X-Message-Number: 17455
Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2001 11:55:09 -0700 (PDT)
From: Doug Skrecky <>
Subject: Plastination and Other Chemo Alternatives

Message #17449 From: Mike Perry <>

> Research funds are 
> scarce, especially when it comes to a bid for immortality, whatever your 
> preferred methods. But I would like to see *some* serious research devoted 

> to alternatives to low-temperature storage, again with the goal of 
reanimation.
> 
  In the past I've examined such alternatives. We do have dried animals
being revived after a century of storage at room temperature, but these
creatures possess a number of adaptations to enable them to do this, which
can not be duplicated in human tissue. Even the basic problem of infusing
lyoprotectants into tissue is virtually impossible, since without special
transport mechanisms human tissue can not readily absorb
disaccharides. Temporary stabilization with fixatives is currently a
requirement for sugar infusion to have any chance of being achieved.
  There has been some work on reversible chemical fixation, but this
is still in an early phase of investigation. Even here I am not
convinced that storage temperatures can be safely increased above
dry ice temperatures. However all this doom and gloom may be moot.
  Long term storage costs at liquid nitrogen temperature are going to be
proportional to the space utilized by a "patient". The reduction in size
from a complete body to that of a human brain (or head) is so considerable
that (IMHO) it is unlikely the costs associated with such storage 
will destroy a cryonics storage facility in the next century (or
two?). At least in the case of Alcor patient preparation costs and
overhead appear to be the major financial limiting factors.
  It has been explained to me that the cost of storing a brain or head is
virtually the same as that for a whole body because the whole body still
has to be prepared for freezing, even if only the head is retained. I
think that the most alluring avenue for cost reduction lies with
eliminating the requirement for whole body preparation, with cephalic
preservation. To be blunt, the damage inflicted on bodies at present is so
extensive the chances of their revival is negligible. It would be far more
likely that only the brains would be restored, with the rest of the body
being replaced, as opposed to repaired. Storage of whole bodies might make
psychological sense, but technically it is an absurd notion.
  Brain preparation for liquid nitrogen storage must involve a
considerable dehydration to reduce (eliminate?) destructive ice
formation. Without an intact vascular system a brain is beleived to be
impossible to dehydrate in the few hours available before tissue
deterioration sets in. I am not convinced that is so, for the reason that 
synthetic perfusion/dehydration pathways could be created quickly and
cheaply. Slicing a brain into layers is a simple but drastic method for
achieving this. However I suspect vastly less physical damage needs to be
inflicted to dehydrate a brain. One intriguing possibility that has not
been investigated is puncturing an intact brain with tens of thousands of
microscopic needles. These might turn the tissue into a pin cushion, but
if the needles are small enough, tissue damage would be minimal. I'm sure
other ideas will occur to the reader. Perhaps if some method could be
agreed on, some experimentation might settle the issue for once and for
all.

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