Chemical process of decomposition during early decomposition, while others are degraded during later stages of decomposition. During the early stages of decomposition, soft tissue proteins are broken down. These include proteins that: During later stages of decomposition, more resistant tissue proteins are degraded by the effects of putrefaction. These include: Keratin is a protein which is found in skin, hair, and nails. It is most resistant to the enzymes involved in proteolysis and must be broken down by special keratinolytic microorganisms. This is the reason that hair and nails are commonly found with skeletal remains. In general, proteolysis breaks down proteins into: Continuing proteolysis
In the Skin of a Lion In the Skin of a Lion In the Skin of a Lion is a novel by Canadian–Sri Lankan writer Michael Ondaatje. It was first published in 1987 by McClelland and Stewart. The novel fictionalizes the lives of the immigrants who played a large role in the building of the city of Toronto in the early 1900s, but whose contributions never became part of the city's official history. Ondaatje illuminates the investment of these settlers in Canada, through their labour, while they remain outsiders to mainstream society. "In the Skin of a Lion" is thus an exposé of the migrant condition: