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The Story of the End

Written by Selin Eda Sagnak
Illustrated by Amelia Han

What is death? It is the end, and a sad moment of life which most people witness the outcome but not the part where death is diagnosed. This “diagnosis” mostly comes up in movies and TV dramas. And we all see that famous scene: the end of a character’s arc. But what do we really know about that end? What does medicine classify as death, how is this outcome named and what happens after it? Or is it just another mystery that is waiting to be unfolded…

In this article, our aim will be to showcase to you, our readers, the information and perspectives in medicine about death. What happens to the body in death, and how does this reflect to consciousness?

It would be most logical to start with the definition, “the end of life” which both the Cambridge and Merriam-Webster dictionaries agree upon.1,2 But what is interesting, is that Merriam-Webster also includes a medical definition: “the irreversible cessation of all vital functions especially as indicated by permanent stoppage of the heart, respiration, and brain activity”.2 So what does this mean? This means that the body can no longer circulate blood, be able to take in the oxygen it needs to survive from air, or that the brain is no longer able to control the body for survival.3,4 As much as this is the main criteria used, if the reason behind death is neurological injuries, this is referred to as “brain death”.4 The body has to be tested for physical signs of brain death but this can be tricky due to other diseases that can mimic the symptoms of brain death and mislead clinicians.3 There are many ways to classify the type of death, but interestingly, in what is called “natural death”, the body shows signs of this decline as one ages.3 To illustrate, even necessities like eating or breathing becomes difficult as time goes on with organ system processes becoming harder, such as the digestion getting painful due to lack of moisture and the respiratory tract becoming clogged with mucus.3Bodies can continue to change after death as well, with anaerobic metabolism (the lack of oxygen-causing energy metabolism), taking the lead.3 Additionally, the bacteria that we live in harmony with and get help to complete certain vital functions, like immunity, can end up consuming the body after death in a process called decomposition.3 Within around 2.5 days, the bacteria can reach many organs of the body, and some species even have the ability to increase their numbers drastically in under 8 minutes.3

Some valuable insights are gained from investigating sample tissues from bodies after death, referred to as postmortem.5 For example, the skin has illustrated differences between the type of death and what happens in cells in postmortem: samples obtained from people who had a “slow death”, from long-term diseases, show increased activity of pathways like PI3K-Akt that function in keeping the cell alive.3,5 Researchers used animal models to understand how these changes occur over time since death, depicting increased RNA levels, although it needs to be investigated further.5 Another interesting phenomenon that arises despite all, is the survival of certain key organs after death.5 We know this, because organ transplants and research on cell lines coming from humans are possible because of this phenomenon.5 One example is research aimed at identifying the potential of using cold preserved bone marrow for transplantation in place of living donors, which has shown similar enough characteristics to live donor samples to be a possibility.5

To shift our discussion towards consciousness beyond life, 10 to 20% of patients who have survived cardiac arrest, have mentioned near-death experiences.6 In studies, researchers have asked patients what they experienced, and they mentioned having “feelings of separation from the body, a sense of going home, moving toward a destination, and a re-evaluation of life, past actions, and intentions”.5 One theory says that as the brain is dying and neural hormones are being released, these “illusory experiences” appear.4 Something that sparked the possible connection between these experiences and neurological reasons was the electrical activity seen right before terminally ill patients have passed away, named “end-of-life electrical surges” which were absent after life supporting devices were removed and in patients who were diagnosed with “brain death”.6 However, these were not entirely reliable results as the devices used were unable to identify if this electrical activity is indicative of actual brain function due to their limited purview, random activity seen from neurotransmitters, or seizures due to state of death.6 Experiments on animal models showed that the electrical activity seen could actually be a sign of brain activity, as they found a measure that is indicative of communication and consciousness during their studies.6 In both animals and humans, high-frequency oscillations might signal “coordinated” cognitive activity, but there were some disagreements with “end-of-life electrical surge” results.6 Despite all the research, these results inconclusive about presence of any neuronal activity and could fail to explain how these near-death experiences come to be.6

Overall, we still have a lot to learn about death in both physiological and cognitive perspectives, especially when it comes to consciousness and near-death experiences. We presented a small slice of the knowledge on an inevitable phenomenon that every human being faces in their lifetime. We hope hearing some insight helps ease your worries of the unknown tomorrow and embrace the present.

References 

  1. death. In: Cambridge Dictionary. [accessed 2025 Nov 26]. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/death
  2. Death. In: Merriam-Webster. 2025 [accessed 2025 Nov 26]. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/death
  3. Javan GT, Singh K, Finley SJ, Green RL, Sen CK. Complexity of human death: its physiological, transcriptomic, and microbiological implications. Front Microbiol. 2024 [accessed 2025 Nov 26];14:1345633. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1345633
  4. Parnia S. Death and consciousness––an overview of the mental and cognitive experience of death. Ann NY Acad Sci. 2014 [accessed 2025 Nov 26];1330:75–93. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.12582
  5. Noble PA, Pozhitkov A, Singh K, Woods E, Liu C, Levin M, Javan G, Wan J, Abouhashem AS, Mathew-Steiner SS, Sen CK. Unraveling the Enigma of Organismal Death: Insights, Implications, and Unexplored Frontiers. Physiology. 2024 [accessed 2025 Nov 26];39(5):313–323. https://doi.org/10.1152/physiol.00004.2024
  6. Mashour GA, Lee U, Pal D, Li D. Consciousness and the Dying Brain. Anesthesiology. 2024 [accessed 2025 Nov 26];140(6):1221–31. https://doi.org/10.1097/ALN.0000000000004970

Ice cream and popsicles aren’t the only products that can benefit from AFPs. They can help to prevent freezer burn in many different foods, lengthening their shelf life⁹. Crops that are grown in cold climates can also be genetically engineered to produce AFPs, increasing their resistance to cold. Additionally, in medicine preserving donor organs can be a big challenge, as ice from freezers can leave the organ too damaged for transplants¹⁰. AFPs could help a higher number of organ donations remain usable, as well as aid the preservation of cells and tissues in research laboratories.

With all these utilities, AFPs have begun to be used in several different products. Health Canada published a consultation document in 2014 outlining their toxicity studies on a specific AFP (referred to in the food industry as an “ice structuring protein”)¹¹. They found no evidence of toxicity or similarity to any known allergens, leading to the protein being approved as a food additive¹². Also, in 2005, the international food company Unilever filed a patent to use AFPs in some of their ice cream products¹³, ¹⁴.

 The AFPs used in products aren’t harvested from fish or insects. Instead, yeast is genetically engineered with DNA that produces these proteins¹¹. Scientists then purify these AFPs so that they can be used in products like ice cream. Turning yeast or bacteria into biological factories allows us to mass-produce proteins and enzymes like AFPs more efficiently than using animals. For example, insulin is currently being made like this¹⁵. With these advances, we are closer than ever to finally defeating freezer burn in our ice cream!

Sources:

  1. Danahy A. Freezer burn: What it is, food safety, and tips for prevention. Healthline. 2025 Nov 3 [accessed 2025 Nov 19]. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/freezer-burn#causes
  2. Chant J. The difference between propylene glycol and ethylene glycol in antifreeze. Industry News. 2023 Feb 9 [accessed 2025 Nov 19]. https://www.monarchchemicals.co.uk/Information/News-Events/700-/The-difference-between-Propylene-Glycol-and-Ethylene-Glycol-in-antifreeze#:~:text=The%20main%20difference%20between%20propylene,any%20human%20or%20animal%20exposure.
  3. Moutoux M. Choosing propylene vs. ethylene glycol. Atom Chemical. 2024 Mar 1 [accessed 2025 Nov 19]. https://www.atom-chemical.com/blog/choosing-propylene-vs-ethylene-glycol
  4. Ethylene glycol and propylene glycol toxicity: What is the biological fate of ethylene glycol? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2022 Oct 6 [accessed 2025 Nov 19]. https://archive.cdc.gov/www_atsdr_cdc_gov/csem/ethylene-propylene-glycol/biological_fate.html
  5. Industries C. Propylene glycol safety: How to handle antifreeze solutions. Clear Water Industries. 2025 Mar 10 [accessed 2025 Nov 19]. https://clearwatershelton.com/propylene-glycol-safety/
  6. Elliott GD, Wang S, Fuller BJ. Cryoprotectants: A review of the actions and applications of cryoprotective solutes that modulate cell recovery from ultra-low temperatures. Cryobiology. 2017;76:74–91. doi:10.1016/j.cryobiol.2017.04.004
  7. Bar Dolev M, Braslavsky I, Davies PL. Ice-binding proteins and their function. Annual Review of Biochemistry. 2016;85(1):515–542. doi:10.1146/annurev-biochem-060815-014546
  8. DeVries AL, Wohlschlag DE. Freezing resistance in some Antarctic fishes. Science. 1969;163(3871):1073–1075. doi:10.1126/science.163.3871.1073
  9. Naing AH, Kim CK. A brief review of applications of antifreeze proteins in cryopreservation and metabolic genetic engineering. 3 Biotech. 2019;9(9). doi:10.1007/s13205-019-1861-y
  10. Tas RP, Sampaio‐Pinto V, Wennekes T, van Laake LW, Voets IK. From the freezer to the Clinic. EMBO reports. 2021;22(3). doi:10.15252/embr.202052162
  11. Canada H. Government of Canada. Canada.ca. 2014 Jan 3 [accessed 2025 Nov 19]. https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/food-nutrition/public-involvement-partnerships/use-new-food-additive-structuring-protein-modify-texture-unstandardized-edible-ices-unstandardized-frozen-desserts/consultation.html
  12. Canada H. Government of Canada. 8. List of Permitted Food Additives with Other Accepted Uses (Lists of Permitted Food Additives) – Canada.ca. 2025 Oct 20 [accessed 2025 Nov 19]. https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/food-nutrition/food-safety/food-additives/lists-permitted/8-other-accepted-uses.html
  13. Fletcher A. Unilever’s revolutionary GM ice cream protein challenged. BakeryAndSnacks.com. 2006 Jul 12 [accessed 2025 Nov 19]. https://www.bakeryandsnacks.com/Article/2006/07/13/Unilever-s-revolutionary-GM-ice-cream-protein-challenged/
  14. Reidhead P. Unilever (Breyer’s & Good Humor) Using Genetically-Modified Fish “Antifreeze” Protein in Ice Creams. Say no to gmos! – december 2006a. 2006 Dec [accessed 2025 Nov 19]. https://www.saynotogmos.org/ud2006/udec06a.php
  15. Levy M. Insulin Development and Commercialization. American Chemical Society. [accessed 2025 Nov 19]. https://www.acs.org/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/insulin.html

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