X-Message-Number: 7694
From:  (Thomas Donaldson)
Subject: Re: "gloating"
Date: Mon, 17 Feb 1997 13:09:40 -0800 (PST)

Hi everyone!

About "gloating":

I attended the Alcor Technology Festival myself, and did so with a certain 
skepticism about Olga Visser's claims. I do not believe, however, that 
ANYONE there, including those from BioPreservation, CryoCare, Ralph Wakfer,
or the people such as Paul Segall from Biotime wanted her experiments to
fail. After all, our lives may depend on just how well we have been 
suspended, and every one of us want a better cryoprotectant.

The problem, if there is any, comes from the simple fact that we wanted
her experiments to REALLY succeed, rather than simply give us some kind of
simple-minded illusion of success. That is why immersion in liquid nitrogen
is so important, and why we insisted on verifiable tests of it (if you 
have not dealt with LN before, here is a problem: generally there will be
lots of vapor. It is not easy to look into the dewar and just see whether
or not the sample is really immersed). The one verifiable test was that
a thermocouple placed nearby would report LN temperature. 

All of those present with experience in these issues, including Alcor
members, insisted that this be done. We also insisted that immersion go
on for 20 minutes. And yes, these experiments all failed. So now we 
must decide whether to work on something else, or to try to make 
Visser's cryoprotectant work (confession: I lean to the first choice
rather than the sec). 

As for her other activities, I personally would remain silent. I know
that Authorities in other countries, including the US, don't like
people who somehow speak out of turn, and show very little interest
in whether or not what such people are saying or doing has any merit
of its own. Visser will have to defend herself there. But IF her
experiments HAD worked, we would have had something important: a
better chance at life. I would not have refused that from anyone.

			Long long life,

				Thomas Donaldson


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