Asian elephants loudly mourn and bury their dead calves, according to a study by Indian scientists that details animal behaviour reminiscent of human funeral rites.

Simon Sotelo was 27 when she donated her body to science. The Portland, Oregon-based graphic designer is still very much alive — and presumably will be for decades to come. She doesn’t have any life-threatening afflictions or high-risk hobbies. But, Sotelo says, signing a contract that grants medical students in the distant future the right to study her body gives her a sense of peace in the present.

Sea burial is a way to save space in a dense city, but runs counter to funeral traditions.

Four decades ago, less than 5 percent of American were cremated when they died. Now that figure stands at nearly half. This is how cremation actually works, and what happens to a culture when its attitude about how to memorialize the dead undergoes a revolution.

What do you want done with your body after you die?

A type of burial used 5,000 years ago is available again as families mourning loved ones seek a better way of doing death. By Maev Kennedy. (Oct. 26, 2016)

The 9,000-year-old tool shows that Mesolithic people had sophisticated burial rituals and even cremated their dead. By Jason Daley.

A new doctrinal rule requires Roman Catholics to store cremains at cemeteries. By Erin Blakemore.

An interview with Thomas Laqueur about his book The Work of the Dead: A Cultural History of Mortal Remains. By Timothy Shenk. (Mar. 10, 2016)

[Warning: Disturbing, graphic, morbid] “The idea of your body being taken apart and flown into the air in a million different directions is really, really powerful ….” — Caitlin Doughty.

A new law in New York State allows funeral parlors to serve light refreshments and nonalcoholic drinks, joining 46 other states that allow some eating and drinking during services. By Sarah Maslin Nir.

Worshippers and fans of Muhammad Ali are attending a Muslim prayer service to honour the legendary boxer in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. The two-day funeral was planned by Ali in the years before his death, according to a family spokesman. Ali wanted the Muslim prayer service, known as a Jenazah, to be "a teaching moment", according to Imam Zaid Shakir, who is leading the service. Muhammad Ali, "The Greatest", died on Friday aged 74.

With the costs soaring and government aid falling short, people are turning to crowdfunding to bury their loved ones. By Joe Smith.

An Ontario entrepreneur really wants to send your body down the drain. By Graeme Bayliss.

Officials order tests on body of 49-year-old woman who relatives believe came out of a coma after being buried

The convenience of a drive-thru window is obvious, but one usually thinks of banks or fast food chains that use them for the ease of customers on the go. And not, as one funeral home is doing in Michigan, a drive-thru viewing window for visiting the deceased. But then again, why not?

Robin Williams will forever rest close to home. According to the late actor's official death certificate, obtained by Radar Online, Williams was cremated and his ashes were scattered in the San Francisco Bay on Aug. 12, one day after his death.

We are the architects of some of your worst memories: a dimly lit funeral home, adorned with flowers, and usually a now-deceased elderly relative or family friend on display for everyone to gawk at. For the last seven years, my job has been to recreate that same scene hundreds if not thousands of times. My work as a mortician and funeral director has exposed me to a part of life that is always in the back of our minds, but that we perpetually shut out. And yes, it gets ugly ...