The Stench Of Decay

In “The Confession”, Miriam speaks of the stench of decay as she passes the laboratories in Alexandria’s famous medical school:

I scooted up the medical school’s narrow steps between the scholars’ dormitory and refectory. Breathless with the urgency of my task, I entered through a heavily studded, bronze-hinged double door. Then, darting around a cluster of students, I hustled down a tangle of familiar corridors. When I wasn’t propelled by the smells seeping out of the vivisection laboratories—the odor of feces, the scent of blood, and the stench of decay—I was chased by a mounting awareness that my last few hours were slipping away.

Regardless of the kind of corpse, the stink is always the same. The chemicals producing that foul odor, cadaverine and putrescine, are products of the decomposition of the amino acids in a body’s proteins. In other words, all proteins, as unique as they are, degrade into the same simple organic compounds.

In last week’s blog, I wrote that when vultures get covered in blood and body parts, the stench keeps their competitors away. So, these chemicals associated with the putrefaction of animal tissue serve a purpose for them. So, don’t be surprised when I say that putrescine also serves a purpose in plant tissues. It reduces the incidence of parasitic infections. But what surprised even me was to learn that putrescine can be used to extend the shelf life of fruits by delaying the ripening process.

But don’t delay reading “The Confessions”. Click here and read it for free: