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'I'm a hospice doctor - I'm awestruck by what dying patients all see in final moments'

Dr Chris Kerr, a neurologist and chief medical officer of Hospice Buffalo in New York, has spent decades studying End of Life Dreams and Visions (ELDVs)

[Doctor holding patient's hand, encourage patients to sleep on the bed in hospital.Helping hand concept.]

A hospice doctor has spoken about his experience with patients (stock)(Image: thianchai sitthikongsak via Getty Images)

Death is, sadly, a part of life. While we can hope and dream of a Black Mirror San Junipero existence, technology is not yet at that point.

Nevertheless, despite this, scientists and doctors remain determined to understand what happens to us both after we die and during our final moments.

Over the years, thousands of people who have had near death experiences have spoken about what they have seen or felt in moments when they were either clinically dead or close to death.

In some cases, doctors have been able to measure brain activity in people's final moments, but they are still working to understand exactly what happens.

One such doctor is Dr Chris Kerr, a neurologist and chief medical officer and chief executive officer at Hospice Buffalo in New York, USA, who has spoken about what he calls End of Life Dreams and Visions (ELDVs).

[A patient lies comfortably in a hospital bed, recovering from lumbar arthrodesis surgery. Intravenous fluids are administered, aiding in healing after herniated disc issues and chronic pain.]

A lot isn't known about what happens when we die (stock)(Image: Eva Corbella Fotografia via Getty Images)

These are visions or dreams that a person experiences or sees during their final moments, and Dr Kerr has discussed how he has witnessed people react to them, including his own theory about what they mean for us as humans.

While saying he was "awestruck" by what he had witnessed, Dr Kerr was serious about what these experiences could mean for us when we die, suggesting that ELDVs may act as a form of support and a delivery mechanism as humans transition from life to death.

He told The Times: "I am awestruck by the way that patients are united with the most important people in their lives emotionally and developmentally. Often the encounters are with people they lost in childhood. This means that we don't leave this life alone but with a parent, sibling, deceased child or beloved pet."

[A doctor's hand in a surgical glove pointing at a brain scan image on a computer screen, diagnostic tools and medical concepts.]

Scientists are interested by what happens when we die (stock)(Image: Martin Philip via Getty Images)

While Dr Kerr has explored the science of the dying brain, other researchers have been investigating how long humans could theoretically live.

A study carried out by researchers from the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology suggests they may now know what the ultimate limit of a human lifespan could be.

The researchers discussed how the main process involved in ageing comes down to mutations in our DNA, meaning how long we live for, without a serious accident or illness, is partly a matter of probability and chance.

The study suggested the average human could live for between 146 and 194 years, significantly longer than the current UK average lifespan of around 79 years for men and 83 years for women.

Discussing the research, lead author of the paper Dr Dimitri Kriukov said: "What would be the lifespan of a human who has overcome all ageing mechanisms except somatic mutations?

"We built a model of human ageing driven solely by somatic mutations, our model estimates how this process alone affects lifespan by slowly depleting cells across tissues.

However, the New York Post reported that Dr Kriukov added there were likely other factors involved in ageing beyond these mutations. He said: "Our study shows that somatic mutations contribute significantly to aging, but they cannot by themselves explain the observed mortality.

"This means that other aging mechanisms such as loss of proteostasis, mitochondrial dysfunction or epigenetic changes contribute comparably to limiting lifespan."

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