X-Message-Number: 5823 From: Peter Merel <> Subject: New Scientist & cryonics Date: Sun, 25 Feb 1996 23:50:35 +1100 (EST) John de Rivaz writes, >> From > >> Sat Feb 24 07:33:24 1996 > >> One of our of correspondents on the West Coast of >> the USA is looking into cryonics at the moment. If we >> find anything interesting then you'll see an article. > >> Alun Anderson, Editor, New Scientist I may have an explanation for this. Or maybe not, since I don't know the ins and outs of NS. As regular readers of New Scientist will be aware, a hatchet job on cryonics appeared in the Christmas edition, entitled "Cold comfort for Christmas". In it, Phil Bagnall decribed cryonic suspension: "The only snag is that cryonics doesn't work and never can ... When a human body is rapidly frozen to -196 C and then held at that temperature, it undergoes a sort of thermal shock. Most of the major organs ... develop fissures and, quite literally, fall apart. In some cases major organs have been reduced to little more than dust ... "Ah, but we've got that problem cracked," the cryonics companies claim, ... Their solution is to get rid of your body altogether and freeze just your head ... I don't believe a word of it. To my way of thinking, the brain would fall apart." Well, NS has a web page on which they elicit reader comments. Their form was very short, so I just suggested quite politely that Mr Bagnall didn't seem to be well informed, and gave pointers to some of the cryo web sites. About a month later, I had some email directly from Phil Bagnall, asking what I was het up about and warning me that he'd already had dealings with some cryo companies, who were such appalling shonks that one of them had asked him for 1200 pounds just to be interviewed on the phone. I assured him that I had no investment in any company, and that I'm not even signed up, and described cryonet to him and told him what little I know about the various suspension firms, and assured him that none of those of whom I have any knowledge would be interested in such shonky behaviour. And I gave him some more URLs. That was maybe six weeks ago, and I haven't heard back from him, so I don't know. Of course any of the suspension providers NS approach will be careful anyway, but I figured I'd tell you so you have an idea what their views on the matter may be like. The best of luck! Peter Merel. Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=5823