X-Message-Number: 1725
Date: Mon, 8 Feb 93 23:37:55 CST
From: Brian Wowk <>
Subject: CRYONICS mummy

Wil McCarthy:
 
> CNN ran a segment this weekend about an Inca "mummy," a young prince who
> was drugged and buried alive in a mountain tomb.  According to the
> interviewed scientists, the boy is not dead, though his shriveled body is
> on display in a glass case!  Because of the drugs, they said, the boy went
> to sleep and slowly cooled until his body was frozen.  The commentator even 
> went so far as to state that medical science might some day be able to
> bring the "mummy" back to life.
 
> If this is as farfetched as it sounds to me, one must wonder what drugs
> these South American doctors have been taking!
 
        The commentator was right.  With the addition of water and a few 
nutrients, advanced nanotechnology *could* in principle rework the 
molecular structure of the mummy into a living, breathing person.  If 
enough DNA could be salvaged (and it probably could in this case) you 
could even get a clone of the original person.  It is, however, 
extremely unlikely that enough brain structure would be left to recover 
the *identity* of the original person.  That person is therefore *dead* 
I am sorry to say.
 
        I certainly do wish, though, that more scientists would be 
similarly liberal in evaluating cryonics!  Say, did you get the names of 
any of those South American doctors? :-) 
 
                                                --- Brian Wowk

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