X-Message-Number: 21469
Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2003 12:09:18 -0500 (EST)
From: Greg Jordan <>
Subject: Re: Plastination

Actually, I didn't suggest plastination was low-cost, or offer a reason as
to why cryonics orgs might not offer it.

On the surface it just sounded better than freezing at liquid nitrogen
temperatures, because it doesn't involve breaking the cell walls (as I
understand it). The maintenance is also much less involved apparently.

I would be interested even if it were more expensive.

I was wondering if anyone knew of any drawbacks - the defatting Mike Perry
mentioned does sound worrying. I wonder how the fat is removed and whether
it could affect memory etc. If it IS low-cost, it seems like experimenting
on it could be done easily and at the same time as experimentation on
freezing. 

It seems to me the goal of immortalists is immortality, by any
means possible. There shouldn't be a fixation on freezing as a method,
especially when there are theoretical problems for how people could be
resuscitated after being frozen. I am trying to make up my mind about the
various options, and it just seemed plastination might be an
alternative that offered a greater theoretical chance of 
resuscitation. Dehydration sounds like it would cause more structural
damage, but then I am by no means a biologist... And apparently, no one
has experimented with it. If any of the alternative methods could avoid
breaking cell walls, then it seems to me it could be a
better way to get people into the future, where they can
be revived, than freezing. The technology for reviving plastinated
or dehydrated people might arise sooner than for those who had been
frozen. Just a thought...

gej
resourcesoftheworld.org


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