Capsula Mundi aims to provide an organic burial pod with a tree growing from the top. Francesco D'Angelo and Adriano del Ferro/Courtesy of Capsula Mundi hide caption
death death
Researchers used cotton swabs to sample bacteria and other microbes from the skin of donated corpses placed in a field in Huntsville, Texas. Katie Hayes Luke for NPR hide caption
Jennifer Glass found out she had lung cancer four months after she got married. Here, her first round of chemo in February 2013. Courtesy of Jennifer Glass hide caption
Dan Swangard, a 48-year-old physician from San Francisco, was diagnosed in 2013 with a rare form of metastatic cancer. Anna Gorman/KHN hide caption
Martin Luther King Jr., with his wife, Coretta, at a Harlem hospital after he was stabbed by Izola Ware Curry in 1958. AP hide caption
An 1870 engraving by Gustave Dore depicts the vision of the golden ladder, a scene from Dante's Paradiso. D. Walker/iStockphoto hide caption
A vigil is held against violence in Cali, Colombia. The country has seen some 1,090 homicides this year. Luis Robayo /AFP/Getty Images hide caption
The grandchildren of Rebecca "Mama" Barclay walked 2 miles to her burial site in 2011. Gabriel B. Tait for NPR hide caption
Go on, guess what it's about. Marvel hide caption