X-Message-Number: 6656
From: 
Date: Wed, 31 Jul 1996 21:00:55 -0700
Subject: SCI.CRYONICS Prometheus and Nanotechnology

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In #6647  (Thomas Donaldson) on Tue, 30 Jul 1996 Wrote:

 

                >Perhaps I am too harsh here, but I detect in those who don't
                >want to pledge "because they think Nanotechnology will be
                >needed for revival" are simply making excuses and shoving
                >their problems off onto theology and metaphysics.


No, I don't think you're being too harsh. I've often disagreed with Thomas
but NOT this time, I think he's 100% correct. We don't know how much damage
the current methods of freezing cause to the brain, personally I think
Nanotechnology probably has a good chance of repairing that damage, but I
don't know that for a fact, and nobody knows how long it will take to develop
Nanotechnology, and anyway "probably" is just not good enough. Think how
embarrassing it will be if years from now we find that there was a simple way
to preserve brains without damage and that method was within the means of
late 20'th century technology, but we didn't find it because we didn't bother
to look. A million dollars a year for 10 years may seem like a lot of money
to us when we're begging for dollars, but it's peanuts compared to money spent
on far less important health research projects. In spite of this it would be
far, far, more money than was ever spent on brain preservation, the low
hanging fruit has not been picked yet.

Most people, myself included, thought that Nanotechnology or advanced
genetic engineering would be needed to repair a spinal cord that had been

severed, but now according to a recent report by Cheng, Olson, and Cao (July
26, 1996 Science) a simple surgical procedure may solve the problem, at least 
it works in rats. In the same way, it's possible that Prometheus might find 
something much simpler than Nanotechnology that would get the job done, and 
even if does not it will certainly find new knowledge for mankind that could 
help us all. This is virgin intellectual territory, almost everything seen 
will be new.


    John K Clark     




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