Measuring carbon-14 levels in human tissue could help forensic scientists determine age and year of death in cases involving unidentified human remains. Archaeologists have long used carbon-14 dating (also known as radiocarbon dating) to estimate the age of certain objects.

Do humans absorb carbon-14?

The carbon-14 atoms that cosmic rays create combine with oxygen to form carbon dioxide, which plants absorb naturally and incorporate into plant fibers by photosynthesis. Animals and people eat plants and take in carbon-14 as well.

How does carbon-14 leave your body?

Although carbon-14 is radioactively decaying away in the body, it is constantly being replaced by new photosynthesis or the ingestion of food, leaving the amount relatively constant.