X-Message-Number: 15948
Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2001 05:39:55 -0500 (EST)
From: Ben Best <>
Subject: Funds Urgently Needed to Complete the HSCP 

        Funds Urgently Needed to Complete the HSCP 

              by Ben Best, President
              The Institute for Neural Cryobiology
              http://www.neurocryo.org/

     Because our minds reside in our brains, our ultimate 
survival may depend upon the ability to cryopreserve brain
tissue. The Hippocampal Slice Cryopreservation Project (HSCP)
is a research project which has made great strides toward
improved brain tissue cryopreservation, but the project is 
ending soon and money is urgently needed to complete the work.

     The HSCP is being conducted by cryobiologists Dr. Gregory
Fahy and Dr. Yuri Pichugin at a major California university 
with funds provided by The Institute for Neural Cryobiology (INC).
Dr. Pichugin was brought from Ukraine for this project, but he
has now received a green card and has decided to work elsewhere 
within a few months. Paul Wakfer resigned as President of INC and 
I have stepped in as President in hope that the project can be
 brought to an orderly & fruitful completion.

    A year ago Dr. Fahy reported at the Asilomar Alcor conference
that his cryoprotectant solution had been diffused into hippocampus
(brain tissue) slices and the slices cooled to cryogenic temperatures.
Upon rewarming, the slices showed 50% viability compared with controls
which were neither cooled nor exposed to cryoprotectant.  Work to
improve the protocol and cryoprotectant/vitrification solution over the
past year has raised the viability to being 70% as measured by 
potassium/sodium assay. This is an encouraging step toward technology that
can reversibly cryopreserve our brains with no destruction of tissue or loss 
of function. 

    What remains to be done on the HSCP is to fully verify the results,
to attempt to improve upon them, to take electron micrographs and to 
prepare those results so they can be published in a peer-reviewed journal. 
Proper publication, documentation and electron micrographs will make the 
results of the HSCP part of general scientific knowledge and thereby 
provide a stepping-stone for further advances. 

    Dr. Pichugin has agreed to work until the end of June if funds
are available for him to do so.  INC has recently sent  $4,000 to
the HSCP so that the project can run at least until the end of April.
There is hopefully some more money coming for electron micrographs. 
If we can get enough money to extend the project an additional two
months, then more parameters can be tested and high quality 
micrographs & documentation can be produced. If the project cannot 
go beyond April, it may be necessary to cut corners. It may be very
difficult to provide full & proper documentation after Dr. Pichugin
has left California and begun work on other projects. 

   Costs for electron micrographs alone vary from $800 to $2,700 
depending on how much work is done. All other costs of the project
(including Dr. Pichugin's salary) would be less than $4,000 per month.
The project could be kept running until the end of June for less than
$10,000. 

   I therefore appeal to everyone who believes that cryopreservation
of our brains may be critical to our survival to contribute money 
so soon as possible -- whether a few thousand dollars or a couple
hundred dollars. Please send to:

             The Institute for Neural Cryobiology
             238 Davenport Road #240
             Toronto, Ontario
             M5R 1J6  CANADA

         --------------------------------------------
            Ben Best ()
            http://www.benbest.com/
            ICQ -- http://www.mirabilis.com/20636141

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