Cryonics has since long been in the back mind of scientific progress. It can practically be defined as a method to preserve the life of a person, in particular circumstance when medicine will be unable to assure the survival of the individual. The objective of cryonic is to be able to transcend time (decades or centuries) as long as necessary to make it possible to revert the preservation process and bring the individual back to full health.
Cryonics is a bizarre subject to ordinary readers. However, the reason for this is that real science is often hidden from public awareness and remains a mystery for most of us.
There are three fundamental facts that form the basis of cryonics. These facts have been explained:
1. Life can be paused and re-ignited, assuming that the fundamental structure is safeguarded
To understand the mechanism, let us refer to the human embryos. These embryos are often conserved for years under controlled temperature. Moreover, humans have survived in extreme temperature, despite that their brain, heart, as well as other organs had stopped functioning for four hours. These fundamental experiments show that life is simply a question of structure. The life of an individual can be halted and launched, if the cell structure is positively preserved.
2. Vitrification (Not Freezing) is a method to preserve biological structure.
There is a particular chemical called cryoprotectants, if a high concentration of this chemical is added to tissues, it allows tissues to support a very low temperature. There is no ice formation at such low temperature. The term vitrification is defined as a temperature where ice is not formed, and it is below 120 degrees celsius. This makes it possible to physically vitrify several of our organs such as the human brain. It assures perfect preservation without freezing.
3. Mechanisms to rectify molecular structure might be possible in the future.
The expansion of nanotechnology will make it possible to repair and even regenerate tissues at cellular level. This technology in the future, nanomedicine, will be able to theoretically repair any DNA defection or molecular error, without affecting other parts such as memory and personality.
Cryonics will be able to change the perspective of survival in many ways. Simply, assuming that survival of structure is tantamount to survival of individuals then preserving this structure would assure confident in the technology. Nano-technology, which is foreseeable, will certainly make a big impact on medical advancement.
Cryonics is something feasible. There is no technology available nowadays that can demonstrate its plausibility. However, it is supported by scientific evidence as being possible. The step towards perfected preservation technology is creeping nearer as new technology enters the market.
Source: Alcor
Sun, Feb 14, 2010
Immortality, Longevity, Nanotechnology, Stem cells