From the editor

The 17th century metaphysical poet John Donne penned these lines about a faraway funeral bell: “No man is an Island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main […] Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee” (Meditation XVII, Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions).

Donne’s words confront us with the uncomfortable problem of our mortality. As our bodies age, we eventually cease to exist. Everything that we are, just as it suddenly sprang into existence, is diminished into nothingness. This idea that the entire physical world and our interaction with it disappears is a matter that we usually ignore in our daily lives, not through apathy, but through avoidance. Strict materialism (and American law) holds that the death of the brain means the cessation of existence, while the world’s religions believe that the self or soul cannot cease to exist.

There are times in our lives when we do notice the funeral bell, piercingly tolling and reminding us of our fates. This notion of our mortality pervades our lives when someone dear to us dies or when, as a society, we notice our societal preoccupation with public and personal health and our interest in preserving our lives and the lives of others.

A brief inspection of the news reveals the deaths of famous people, fatal automobile accidents, and the deaths of soldiers at war; yet, we still feel disconnected as we read. Death is the final unknown territory.

In this issue of Hybrid Vigor, the authors take a closer look at the causes of death and how society deals with issues of mortality and preserving life. We consider issues involving how we deal with prolonging life and preventing death at a large scale level through public health, and we explore society's and the government's role in preventing death through newborn genetic screening. Death is examined more explicitly in an article on cryonics, while life is looked at through the lens of humor in an article on the origins of life and through the lens of science in an informative article on cellular death and aging.

The mysteries surrounding our ushering into existence and our eventual extinguishment are thought-provoking and complex. As you read this issue, reflect upon the genesis of life, the purpose it serves, and the manner in which you fathom death. Consider the words of the eccentric British physician and anthropologist Dr. Henry S. Welcome, who said, “Man’s earliest chronicle was his footprint; it told of his coming, his going, and his doings.” Once we die, are our footprints all that we leave to speak for who and what we were and what our lives meant?

Nelson Totah