CSI: Brain chemistry could reveal the time of your death

If you have a very unruly routine, you may have heard your parents (and especially grandparents) talking about the importance of following the biological clock. That is, the night was made to sleep, so nothing to spend the night in front of the computer! As much as each organism acts differently, some studies have shown that our chemistry tends to regulate our “inner clock” according to what happens around it.

For example, have you guessed what time it was without a clock? This can happen to many people because our brains operate on a schedule that follows a daily pace. That is, our chemistry represents a sophisticated biological clock and, therefore, has gained the attention of scientists, who want to learn to tell time reading our body.

It is believed that soon it will be possible to even determine the exact time of your death simply by observing the chemistry of your brain!

It may seem a bit morbid, but knowing precisely someone's time of death could be an extremely useful tool for forensic scientists. In addition, it would be possible to reveal new information about the functioning of our brains, which would help in treating conditions such as sleep disorders, dementia, depression and mental illness.

University of Michigan neuroscientist Huda Akil has been at the forefront of the science behind how our brains tell time. His team studied the brains of 55 people who had died and, through research, was able to determine the time of death of each brain within one hour of their actual death.

The key to reading our “clock” lies in about 100 genes that actively act on our bodies, dictating our metabolism, lipid synthesis and wakefulness. By looking at these genes, it is possible to determine at what time the brain stopped, as well as a wristwatch that ran out of battery. For example, people who died in the morning would have a different combination of active genes and proteins in their brain cells than those who died at night.

Of course, not everyone has exactly the same pace, but our chemistry tries to keep time within us in tune with contextual and environmental stimuli, such as daylight. So even though not everyone keeps the same routine, our internal clocks are connected with the universe around us. It is a complicated chemical puzzle, but it can potentially be deciphered.

The development of these studies can provide evidence of the differences between our life routine and our biological clock, which can generate many modern diseases and even contribute to neurodegenerative diseases.

Do you obey your internal clock? Comment on the Mega Curious Forum