X-Message-Number: 282

From att!cup.portal.com!hkhenson Thu Feb 21 20:33:00 PST 1991 remote from 
whscad1
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Subject: Re: cryonics #279 - Cheap Freeze Evaluation
Date: Thu, 21 Feb 91 20:33:00 PST
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X-Origin: The Portal System (TM)

Steve Bridge certainly addressed the heart of the matter in far more detail
than I did.  Thanks very much Steve.  Actually, if one really wanted to do
something which might be better than nothing (it is the Alcor backup in an
extreme situation) it might be a good idea to look into super embalming,
i.e., chemical fixation for preservation.  This is something which *might*
be doable by a mortician, followed by conventional burial in a good sealed
coffin.  Who knows, maybe Einstein's brain may still contain a lot of his
memories and personality.  At least such a mode would deal with the biggest
problem, the normal waning of grief and giving up on relatives.
Keith Henson

[ A couple of years ago I heard of a process called "plastination", which
  is used for preserving tissue specimens.  It involves injecting liquid
  plastic into the specimen (in a vacuum) in a way that also removes the
  water.  It apparently halts (visible) decay and keeps the specimen looking
  quite natural, at room temperature.  Carolina Biologicals reportedly sells
  human brain slices that are preserved using plastination.  Does anyone
  know how well plastination preserves tissue structure at the cellular or
  molecular level and for how long?  How do super embalming and plastination
  compare with Ben Best's proposals for chemical fixation and Arctic
  interment, as published in Periastron? - KQB ]

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