
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


What happens to us after we die? A decomposing corpse becomes its own mini-ecosystem, hosting insects, scavengers and multitudes of microbes. Microbes from the environment, the corpse, as well as the insects and scavengers are blended together and work to recycle tissues back to their constituents. Dr. Jennifer DeBruyn discusses the fascinating process of human decomposition, and how scientists are using that information to inform forensic science, livestock mortality management and fossilization.
By American Society for Microbiology4.8
44 ratings
What happens to us after we die? A decomposing corpse becomes its own mini-ecosystem, hosting insects, scavengers and multitudes of microbes. Microbes from the environment, the corpse, as well as the insects and scavengers are blended together and work to recycle tissues back to their constituents. Dr. Jennifer DeBruyn discusses the fascinating process of human decomposition, and how scientists are using that information to inform forensic science, livestock mortality management and fossilization.

64,049 Listeners

11,421 Listeners

1,087 Listeners

1,225 Listeners

943 Listeners

3,896 Listeners

902 Listeners

2,878 Listeners

1,543 Listeners

8,328 Listeners