Modern Body Embalming

Cryonics

Cryonics is the most recent attempt by Humans to preserve the human body after death. This method uses the properties of a refrigerator: it freezes the body, preserving it. The inspiration comes from the discovery of frozen corpses of long deceased creatures such as mammoths and ancient men. Their bodies, blood, and most importantly: DNA were in good shape.

Cryonics is developing in Oakland, California and Scottsdale, Arizona. It involves the preservation of bodies or heads stored in liquid nitrogen at subzero conditions-at a price. Organizations carry out this service to people would are willingly to pay for this. Some people with terminal illnesses chose this as they hope that in the future, they could be revived and treated of their diseases. But they must be first clinically declared dead before the Cryonics could take place legally. This stakes are still quite high. Any person suspended by this treatment could not be brought back now due to insufficient technology. The damage done to the body by freezing is too great to be repaired now. The reason for performing a cryonic suspension is the belief that science, technology, and society will advance to the point where revival of the person is both possible and desirable.

But, in essence: revival seems likely because: Firstly, many biological specimens have been frozen, stored at liquid nitrogen temperature where all molecular decay ceases, and revived; these include whole insects, vinegar eels, many types of human tissue including brain tissue, entire human embryos which have later grown into healthy children, and a few small mammalian organs.

Secondly, a large and growing number of respected mainstream scientists, researchers, and medical doctors, particularly in the field of nanotechnology, have looked at cryonics and developed specific ideas and strategies as to just why and how reviving a person safely from cryonic suspension is possible, in spite of the damage from old age, disease, accident, ischemia, and the freezing process itself.

In short: ever-increasing scientific advances, growing experimental evidence, and informed and reputable scientific opinion is coming together and telling us that it can be done. And the technology that will allow us to do it is being developed. Rapidly.

Some problems do exist to this method of preservation. Water crystals tear cells when the water freezes. Researchers are developing anti-freezes that do not damage cells at liquid nitrogen temperatures. Hibernating animals use anti-freeze to remain alive even though the temperatures are below freezing. Researchers have frozen a dog and brought him back to life after something like 30 minutes. The hope of course is to make the work of repair by Nanotechnology (technology in the future that is believed to resurrect humans) simple so that the patient can be revived without a great deal of expense and fuss.

Back