Horizon Season 2008 Episode 9 How Much is Your Dead Body Worth?

How Much is Your Dead Body Worth? is the ninth episode of the 2008 season of the popular long-running BBC science program Horizon. The episode explores the surprisingly lucrative world of "body farming" and the various ways in which the dead human body is used for research and education.

The episode begins by introducing the concept of body farming - the practice of studying how human corpses decompose in order to better understand the processes of death and decay, as well as to aid in the training of forensic scientists and law enforcement officials. Viewers are taken to the Forensic Anthropology Research Facility at the University of Tennessee, where bodies are left to decompose in a variety of conditions - from buried in shallow graves to left out in the open air for months at a time - in order to simulate the various ways in which a body might be found in a crime scene.

From there, the episode delves into the many ways in which the human body is used for research after death. Viewers are introduced to the world of organ donation and transplantation, including the highly controversial practice of "donation after cardiac death." The episode also delves into the world of "body brokers," companies that buy and sell human cadavers and body parts to medical schools and research facilities.

Throughout the episode, viewers are left to ponder the moral and ethical quandaries surrounding the use of human bodies for research and education. Is it ethical to sell one's own body for scientific purposes after death? Is it right for companies to profit off of the sale of human cadavers? The episode offers no easy answers, but instead presents a nuanced exploration of a complex and often uncomfortable subject.

As with all episodes of Horizon, the production values in How Much is Your Dead Body Worth? are top-notch. The episode is visually stunning and expertly shot, with breathtaking footage of the Forensic Anthropology Research Facility and other locations around the world. The scientists and experts interviewed in the episode are all engaging and passionate about their work, and their enthusiasm for their subjects is infectious.

In addition to the main topic of body farming and the use of cadavers for research, the episode also briefly touches on related subjects such as cryonics (the practice of freezing bodies in the hopes of one day reviving them) and organ printing (the emerging field of 3D-printing replacement organs using a patient's own cells). These additional topics serve to further expand the episode's exploration of the human body and its potential uses after death.

All in all, How Much is Your Dead Body Worth? is a fascinating and thought-provoking episode of Horizon that is sure to leave viewers with a newfound appreciation for the many uses of the human body after death.