This episode, hosts Mark Viner and Lindsay Batty-Smith sit down with Katherine Bryan-Merrett, a portrait and mural artist whose evocative work delves into grief, memory, and the emotional resonance of those we’ve lost. From posthumous portraits to coffin painting, Kat shares how art can become a vital, healing space for families navigating bereavement and the complexities of death.

Kat is working with Anubix Ltd and you can find out more about our collaboration at: https://www.anubix.co.uk/memorial-art-keepsakes

For more information about Anubix Ltd please check out: www.anubix.co.uk

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Katherine Bryan-Merrett is a portrait and mural artist at Kat and Owen Murals (www.katandowen.co.uk)

With over 20 years of experience as a professional artist. Her work spans memorial portraiture, landscape murals, and site-specific commissions, and is often inspired by people, the natural world, and the emotional connections between them.

A passionate collaborator, Kat has created artwork for clients ranging from The Prince’s Trust to football clubs and even a mortuary extension mural for a death dummy business. Her practice embraces vulnerability, memory, and storytelling—offering a unique, creative way to process loss and celebrate life through art.

This month, we present the following article:

Simon G, Tóth D, Heckmann V, Poór VS. The use of 3D-printed replicas of homicide weapons during autopsy.

International Journal of Legal Medicine. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-025-03691-z.

This case series explores how 3D-printed replicas of sharp and blunt weapons can be safely used during autopsy to reconstruct wound direction, force, and mechanism. Through real homicide cases, the authors show how this technique enhances injury interpretation, supports medico-legal conclusions, and improves courtroom communication without compromising evidence.

NB. Each episode is AI-generated using Google Notebook LM. The article(s) and sources are chosen by Drs. Susan Shelmerdine & Natasha Davendralingam based on quality of research, audience interest, and importance of the topic.

Global burden of 292 causes of death in 204 countries and territories and 660 subnational locations, 1990-2023: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023. Lancet. 2025 Oct 18;406(10513):1811-1872.

This global analysis estimates cause-specific mortality for 292 causes across 204 countries (plus 660 subnational locations) from 1990–2023, adding two policy-useful metrics—probability of death before age 70 (70q0) and mean age at death. The study shows how much the world has changed in three decades: people are living longer, fewer children are dying, and many infectious diseases are now preventable. But it also warns that chronic illnesses, lifestyle factors, and inequality are now the biggest threats to health.

The authors call for stronger, more resilient health systems, ones that can handle both future pandemics and the rising tide of chronic disease, so that progress made in the last 30 years isn’t lost.

NB. Each episode is AI-generated using Google Notebook LM. The article(s) and sources are chosen by Drs. Susan Shelmerdine & Natasha Davendralingam based on quality of research, audience interest, and importance of the topic.