At least 1,000 donated bodies needed for science each year  (independent.co.uk) 

"Popular crime dramas and macabre autopsy exhibitions have been blamed for a severe shortage of bodies being donated to Britain's medical schools, hitting training courses for doctors and surgeons. The slump is being blamed on dramas such as Waking the Dead and Silent Witness, and the controversial live autopsy and skinned-corpse exhibitions by German artist Gunther von Hagens. A touring exhibition, Bodies Revealed, has also been criticised. Medical schools rely heavily on the public bequeathing their bodies for anatomy classes, but the number donated each year has fallen so sharply there is now an annual "shortfall" of 400 cadavers compared with a surplus a decade ago. Demand has jumped steeply because nine new medical schools have opened and the number of students has soared. Jeremy Metters, HM Inspector of Anatomy, said this meant that at least 1,000 bodies a year were now needed...."

Malfunctioning chateau freezer puts end to couple's temporary mummification  (guardian.co.uk) 

"Raymond Martinot and his wife were the toast of the world cryonics movement. For years they were France's best preserved corpses, lying in a freezer in a chateau in the Loire valley, in the hope that modern science could one day bring them back to life. But the French couple's journey into the future ended prematurely when, 22 years after his mother's body was put into cold storage, their son discovered the freezer unit had broken down and they had started to thaw. The couple's bodies were removed from their faulty freezer and cremated this week. Under French law a corpse must be buried, cremated or formally donated to science. But the couple's son had vowed to go to the European court of human rights to be allowed to keep his frozen parents in his cellar. If he failed, supporters in Nederland, near Denver, Colorado, had offered to take them in...."

Australia requests return of aboriginal bones and child's mummy from Scotland (courant.com)

"The Australian government has asked officials in Scotland for the return of a collection of skulls and the embalmed body of a small child held in museum storage. Glasgow City Council has received a request for the return of the collection, consisting of the bones of natives of the Torres Strait Islands and the mummified child, also of native extraction. It is expected that the council will look favourably on the request. If the bones are returned, the repatriation will be the third of its kind involving Glasgow - the first being the return of a "Ghost Dance" shirt to the native American tribe of the Lakota Sioux, of South Dakota, in 1999, while last year, three preserved Maori heads were returned to New Zealand.... "

Body mummified by heat discovered in New Orleans attic (katc.com)

"Officials say dogs trained to find human remains found a man's mummified body in the attic of a Lakeview home. Last week, teams with cadaver dogs began a new round of searches for bodies. The teams are working through a list of missing persons reports and their last known addresses. Intense heat mummified the body found Sunday in Lakeview...."

Well-preserved Qing Dynasty mummy with peach-and-cream complexion found in Chongqing Nan'an District (xinhuanet.com)

"According to Chongqing Morning News, an ancient tomb was unearthed on a construction site on the hillside near Wenfeng Tower on South Hill of Huangjueya Town in Chongqing Nan'an District. The female corpse in the tomb is dressed in costumes of the Qing Dynasty (1616-1911 AD) and well-preserved without any signs of rottenness. In addition, the corpse has a peach-and-cream complexion and resilient skin. Based on initial archeological identification by the local cultural relic administration department, this ancient tomb dates back to 100 years ago. When dredging the hillside with an excavator, the worker accidentally discovered an intact coffin with a female corpse of poised appearance inside. The worker touched the corpse's face with a branch and found her skin resilient...."

Man who froze his wife's body as dying wish attempts to recreate a Snow White fairy tale ending (dailyrecord.co.uk) 

"The family of freezer pensioner Veronica Irvine are planning to take her back over the Border for her funeral. Her husband, Desmond, has been in discussion with a church in England as he tries to find a way to lay his beloved wife to rest - possibly in a crypt. And he is determined to take her out of Scotland to grant her dying wish. Former nurse Veronica, 73, died on Valentine's Day. But her husband and her youngest son Philip, 36, dressed her and transported her by taxi 57 miles from their flat in Edinburgh to Berwick-Upon-Tweed. They held a last supper for her there and then placed Veronica in a freezer to preserve her. Veronica had always insisted she did not want to be buried or cremated. Her son Philip revealed in the Record yesterday how she dreamed of being kept in a glass case like Snow White...." 

Preserved giant squid on display in London (practicalfishkeeping.co.uk)

"One of the world's best specimens of the giant squid Architeuthis dux has gone on display at The Natural History Museum in London. The colossal cephalopod is five metres longer than a double decker bus at around 8.62 metres/28 ft in length and was caught by a trawler off the Falkland Islands. Researchers at the museum have managed to successfully preserve the squid and fit it inside an enormous 10m/30' long display case...."

Peru to sue Yale for excavated artifacts, including mummies and human bones (courant.com)

"The government of Peru has rejected a Yale University proposal to divide thousands of artifacts from the Incan city of Machu Picchu among museums in Peru and New Haven, and intends to sue the university, the country's ambassador to the United States said. At issue is the fate of historical treasures taken nearly a century ago from one of the world's most famous archaeological sites. Peru demanded in the fall that Yale return the artifacts, which include mummies, ceramics and human bones excavated by explorer Hiram Bingham. Yale administrators said they countered with a deal that would have transferred ownership of some of the artifacts to Peru for display at a new museum. A parallel exhibit would have remained at Yale....."