cryogenic freezing?

Question

Do you know anyone who has signed up for it?
Would you do it if you had the money?

I think it would be kinda cool to come back in 100 years and see what the world is like!

Answer 1

i'd have a go

Answer 2

The addition of glucose to cell membranes means they toughen enough to survive the freezing process. There isn't enough water in the brain area to cause severe damage, but here's where everything gets very philosphical.

Some people argue that IF it did work and IF someone came back in a new time and era, would they be the same person? This is due to the long standing opinion that death really is the end and just because the body is reanimated it doesn't mean that the same personality has been revived. Also, since you cannot keep so many atoms in a state of constant suspended animation, it's likely that the body will have replaced many of it's molecules no matter how well kept it is.

Personally I'm not a fan of the idea. It's nice thinking that we could wake up a century after we've died and start telling the 'new breed' how life was for us all those years before, but I've got a few friends in the land of the deceased that I've been dying to speak to again...

Answer 3

Hi!

I would and did! :) I am a fully funded Option 2 member of the Cryonics institute. It costs me less than $200/yr for my membership and Life Insurance, and that includes additional life insurance so I can leave money to my family.

Waking up in 100 or 200 years would be amazing. Imagine all the really amazing things that will have been invented. Things we can't even imagine today, like the next evolution of the internet or nanotechnology.

There is no guarantee Cryonics will work, but the technology looks very promising. They don't just "freeze people" like they used to. Now they use a technology called vitrification. With vitrification, there is practically no freezing damage. A few recent experiments with animals have shown that brain tissue can be vitrified and thawed and live. In another experiment, a group was able to vitrify a kidney from one rabbit, and then transplant it into another rabbit. That's not just amazing for Cryonics, but for any type of transplant operation. When that technology matures, medicine will be able to store organs for years, and transport them without any damage.

... But you have to remember, it is still a long way off. I will personally be shocked if anyone is revived before 2150.

Allen B: You are spot on. It's cheap, and it might work. Why not?

Rob_d: Without vitrification, tissues dehydrate and water forms crystals between the cell walls, puncturing them. This kills about 40% of the cells. With an "anti-freeze", ice kills about 10% of the cells. With a vitrification solution that includes ice blockers, less than 1% of the cells are damaged.

Centretek: Walt Disney is interred at Park View Cemetary. His genius is lost to us forever.

StsNHumility: Any old dog can learn new tricks. Anthropologists and talk shows will probably want to interview the Cryonicists as they return, but less so as more people are revived. I'll probably pop back into college and see what I can learn. With my savings, I shouldn't have to work, but who wants to sit around all the time.

Tiberius: That's a good question, will a recovered patient be the same person as when they were frozen. I think so, and here is why.
1. We know that a severe head injury can change or even erase a personality. From this, I infer that what makes a person "them", is stored in their head. The effects of Brain surgery narrow this down even further to their Brain.

2. We know that freezing at Liquid Nitrogen temperature slows down chemical processes incredibly, effectively stopping any decay or breakdown. What you describe about the body replacing atoms just doesn't happen on a large scale.

3. We know that vitrification preserves brain tissue very well, and it can still function after being thawed.

The only piece left is the repairing the body step, and we're working on that. ;)

-ellie.

Answer 4

I wouldn't waste my money, the problem is that when you'd be defrosted you'd be still be dead. The moment you die, the decaying process begins, freezing merely retards this. There would still be cellular damage while the doctors actually established whether you're dead or not. The longer they take, the more damage occurs. Besides would you want to die in 2010 and wake up 2110, a dribbling idiot with only a couple of weeks left before the cellular damage kills you again anyway?

Apparently, according to the urban myth, Walt Disney's head has been cryogenically frozen, creepy!

Answer 5

I wouldnt, even if i were frozen i'd have to wait several years until technology advanced enough to revive me plus imagine waking up in a totally different world your parents were dead, your home gone, everything in your life gone, just totally alone. I think ill stick with death =D

P.S The cell walls will not fracture because the doctor inserts glucose into the persons veins. But i forgot what the glucose does ... xD

Answer 6

Well I don't know anyone who would go for it. What I know is that I'm not one of those.

If you could reach the future with it, you'll have hard time catching up. What about your taxes, your money and your job? I'm sure they're not there when you wake. And can they really revive you?

Answer 7

When you are cryogenically frozen, the only thing that can be preserved is your DNA. All of your blood and brain cells will expand and thus become goo.

Answer 8

Do your brain cell walls not rupture when you freeze the brain due to the high water content and as we all know water expands when it freezes, so upon defrost you will be just a pile of mush!

Answer 9

It is still Science Fiction and no one knows whether any of them will come back. It is simpler to die and be reborn.

Answer 10

Yeah, if I had the spare cash lying around for all my family why not, nothing to lose.

Answer 11

Walt Disney supposedly had his head frozen.
Wouldn't do it myself, one life is enough for anybody.