The visible human

The visible human By Andrea Gawrylewski ARTICLE EXTRAS The bytes behind biology Adding 'super' to 'computer' Video: Frog neuromuscular junction In 1991, Vic Spitzer and David Whitlock at the University of Colorado at Boulder went hunting for cadavers - one male, one female. It took two years to find bodies that were considered normal - meaning of feasible proportions (no more than six feet tall, 20 inches wide, and 14 inches deep), and no history of cancer, operatio

| 2 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
2:00
Share

By Andrea Gawrylewski

ARTICLE EXTRAS

The bytes behind biology

Adding 'super' to 'computer'

Video: Frog neuromuscular junction

In 1991, Vic Spitzer and David Whitlock at the University of Colorado at Boulder went hunting for cadavers - one male, one female. It took two years to find bodies that were considered normal - meaning of feasible proportions (no more than six feet tall, 20 inches wide, and 14 inches deep), and no history of cancer, operations, transplants, or implants. "A normal cadaver is an oxymoron, because everybody dies from something," says Michael Ackerman from the National Library of Medicine, which funded the work. Finally, the researchers found what they were looking for: a 38-year-old male who died from lethal injection in a Texas prison, and a 58-year-old female who died from congestive heart failure, both Caucasian.

The scientists went about the business of freezing, slicing, and imaging the two cadavers, then ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to digital editions of The Scientist, as well as TS Digest, feature stories, more than 35 years of archives, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Meet the Author

  • Andrea Gawrylewski

    This person does not yet have a bio.

Published In

Share
3D illustration of a gold lipid nanoparticle with pink nucleic acid inside of it. Purple and teal spikes stick out from the lipid bilayer representing polyethylene glycol.
February 2025, Issue 1

A Nanoparticle Delivery System for Gene Therapy

A reimagined lipid vehicle for nucleic acids could overcome the limitations of current vectors.

View this Issue
Enhancing Therapeutic Antibody Discovery with Cross-Platform Workflows

Enhancing Therapeutic Antibody Discovery with Cross-Platform Workflows

sartorius logo
Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Lonza
An illustration of animal and tree silhouettes.

From Water Bears to Grizzly Bears: Unusual Animal Models

Taconic Biosciences
Sex Differences in Neurological Research

Sex Differences in Neurological Research

bit.bio logo

Products

Photo of a researcher overseeing large scale production processes in a laboratory.

Scaling Lentiviral Vector Manufacturing for Optimal Productivity

Thermo Fisher Logo
Collage-style urban graphic of wastewater surveillance and treatment

Putting Pathogens to the Test with Wastewater Surveillance

An illustration of an mRNA molecule in front of a multicolored background.

Generating High-Quality mRNA for In Vivo Delivery with lipid nanoparticles

Thermo Fisher Logo
Tecan Logo

Tecan introduces Veya: bringing digital, scalable automation to labs worldwide