# Almost No Atom Stays With You From Cradle to Grave by Tor Nørretranders > “98 percent of the atoms in the body are replaced every year. 98 percent! Water molecules stays in your body for two weeks (and for an even shorter time in a hot climate), the atoms in your bones stays there for a few months. Some atoms stay for years. But almost not one single atom stay with you in your body from cradle to grave.” > **— Tor Nørretranders**, *2008, Edge Annual Question: “WHAT HAVE YOU CHANGED YOUR MIND ABOUT? WHY?”* ## Sources and Context - **Direct Edge response and surrounding essay:** [Permanent Reincarnation](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/11492) — the official response page preserves this exact, continuous passage and its surrounding argument. - **Complete local collection index:** [[research/Edge 2008 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 2008 Full Quotation Curation]] — retained source-first record for the response object and all canonical reminder links derived from it. - **Textual provenance note:** The nonstandard verb agreement appears on the official Edge response page and is retained verbatim. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Consciousness Continuity|Consciousness Continuity]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Neurotech|Neurotech]] - **Article:** [[articles/Mind Uploading and AI — The Host is Reusable and the Person is the Delta|Host Infrastructure Overview]] - **Article:** [[articles/Technologies for Consciousness Mapping and Transfer|Consciousness Mapping and Transfer]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Organic-Synthetic Brain Atlas|Organic-Synthetic Brain Atlas]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Personal Identity|Personal Identity]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Personal Identity|Personal Identity]] - [[wiki/Identity|Identity]] - [[wiki/Self-Awareness|Self-Awareness]] - [[wiki/Substrate Independence|Substrate Independence]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “98 percent of the atoms in the body are replaced every year. 98 percent! Water molecules stays in your body for two weeks (and for an even shorter time in a hot climate), the atoms in your bones stays there for a few months. Some atoms stay for years. But almost not one single atom stay with you in your body from cradle to grave.” — Tor Nørretranders, 2008, Edge Annual Question: “WHAT HAVE YOU CHANGED YOUR MIND ABOUT? WHY?” https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-tor-norretranders-no-atom-cradle-to-grave ```