crocodile deathroll

Again! a <a href="http://www.alcor.org" target="_blank">wierd wacky cemetary</a> period

Corwin

Ah.... another knee-jerk 'it can't possibly work' answer.

Please explain to me what law of physics or biology will prevent revival?

crocodile deathroll

One frozen and revived? Yes
Four celled embryo frozen and revived? Yes
Eight cells? rather problematical but it can be done.
Sixteen cells? virtually impossible
And those trillions cells in a fully developed human bening would be totally impossible.
Then you have to take into consideration that the person died of something and you have to cure that too, along with every cell that had their membranes ruptured by those viscious spikey ice crystals.

Corwin

Ah.... you're a bit behind the times I see.

Look into a process called 'vitrification.'

Ice crystals? What ice crystals?

(Vitrification is a relatively new process that involves using low toxicity anti-freeze compounds and completely saturating the tissues with them... you don't freeze the subject to liquid nitrogen temperatures... and the compounds convert to a form of glass. All cellular activity is stopped, with essentially no ice formation.)

Besides... all of this assumes the development of molecular nanotechnology, which could easily repair the damage caused at the cellular level. Problem solved.

Ipecac

Do a search on the forum archives for cryonics. There is a great deal of science going on in cryonics. One thing people tend to forget is Moore's law. Computing power will be incredible. So much so that I think it will even be possible to remap the brains of those people who did not have the benefit of modern cryoprotectants. A sufficiently powerful computer would be able to determine exactly what the brain looked like prior to freezing and crystalization, at the molecular level.

As to the question of why would they bother reviving anyone. You must keep in mind that even though there is a lot of bickering the cryonics members are a fairly tight knit group with a common goal, saving and reviving people. It is their mission. The first ones to be revived(if it can ever be accomplished) will likely be family members or friends of the current administration. As people are revived, they will want other that were frozen before them to be saved, etc...

crocodile deathroll

Correction, I meant ice crystals pierce cell membranes with their vicious (not viscious) spikes.
But I you would like to avoid that problem perhaps we are the wrong species to be frozen, as there is a gray tree frog from up in the Arctic which can frozen and thawed out because it uses cryo-protectants to prevent damage to the delicate cell membranes.
The problem is you still have to be <a href="http://www.naturenorth.com/winter/frozen/frozen3.html" target="_blank">Frozen alive</a> there is no point being frozen dead

Corwin

And why not?

'There's no point in breathing into someone's mouth after their heart has stopped beating.... you have to do it before that...'

With increasing medical technology our definition of 'dead' has to change. 150 years ago, if your heart stopped, you were 'dead.' 50 years ago, if you drowned in exceptionally cold water, you were 'dead.'

In 30 years.... 'He's got a hole from a 9mm hollowpoint in his chest? Bah... no problem... thaw him out, reassemble... stimulate the medulla.... good to go. Good morning sir....'

crocodile deathroll

Forget about those snake oil salesmem at Alcor you should ask some real scientists some questions on the subject
<a href="http://www.pbs.org/safarchive/3_ask/archive/qna/3274_j-n-kstorey.html" target="_blank"> on this site </a>

Corwin

You mean like the scientists that are already using vitrification for preserving transplant organs?

I notice you didn't actually address the POINT... just made an unrelated comment...

crocodile deathroll

What about those people who have already been frozen? No vitrification for them. Now they will have be discarded now would they not?