundreds of genes that begin to show activity a few hours after death. Five days after death, their activity was still extremely high.
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Some genes, according to scientists, tried to "reanimate" the dead organism: they performed the function of protecting cells from inflammatory processes, enhanced the immune response and suppressed physiological manifestations of stress … Another group of genes was DNA sections that become active during the development of the embryo, but after births "shut off."
Finally, another group is genes associated with the development of cancerous tumors. According to the authors of the study, this may explain the development of oncological diseases in patients who received organ transplants from recently deceased donors.
Today, the "activity map" of the genes mentioned (called thanatotranscriptome) can be used to accurately calculate the time of death of a person, as well as to determine the suitability of organs for transplantation. Well, in the long run, it is possible that knowledge of these processes will help to understand how individual genes interact with each other and how, finally, life can be extended.
Is the resurrection real?
No wonder these genes were dubbed "zombies". Attempts to revive the dead have been made in many world cultures. Most often they were attributed to the field of magic, although, perhaps, in some cases, they played the role of knowledge about the human body.
So, in Tibetan monasteries there is a rlan-ga ritual. When a person dies, he is brought to the monastery courtyard and the lama performs special manipulations on him. Soon the deceased rises and goes around this place three times in a circle. After that, he lies down and this time freezes forever. So it is easier for his soul to pass to another world. But in the brief moments of their revival, these deceased are no longer full-fledged people: they do not speak and only make mechanical movements.
The art of bringing the dead back to life, according to eyewitnesses, is possessed by Siberian shamans. The Khanty people have special people - "isylta-ku". If someone dies before the due date, "isylta-ku" goes to his chum, lies face down next to the deceased and does not get up for three days. Moreover, no one should enter the dwelling of the deceased. Three days later, "isylta-ku" leaves the house with the resurrected one. Sometimes he appears alone, which means that the spirits have already taken his ward with them. Shamans and "isylta-ku", putting themselves into a state of trance, come into contact with the energy substance remaining after death, the soul of the deceased, and try to return it back.
Australian sorcerers are also able to bring the dead back to life, but only for three days. Such "lively" ones seem to remain one foot in the next world: they cannot eat and try to stay closer to the fire, as the blood in the body gradually freezes and it is more and more cold …
It is believed that it is possible to bring the dead back to life if a little time has passed since the moment of death. This is practiced by many peoples. In Haiti, "revival" is allegedly possible within ten days. The North American Indians and tribes of New Guinea have a potential resurrection period of six days. The ancient Sumerians and Siberian shamans have seven days. Turukhan shamans have a little over a day. Whereas, according to official medicine, if the brain has been in a state of clinical death for three or four minutes, then it can no longer be revived …
“For us, this experiment was a chance to satisfy our scientific curiosity and find out what happens when we die,” writes Peter Noble in a scientific article published on the bioRxiv.org digital library. "The main takeaway of our study is that it showed that we can learn a lot about how life works by studying its death."
