X-Message-Number: 282 From att!cup.portal.com!hkhenson Thu Feb 21 20:33:00 PST 1991 remote from whscad1 To: From: Subject: Re: cryonics #279 - Cheap Freeze Evaluation Date: Thu, 21 Feb 91 20:33:00 PST Message-Id: <> 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 ] Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=282