Talk:Decomposition

message: What essential change stops the living from decomposing? I guess that while alive renewal does the trick, but, is that alone? Then why the living aint considered to be "decomposing at a slower rate"? Exactly what's the trick? The on/off process?Undead Herle King (talk) 09:10, 24 November 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: For one thing, the body has all sorts of defenses built in to keep it from being attacked by outside bacteria, bugs, etc. and to keep the ones inside in check. When death occurs, these defenses and checks fail (obviously), so the bugs and germs are free to accomplish their objectives. mike4ty4 (talk) 02:08, 12 December 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Life & Death

message: I agree with what has been said thus far. It seems that the topic of Decompostition is very wide and to try to include plant, fruit, and human is too much. The information on body decay however is great and informative. My suggestion is to mention body/animal decay on this page, but add a link to your own page that gives a more in depth analysis of human decomposition maybe with mention of faunal successions. Also, from there you could add an external link to Environmental Effects of Forensic Entomology as it pertains to effects on fauna. Mari2111 (talk) 07:14, 18 April 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Although this might be a good idea, I deo not think this justifies the significant reduction of content in the 'Decomposition process'-section. 80.134.122.47 14:27, 2 November 2005 (UTC)

text: You could just as easily argue that animal decomposition should be under Animal Decomposition. I think the idea here is to give a balanced, perhaps brief account of each type of decomposition. Each type could then be elaborated in their own article. `Zozart .chat 07:21, 12 April 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Actually, the processes that happen to plants as they decompose, for the most part, happen to animal bodies as well-- nutrients are leached out and organisms shred the material. The reverse is not true. A separate page on animal decomposition, having most of the info found here, would be fitting. 160.94.27.152 16:37, 6 September 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Non-human decomposition

message: "In sufficiently dry environments, an embalmed body may end up mummified." - what about mummies found in glaciers? (clem 18:41, 30 Apr 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Mummification 

message: Pickling, sucrating, salting, drying and freezing are other ways to preserve biological matter, usually used to preserve food.  Embalming is just one kind of preserving.  The section should be called "Preservation" and embalming should be a sub-section. -Pgan002 23:21, 5 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Preserving 

message: Is the definition of biological decomposition here too narrow in confining it to only dead organisms?  For example, decomposition is quite common in living trees (see CODIT).  I believe decay is the more common term for pre-mortem decomposition, but presently decay simply links here, so the Plants section should probably be expanded to include some discussion of decay in living plants, maybe with "For decomposition in non-living plants, see compost" at the end.  I'm not really sure on the distinctions of decay vs. decomposition, or how decay works in any plants other than trees, so if anyone else knows more about this, it'd be great if they could add it.  If not, I'll add what I can.--Severinus 23:37, 18 September 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  decomposition in plants = compost ? 

message: Just wondering. Can anyone with experience whith this tell me in detail?207.224.13.73 00:00, 8 May 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: You walk into a Butcher's shop, what do you smell? Dep. Garcia  ( Talk  + | Help Desk | Complaints )  09:14, 2 June 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: What does a dead, decomposing body smell like?

message: This could probably be rated B-class if it had any references in it.  WhatamIdoing (talk) 01:06, 10 February 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Refs

message: A group of entomology students is writing an article on wikipedia entitled "Forensic Entomology: Stages of Decomposition." It is an depth look at the changes occured during decomposition including arthropod and insect succession. I really liked the fators affecting decomposition section in this article and think it would really round out our page. Any chance you think merging these articles into one well developed topic about decomposition is a good idea?  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Amandamartinez06 (talk • contribs) 05:05, 20 March 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: I feel that it is to soon to contemplate such a merge. I would like to see the outcome of the Merge of Forensic Entomology: Stages of Decomposition and Forensic Entomology. As far as I can see FE:SoD deals strictly with the decomposition of animal matter and nothing else. This is a simpler yet broader Article as it currently stands. Just my opinion though, others may differ. Exit2DOS2000•T•C• 06:08, 20 March 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: I completely agree with Amanda- the other article is a mess, and cannot stand alone as its own article, but contains elements that may well benefit from a merge here. I have tagged both pages. J Milburn (talk) 00:46, 22 March 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  factors affecting decomposition 

message: Our purpose in writing the Forensic Entomology: Stages of Decomposition article was to show the link between insect fauna and human decomposition, particularly in the field of forensics. Although our pictures of the decomposition stages are of animals, (we did not want to provide pictures of decomposing human beings) we are trying to fully keep the HUMAN and FORENSIC aspect. We have some very specific data that only pertains to insect colonization on humans and certain animal species that are colonized in a very similar fashion. The general stages of decomposition are the same for animals, TRUE. However, colonization can differ hugely, as well as the factors affecting decomposition. As well, there are some aspects of human decomposition that is irrelevant in animal decomposition (livor mortis, algor mortis).
I think the best way to resolve this is to have one article for general animal decomposition and physical/chemical properties(insect colonization not necessary) , and one for human decomposition in relation to forensics and insect colonization. I don't think its best to lump human decomposition in with animal decomposition because forensics is a hugely important aspect that must be explored. --Amandamartinez06 (talk) 23:54, 30 March 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: May I suggest that  another 'Layer' be added to the top of what you are suggesting. A general overview article on Decomposition, sub-divided and with 's or 's could then bring Browning (chemical process) and other such articles under 1 Umbrella topic, as they are found/written. This is a large topic that cannot be done justice as a single article, as a Merge would do. I feel as a student specializing on the topic, some editors are making this Article unreadable for the average grade 8 student, whom we must take into consideration. My feelings are partially drawn from here. Exit2DOS2000•T•C• 02:26, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

text: Forgive me for being bold, but I believe you are missing the point we are trying to show you. You keep refering to "we mentioned we would include" & "our project" & "our article". This is not a competition or a school project. The Article has a place in Wikipedia, but I believe that it should be positioned better and then streamlined for that position. I (personally) do not believe it should be the 'Top of the Pile' Article. I feel that Decomposition  should be the Top Article, with other Articles refered to from it. Also, the nameing of Forensic Entomology: Stages of Decomposition should be thought about since there are already Forensic Entomology & Stages of Decomposition Articles. Might your efforts do better on improving either of thoes Articles? Or, if you wish Forensic Entomology: Stages of Decomposition to do better, streamline it to better fill a 'Gap' in the information already present. What I guese I am getting at, is, where do you believe FE:SoD should belong? Exit2DOS2000•T•C• 07:37, 4 April 2008 (UTC)

text: Just my $0.02, but, I think a Smerge is what is required. (a selective merge) The group you are involved in is highly knowledgable and many articles could use the benefits of that knowledge. May I suggest breaking relevent parts of FE:SoD into:
*Forensics
*Forensic Entomology
*Forensic pathology
*Decomposition
*Stages of Decomposition
*Cadaverine
*Decompiculture
*Putrescine
*Skeletonization (forensics)
*Staling
*Browning (chemical process)
* and possibly Body Farm
—Preceding unsigned comment added by Exit2DOS2000 (talk • contribs) 
Arbitrary break 2
Um, so "Stages of decomposition" has been copied over here and "Forensic Entomology: Stages of Decomposition" has been moved to "Forensic Entomological Decomposition", but the content overlap remains. How about renaming "Forensic Entomological Decomposition" to "Human decomposition" and cut down the info here(in the human decomposition section) into just a brief summary and point readers to that article. The language would of course have to be reworded as forensic entomology would become a sub-topic rather than the focus point, but the content should remain relatively unchanged.--Dodo bird (talk) 00:53, 10 April 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Merge? 

message: I generally feel that this article could have been written a little better. The grammar is incorrect in many spots and the sentences are short and choppy. I think that if you made the article flow better within each section than you will have an even more fabulous article than you already have. To make it flow, add in some ,and's and some semi-colon's; they can do wonders!!!megan  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Megalatta (talk • contribs) 21:20, 9 April 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: [[Wikipedia:School and university projects]] peer review

message: I can't seem to find out how long it takes for a human body to decompose (including bones). I understand that there is a lot of factors involved that affect the time needed, but some average numbers would be nice.
I'd especially like to know how long it takes for an average buried body.
213.220.223.216 (talk) 01:46, 12 July 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  How long does it take? 

message: Spoil is a verb to let decay  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.224.18.173 (talk) 23:06, 7 October 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  verb 

message: I think the article should be C-ClassUs441 (talk) 23:22, 15 December 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Quality Scale 

message: The text states the Black Putrification stage starts when the cavity ruptures and the gas escapes. What happens if the cavity was already ruptured to begin with?  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.118.149.200 (talk) 20:32, 26 June 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Black Putrification - starts on rupture? 

message: I was looking for the kinds of gases that are released into the atmosphere as a result of organic matter's decomposition (such as methane). Can somone add typical gases that are released from animals and from plants. Also, what about decomposition of organic matter in landfills, etc. 155.13.48.8 (talk) 19:10, 18 August 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Lifecycle of Gases 

message: I have just moved a large section and given it a more precide heading as it really deals with "Factors affecting decomposition of bodies" rather than decomposition in general. One could even move this heading one level down so that it sits under "decomposition of animals". I have also added a new section on "Rate of decomposition". This is content moved from the article on ecosystems and applies to any type of decomposition.EMsmile (talk) 14:53, 18 March 2018 (UTC)
thread_title: Moved section to keep information about decomposition of bodies together

message: Somewhat surprised that there is no mention on the smell of decomposition. I've had the misfortune of smelling a human corpse in an advanced stage of decomposition - it's vile, like dirty nappies (diapers) mixed with rotting garbage, but regardless of how unpleasant it is there is a scientific element - why decomposition smells bad to humans and the chemical process involved. Is it worth adding a section on this? SinoDevonian (talk) 20:21, 6 August 2022 (UTC)
thread_title:  Smell. 

message: Why can't i see the pig carcass photos closer? Briaboru (talk) 18:36, 13 May 2024 (UTC)
thread_title:  Pig carcass