X-Message-Number: 7606 Date: Fri, 31 Jan 1997 11:52:27 -0800 (PST) From: (David C. Harris) Subject: MEDIA: Cryo article in Jan 31 Wall St. Journal The front page center column (normally odd little stories) of Friday's Wall Street Journal has a report on the cryonics industry, with particular coverage of Paul Wakfer and Dr. Olga Visser. Mr. Wakfer is president of Cryospan and organizer of the Prometheus Project which would attempt to demonstrate revival of a central nervous system. Dr. Visser is a South African researcher who claims to have revived a rat's heart after cooling to liquid nitrogen temperatures in a secret preservative solution. The Journal reports that Dr. Visser's work is going to be examined and possibly replicated by her at this weekend's Alcor festival in Arizona. The company Biotime (BTIM, NASDAQ small cap stocks) in Berkeley, California, is said to be "getting back" a "decent percentage" of the hamsters that it plunges into a freezing bath and reheats. [Remember that hamsters have a stong hibernation reflex, while humans have only a limited hibernation capacity, in cold water for instance.] Biotime is testing a proprietaty solution to dilute blood in surgery, organ preservation, and other human applications. The general tone of the article is skeptical but factually accurate, in my opinion. Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=7606