X-Message-Number: 22624
Date: Wed, 01 Oct 2003 20:21:58 -0700
From: David Brandt-Erichsen <>
Subject: Alcor News #17, October 1, 2003
Alcor News Bulletin
-----------------------------
Number 17: October 1st 2003
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A Brief Interim Report
This is just a brief report, to keep Alcor's friends and members
informed of our latest activities.
===============
Charles Platt
Charles Platt has decided for a variety of reasons, many of them
personal, to end his contractual work relationship with Alcor for
now. We would like to thank him for all he has done to improve
the quality of care here at Alcor and for his stewardship of
AlcorNews, to wish him luck in his future activities, and to
assure him that any future proposals to work with Alcor will be
warmly welcomed. AlcorNews will continue in the physical format
it has always had, as a cooperative venture of the staff and
directors.
===============
Tanya Jones
This week, Tanya Jones started work as Director of Clinical Services.
She held this position for several years in the early to mid 90's,
and is now returning "tanned, rested, and ready". She is one of
the most experienced cryonicists in the world, and she has assisted
in recent cases on a consulting basis. Welcome back, Tanya.
===============
Larry Johnson
Like all legal matters, this progresses at a very slow pace, so
don't be surprised if there is little or no news we can report.
All we can say is that Mr. Johnson has responded to our lawsuit, and
has filed a counter-suit of his own. Because of pending litigation,
Alcor cannot comment on any allegations made by Mr. Johnson.
Alcor will continue to pursue all legal remedies available to it.
We also respectfully request that people avoid public speculation
based on incomplete news stories.
Readers may be worried about how these things have affected and will
affect Alcor. The short answer is one of reassurance. Alcor's services
and capabilities are not presently threatened, nor does it seem likely
they will be. Our patients are secure and our membership can be
confident we can be there when needed. This is not to say there haven't
been difficulties. There have been, but we believe we are coping with
them well, and our ability to respond to emergencies remains strong.
Details will be forthcoming in Cryonics Magazine.
===============
New Web Site!
We are proud to announce the launching of Alcor's new website. A
Website Working Group composed of Stephen Van Sickle, Kevin Q. Brown,
David Brandt-Erichsen, and Brian Wilson has been assembled to create
the new site, building on a large amount of programming previously
done by Kevin Q. Brown. The website is based on the graphic design
of Bobby June, with updates on the content and graphics by Charles
Platt. It is at the same location:
http://www.alcor.org
that it always was, but is new and improved. It is not quite as showy
and flashy as the previous site, but has a serious professional look
that loads very quickly. No long waits for those with dial-up
connections. But the big improvement, the one we have been working
hard on, is a vast increase in online content. Back issues of Cryonics
Magazine from 1981 to 1992 are available, with more editions coming as
they are available. Many of the best articles, reports, and essays from
over the years are likewise available in the Library section. This is
just the beginning...we have many more ideas to expand the site, and it
changes every day. It is still very much under construction. Come
visit, and visit often as we grow. If you have any comments or
suggestions, feel free to send them to The website
is still in flux, so please hold any substantial remarks until the site
stabilizes in a few weeks. You may find we fixed your complaint without
even asking us!
===============
CEO Search
We are continuing our search for a new CEO/General Manager for
Alcor. A notice detailing the job requirements has been circulating:
Alcor is a non-profit 501(c)3 corporation located in
Scottsdale, Arizona. Founded in 1972, it is the world's
largest provider of cryonic suspension services (the
experimental practice of preserving legally deceased persons
for possible future recovery). Its purposes are to maintain
members who are already in cryonic suspension, to provide
state-of-the-art service for members when they require
cryonic suspension, and to further research and public
education in the field. For more information, please see our
website: www.alcor.org
The successful candidate will:
Have an understanding and acceptance of the priorities set
forth in our mission statement.
Enough generalized business experience to make day to day
operational decisions and spending decisions appropriate to
our financial circumstances, as well as familiarity with the
legal and regulatory environment in which small businesses
and non-profits operate.
Enough technical understanding to supervise and evaluate
our medical staff on an ongoing basis, and to coordinate
their efforts during patient standbys, transports and
cryonic suspensions.
Competence to make decisions regarding
patient care and suspension services when cases are imminent
High level written and verbal communication skills,
including the ability to represent Alcor in the mass media.
If you are interested in applying, please submit your resume & salary
requirements by email only to:
Please place "AlcorNews" in the subject line of your email.
===============
Dr. Jerry Lemler Speaks at Cambridge University
The International Association of Biomedical Gerontology held its
tenth congress or conference (IAGB 10) 19-23 September at Queens
College, Cambridge UK. Quoting from the conference Website
(http://www.gen.cam.ac.uk/iabg10/): The purpose of the IABG is
(1) to make the general public more aware of the potential of
biomedical aging research to increase the span of healthy productive
life and to decrease the social and economic problems of age; and
(2) to promote greater communication among the worldwide community
of individuals engaged in biomedical aging research. The conference
title was: Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence: reasons
why genuine control of aging may be foreseeable.
The main organizer, Dr. Aubrey de Grey, is highly regarded in
gerontology and anti-aging research. He is avidly promoting and
pursuing his concept of engineered negligible senescence--essentially,
the end of the aging process. He is optimistic and enthusiastic, yet
also a realist, and well aware of the problem that, for many if not most
people now living, a cure for aging will likely come too late. Thus he
is also interested in cryonics, and serves on Alcor's Scientific
Advisory Board. He spoke at Alcor's conference last November, and
gave space for Dr. Jerry Lemler to speak on cryonics at IAGB 10.
Dr. Lemler's talk will be published in the Annals of the New York
Academy of Sciences later this year. The abstract of his talk
follows:
Abstract
If one accepts the feasibility of engineering negligible senescence,
the benefits of the endeavor depend on when it succeeds. Many of those
who would like to benefit from engineered negligible senescence will
likely perish before it can be accomplished. There is, however, a
potential safety net for such individuals, which can be called medical
time travel. It is based on one fact and two assumptions. The fact is
that at the boiling point of liquid nitrogen, changes in biological
systems are generally agreed to be negligible for periods of hundreds to
thousands of years. The first assumption is that it is possible to cool
a human being to such a temperature without fundamentally destroying the
essential information in the brain. The second assumption is that
medical and scientific progress will continue until medical
resuscitation technology is limited only by physical law. If these
assumptions are correct, the memories and personalities of people
preserved by today's methods should be intact after revival by future
technology, and medical time travel can be used as a bridge to a time in
which senescence can be controlled. Based on presently available
information, the evidence in support of both assumptions of this
proposal appears to be strong.
Dr. Lemler, who is currently undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, is to
be especially thanked for making what must have been an arduous plane
trip from Arizona to the UK.
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