Page 8 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - Jan-Feb 2018, Vol 27, No 1

8 Science Explains Claims of Life After Death

Science Explains Claims

of Life After Death

by
J G Peterson

What happens to you after you die? That is one
of life’s biggest questions. For millennia,
humans have been trying to solve that problem
through a variety of different ways. From
philosophy to science, the question of life and
death has pervaded a significant amount of
important work either directly or indirectly.
Unfortunately, there are no answers to
the question of life after death. Even after all of
this time, scientists are only beginning to fully
understand the process of death itself. Old
tropes talk of the moment of death as though it
is a singular point in time or the period at the
end of the sentence of life. But, just as life is a
complicated series of processes and events,
doctors had tried to save him, they believed that 8. Some People Have Awareness Even
death cannot be broken down to a split second
the cause was lost. But only 15 hours after being After They Are Clinically Dead
when life ends.
sent to the morgue, he woke up and frightened
From studies surrounding consciousness A recent study in resuscitation medicine
the technicians who were working near and
to tales of near death experiences, humans have surveyed 360 people who were able to be
around him.
been exploring these concepts for centuries. revived after suffering from cardiac arrest.
Of course, some of these mistakes are
Recently, new breakthroughs in resuscitation These 360 people were found out of a group
the result of human error. After all, American
science have some information about what 2,000 patients from hospitals in America,
coroners are not required to have medical
happens to a person in the first few minutes Britain and Austria.
degrees, and some conditions and medications
after they die. This research is of hallmark Out of these 360 people, only around
do mimic death in a convincing manner.
importance; however, not all of it can be proven 100 were well enough to be interviewed.
Mistaking the living for the dead is a
to be objective fact. Out of this group, around 40 percent
rare thing in modern society. It happens so
Much of what life after death means said that they had a kind of “awareness” even
rarely that if a mistake is made, the news makes
comes down to the kind of life you describe. though their heart had stopped beating and their
headlines around the world.
Life, as a biological process, will end. Cells die brains had stopped functioning. Of course, some
Whether the mistake is made by an
and are immediately broken down. That much scientists chalk this up to post-traumatic stress
elected official or a trained medical
about death is clear. But things like behaviors, disorder or other psychiatric issues.
professional, it opens up a necessary discussion
traits and likenesses live on through our However, one case in particular stood
about how complicated the processes of death
offspring. Whether it is by genes or by learned out among the crowd. One of these 360 people
and dying really are.
behaviors, some part of many people lives on could describe the exact events that followed his
through their children long after they die. 9. The Brain Cannot Function When death. He told the researchers that while he was
Science cannot explain the phenomenon clinically dead, he kept hearing the beeping of a
the Heart Stops Beating machine. The beeps went every three minutes
of life after death as it presently stands, but here
are ten ways that it can try: Dying is not an instantaneous process. Although and he heard two beeps from the machine. The
it was thought to be a simple process in which a exact detail with which he could describe the
10. Death Is Not an Event person stops breathing oxygen and supporting events that followed his death lead doctors to
brain function, it is much more complex than believe that his brain did not fully shut down,
The moment that your heart beats for the last
this. Dying does not just happen. It is something even though his heart stopped for several
time or the moment you take your last breath is
that happens over an entire lifetime. The final minutes.
not the moment of your death. Death continues
process itself is something that happens over Dr. Sam Parnia of the State University
to be a mysterious process for those with a
career in science, and for those who ponder their several hours and some doctors believe that it is of New York at Stony Brook was the lead author
reversible. of the study that published this miraculous case.
own mortality.
Scientists know very little about what Dr. Parnia suggested that man’s experience was
The fact that death is not a fleeting
happens when a person dies. This is partly paradoxical, but that it opened up new
moment is demonstrated by the rare confusion
because it is such a complex question and partly possibilities in medicine. He believes that it is
that some people face regarding whether or not
because few researchers actually participate in possible that more people continue to have
a person is really dead. Most people have heard
discussions surrounding the subject. Many of awareness after death. He believes that the
the stories about someone who was declared
the hard sciences like chemistry have supported majority of patients lose memory of
dead but seemed to magically wake up at their
the idea that there is only one objective in consciousness as a result of the trauma or of the
funeral.
Despite so many medical advancements reality and anything that is subjective is not sedatives involved in reviving them.
considered to be a fact. As a result, scientists
and technologies, people still make mistakes
veer away from the subject of life after death, (Continued on Page 9)
about who is dead and who is not. A 91 year old
despite its existential value.
Polish woman recently scared the life out of
What science does know is that the brain
some morticians after she woke up in a morgue
needs oxygen to function; it relies on the heart
11 hours after being declared dead. The
and the cardiovascular system to take in
mortician discovered that there was movement
oxygen, filter it and pass it to the brain. Once
in the body bag and when it was opened, the
the heart stops beating, the brain dies very
poor woman was not only alive but quite
healthy. quickly. In fact, it takes only 20 to 30 seconds
for the brain to stop all function after the heart
A similar situation happened in Kenya in
has stops beating. It only begins function again
2014. A young man was declared to be dead
if the heart can be restarted.
after he ingested insecticide. Although the