Documentary on a decomposing body

[bluesdave]

This is from The Guardian yesterday:

Channel 4, no stranger to challenging broadcasting taboos, is about to cross another televisual rubicon by filming the decomposition of a human body.
The broadcaster, which billed the show as a "unique scientific experiment", has in the past featured controversial documentaries showing the first images of aborted foetuses seen on British TV and, two years ago, Britain's first public autopsy for 170 years.

Channel 4 is looking for a volunteer with a terminal illness for the decomposition programme, which has a working title Dust to Dust, and will have to get the consent of the volunteer's family.

The plan is to film the body decomposing, which could take several months, in London's Science Museum, though not in an area open to the public.

Channel 4 defended the project, insisting it could provide forensic scientists with important new information about what happens to the human body after death. At present, decomposition tests are carried out on human bodies in the US but not in the UK - where pigs are used instead - according to the broadcaster.

"We hope experts can learn more about the processes involved and that the data collected by the project can help forensic pathologists in murder investigations," said Simon Andreae, Channel 4's head of science and education.

Dr Richard Shepherd, a senior forensic pathologist and president of the British Association in Forensic Medicine who will lead a team of scientists, said: "This project represents an urgently required step forward for forensic medical research in this country."