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Taphophilia (dot) Com...
A repository of morbid curiosities:
Thanatology and Taphophile Issues, Cemetery,
Funeral Industry and Death Related News.
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Graveyards of Chicago:
The People, History, Art, and Lore of Cook County Cemeteries
By Matt Hucke And Ursula Bielski. Discover a Chicago That Exists Just Beneath the Surface - About Six Feet Under! Take a tour of Chicago's permanent residents! Please visit the Lake Claremont Press website to purchase your copy of Graveyards of Chicago today!
Green-Wood Cemetery Arcadia Publishing announces the release of Alexandra Mosca's historic account of one of New York's most famous cemeteries. Aracdia Publishing's Images of America series has an extensive catalog of many cemetery publications! Please visit Arcadia Publishing to purchase your copy of Green-Wood Cemetery and to browse other available titles!
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Epitaphs: The Magazine for Cemetery Lovers By Cemetery Lovers
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Guardians of the Soul: Angels and Innocents, Mourners and Saints, Indiana's remarkable cemetery sculpture
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West Springfield Massachusetts: Stories Carved in Stone by Rusty Clark features information on early New England gravestone carvers with more than two hundred photos and illustrations. Please visit the Dog Pond Press website.
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New service preserves DNA of deceased |
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Written by DeadGirl
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Tuesday, 21 June 2005 |
By Steve Mitchell
Jun 21, 2005
From Monsters and Critics.com
WASHINGTON, DC, United States (UPI) -- Families can hang on to their departed loved one`s DNA through a new profile preservation service offered to funeral homes by genetic-testing company Orchid Cellmark.
"A record of an individual`s DNA can provide a number of safeguards to families -- as a possible protection against future estate or lineage issues, as a way to trace family genealogy and identify ancestry, and so families may be able to track more detailed information about their medical history as technology advances," Orchid said in a statement.
Orchid`s President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Paul J. Kelly told United Press International the service was launched "in response to a lot of research we`ve done with the funeral industry" indicating there is a heavy demand for this type of product.
Bob Vandenbergh, past president of the National Funeral Directors Association, told UPI that demand may increase in the future, but in his experience almost no clients are requesting the service.
Vandenbergh, who operates three funeral homes in the suburbs of Detroit, said only one family in the past two years has asked to have a genetic screening of a loved one. In that situation, it was to check future generations for an illness.
"In the future, it will probably be very commonplace, but currently I don`t believe there`s a great demand," Vandenbergh said, adding he also has not seen much mention of it in trade magazines or at conventions. He said, however, the funeral industry likely would not object to Orchid`s service and that it could probably be "a very worthwhile thing" in some instances.
Kelly said the service became available Monday, and Orchid is negotiating with large funeral companies to form distribution partnerships.
Among its uses, the preserved genetic information could help establish whether a person carried genes linked to a particular disease and whether that condition runs in the family, Kelly said.
The DNA also could prove useful for mapping out family trees and establishing whether individuals are, in fact, related to each other, he said.
From a legal standpoint, the preserved genetic material could be invaluable for refuting challenges to estate claims from individuals claiming to be related to an individual.
The DNA preservation service, which costs a one-time fee of $250, will be offered at funeral homes along with other routine burial or cremation preparations. The company plans to have personnel trained to work with bereaved families at funeral homes to offer the DNA service.
The procedure involves taking a cheek swab to obtain a sample of the deceased`s DNA, which then is preserved on Orchid`s trademarked Heritage card, a long-term storage device. The family also receives a written profile of the person`s DNA.
Orchid sees the venture as an extension of its other services, which consist of providing DNA testing services for forensic analysis and security applications. The company also conducts DNA analyses for food safety and to help guide agricultural breeding projects.
Copyright 2005 by United Press International
© Copyright 2003 - 2005 by monstersandcritics.com.
This notice cannot be removed without permission.
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/health/printer_1017771.php
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Taphophilia?
taphophilia (taf′ō-fil′ē-ă)
ORIGIN:
From the Greek words taphos, meaning "tomb" or "sepulcher" and philia, meaning "attraction or affinity to something, in particular the love or obsession with something"
DEFINITION: 1. An excessive interest in graves and cemeteries. 2. A love or fondness for funerals, graves, and cemeteries. 3. In psychiatry, a morbid attraction to graves and cemeteries
Quote Repository
“Pale Death with impartial tread beats at the poor man's cottage door and at the palaces of kings.” Horace
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The Men of Mortuaries 2008 Calendar is now available! All sale proceeds benefit KAMMCARES, a breast cancer foundation.
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