Mark Your Calendars Today! BioStasis 2000 June of the Year 2000 ave you ever considered Asilomar Conference Center Hwriting for publication? If not, let me warn you that it Northern California can be a masochistic pursuit. The simultaneous advent of the word processor and the onset of the Initial List Post-Literate Era have flooded every market with manuscripts, of Speakers: while severely diluting the aver- age quality of work. Most editors can’t keep up with the tsunami of amateurish submissions washing Eric Drexler, over their desks every day. They don’t have time to strain out the Ph.D. writers with potential, offer them personal advice, and help them to Ralph Merkle, develop their talents. The typical response is to search for familiar Ph.D. names and check cover letters for impressive credits, but shove ev- Robert Newport, ery other manuscript right back into its accompanying SASE. M.D. Despite these depressing ob- servations, please don’t give up hope! There are still venues where Watch the Alcor Phoenix as the beginning writer can go for details unfold! editorial attention and reader rec- Artwork by Tim Hubley ognition. Look to the small press — it won’t catapult you to the wealth and celebrity you wish, but it will give you a reason to practice, and it may even intro- duce you to an editor who will chat about your submissions. Where do you find this “small press?” The latest edition of Writ- ers’ Market will give you several possibilities, but let me suggest a more obvious and immediate place to start sending your work: Magazine!

2 Cryonics • 1st Qtr, 1999 Letters to the Editor

RE: “Hamburger Helpers” by Charles Platt, in his/her interest to go this route if the “Cryonics” magazine, 4th Quarter greater cost of insurance is more than offset Sincerely, 1998 by lower dues. Alcor will receive less dues up front, but down the line will receive much James L. Rice Dear Cryonics Editor: more. One can do a simple present-value www.angstromtools.com analysis (dollars today are worth more than [email protected] Charles Platt’s article was one of the best dollars tomorrow, but enough dollars tomor- essays about cryonics that I’ve read in a long row are worth more than fewer dollars to- The editor comments: time. Please relay my compliments on a well day). Here’s how it works out for the above written, thoughtful article. given example: While I wouldn’t presume to second- Assuming a 50-year old male will die guess the directors of Alcor or any other Sincerely, at age 80, then that $100/year stream of cryonics organization, as an Alcor staff Allen Alger money for 30 years is worth $943 in present member I can give you one very good rea- email: [email protected] dollars at a 10% interest rate (being conser- son why we haven’t implemented some ver- vatively biased by favoring present-day dol- sion of your plan: my paycheck! At least to * * * lars), vs. getting $100,000 in thirty years, some degree, yearly membership dues pay which has a present value of $5,209. Logi- the daily operating costs of Alcor, includ- To The Editor: cally Alcor should forgo the income stream ing salaries for its staff. Life Memberships for the big future payoff. have helped to reduce a short-term deficit, Charles Platt, in his excellent article At it s extreme, this would imply a dues but these will not support us indefinitely. “Hamburger Helpers,” says: level of zero for an insurance amount of (Alcor members may have noticed that Life “The largest sums of money received $300,000 above the suspension amount. Memberships started at $10,000 in 1997, by cryonics organizations have been post- Research into life-extension technolo- jumped to $12,000 in 1998, and are now at mortem bequests from people who were al- gies has been accelerating lately (human $15,000. At that rate of increase, there will ready members.” stem cells, telomeres, etc.), so Alcor should be no point in maintaining the Life Mem- As an economist by training, I would count on younger members living longer bership program too many more years.) In like to make a modest proposal to radically than conventionally predicted. Still, this other words, Alcor doesn’t currently have restructure the way Alcor raises money. seems to be a reasonable way to proceed. enough money to save itself money. Most people or successful organizations, One problem might be that everyone Incidentally, the money I refer to as having encountered fortuitous circum- decides to forego the dues in favor of higher “membership dues” has occasionally been stances, try to maximize the probability of life insurance. This would mean a zero rev- called “Emergency Responsibility Fee.” such an event happening again. Alcor en- enue stream for Alcor, obviously a (tempo- This phrase arose from a time in Alcor’s past countered fortuitous circumstances when it rary) drawback. One way to deal with this when everyone assumed that available funds received a large bequest from the estate of a would be to allow this option only for new would handle any emergency, including re- television writer, whose name escapes me members. mote standby. (Then too, for the first de- at the moment. Alcor should logically ask Alcor has received a lot of money re- cade of Alcor’s existence there was little in itself if there is a way to make this happen cently from life memberships. How does this the way of salaried staff members.) Eventu- again. I propose that there is. proposal fit into that method of payment? ally, experience taught us that unlimited Alcor should have a sliding fee sched- The number of life memberships purchased complimentary standby could wipe out our ule which is lower if a suspension member indicates that there is a large range of pref- funds within a few weeks, and Alcor began has an amount of life insurance above the erences for present payments versus future to require separate standby arrangements. As amount required for suspension. For ex- payments. Thus, it is unlikely that all sus- the name “Emergency Responsibility Fee” ample, if the suspension cost is $120K, then pension members would elect insurance- persisted, however, many potential members the yearly dues would decline by, say, $100 only payment. May I suggest that it would continued to interpret this to mean we were for every $100K that the policy payoff be in Alcor’s interest to think of a member’s charging for some form of rescue and/or amount is above the suspension amount. payment type as a portfolio, and that some standby service. On numerous occasions, Example: Policy payoff amount of $220K. high-risk, high-return investments would be young people in the sign-up process with Dues of $260/year vs. $360/year (paid quar- in order. Alcor have approached us with the sugges- terly). Funds above the suspension amount I suggested this idea to Ralph Merkle a tion that we reduce or eliminate their ER Fee, would be immediately available for unre- year or so ago, and he told me that such an since they wouldn’t need rescue for many stricted Alcor use. idea had been proposed before but rejected. years. Because of this misunderstanding, I Considerations: If so, why? Deciding against this idea would always use the phrase “membership dues,” The larger life insurance policy will cost appear to fly in the face of both Alcor s ac- which evokes the programs of more famil- the suspension member more. So it will be tual experience and logic itself. iar non-profit organizations. When you pay

1st Qtr, 1999 • Cryonics 3 membership dues to the Audubon Society final destruction of sinners, then ice (or a Zeus condemned Endymion to long-term or Greenpeace, you’re simply making do- lake of liquid nitrogen) is the symbol of hope sleep in order to keep him forever young. nations to these groups. Financially and le- for the salvation of just immortalists. This was done at the request of Selene gally, membership dues work the same way (Diana), who loved Endymion. In 1818 John for Alcor; they’re even 90% tax deductible! Amen. Keats wrote a long poem after this myth. “Argonauts of the Universe,” by * * * Mikhail Soloviev, Alexander Yaroslavsky (1926) — a novel St.Petersburg, Russia about travel to the moon. The travellers To the Editor: found that the moon was used as a suspen- * * * sion facility by some mighty space race. In their discussion on cryonics and Christianity (Cryonics, 4th Qtr. 1998) Mark Re: Cryonics Fiction Mikhail Soloviev Plus and Michel Laprade both agreed that: “Nothing in the orthodox Christian Brian: worldview implies an idea like cryonics”. The editor replies: I think it is not definitely so. You might add to your list [of cryon- It is possible to interpret “an idea like ics-related fiction] When the Sleeper Wakes, I appreciate the additions and correc- cryonics” as an attempt to preserve the in- by H.G. Wells (circa 1900) which deals tions to my list, Mark and Mikhail. formation describing the person in order to with . I think it’s still My inclusion of The Year 2440 by enable his resurrection by future technology in print in a Dover Wells collection, and Louis Sebastien Mercier was clearly an er- (and cryonics itself is the best way to pre- also in Everyman paperback. ror; that’s what I get for trusting Grolier’s. serve such information). I haven’t read Love me Tomorrow by I thought of including Rip Van Winkle, In ancient times, advanced technology Robert Rimmer (late 70’s ?) better known by Washington Irving, but I arbitrarily de- was strongly associated with gods. We may for his 60’s cult novel The Harrad Experi- cided to restrict my list to those stories see an example of this in the myth of ment, but it supposedly deals with cryonics where suspended animation occurred Prometheus, who stole fire from Olympus. also. through some physical mechanism (how- Furthermore, there are indications that an- ever flawed or unrealistic). Rip Van Winkle cient sages believed gods (or advanced tech- Mark Plus was just an american variation on the nology) would need preserved information Wrightwood, California folktales about people who spent an evening about the dead person in order to resurrect with fairies, elves, or leprechauns and then him (see more detailes in my article found that decades had passed by the next “Zarathushtra’s Memes,” Venturist Monthly Dear Mr. Shock, morning. News, May, 1996). The Man with the Broken Ear and A trace of this idea exists in the Bible. I like to review non-English cryonics- When the Sleeper Awakes were omitted The description of the Last Judgement in related fiction. from my list out of nothing more signifi- Revelation (Chapter 20) says that all infor- Some new results: cant than ignorance. mation about people is recorded in special 1. I looked through the novel “L’An While we’re at it, I’d like to add an- divine books. Only those who were recorded deux mille quatre cent quarante” (“The Year other novel myself: Larry Niven’s A World in “The Book of Life” (usually interpreted 2440”), by Louis Sebastien Mercier (1771), Out of Time (1976), which contains both as those who believed in Christ) will be res- included in the bibliography. And I found it cryonics and an immortalist theme. urrected. The following is the original text: is not a suspended animation novel — it is a Alcor director Dave Pizer wanted me dream novel and seems more like an “apol- to mention his privately printed novel “Then I saw a great white throne and ogy of death.” Ralph’s Journey, and since we’re discuss- him who was seated on it. ... And I saw the 2. Why weren’t the following novels ing novels that never reached the “real” dead, great and small, standing before the included in the bibliography? I read only the publishers, I might as well toss in a word throne, and books were opened. Another novel by Wells, but as far as I know other for my own cryonics novel, The Tellus Re- book was opened, which is the Book of Life. novels are on suspended animation, too. cursion, which both Charles Platt and Steve The dead were judged according to what “Rip Van Winkle”, by Washington Irv- Bridge found contrived and weak on char- they had done as recorded in the books. ... ing (1819). acterization. Oh well, de gustibus non If anyone’s name was not found written in “The Man with the Broken Ear”, by disputandum. the Book of Life, he was thrown into the Edmond About (1861) — freezing and lake of fire.” dessication (46 years). “When the Sleeper Wakes”, by Herbert St. John’s visions produce mine. I see George Wells (1899) — lethargy (203 cryonics as the Book of Life. Only those who years). are recorded in this “book” (i.e. frozen), who 3. As additions to the fiction list, I might believed in cryonics (Chrionics?), will be suggest: saved. If the “lake of fire” is a symbol of the “Endymion” - an Ancient Greek myth.

4 Cryonics • 1st Qtr, 1999 Alcor PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Parachutes and Safety Ropes

by Fred Chamberlain, III

Recent Call fere with their personal life/death The Outcome In November of 1998, an Alcor choices. For the next few months, I pon- Member called just after learning that Four years later, in mid-Decem- dered what had happened. Then I his uncle had suddenly died. ber, 1969, I suddenly learned that joined the Cryonics Society of Cali- my mother had died, in Florida, three fornia (CSC). There, I found a young “He’s dead, and now his brain thousand miles away. woman (Linda McClintock) helping cells are losing ground every to organize the Third National Cry- minute,” the Member exclaimed. The Specifics onics Conference, to be held in May “How do we get his suspension “They found her in the drive- 1970. I started the signup process for started?” way,” I was told by friends living my dad and myself. Within the next near the small apartment my parents year, Linda and I had joined forces, I had to say that Alcor could rented for the Holiday Season. My formed a corporation to consolidate advise, but could not become in- father, a helpless stroke victim, had resources for improved cryonics tech- volved at the beginning. There might wondered for hours why my mother nology and rescue, and had realized be provisions in the will for crema- hadn’t come back from checking the that deep-seated problems within tion. The uncle might have told oth- mailbox. CSC now necessitated a new cryon- ers he did not want to be frozen. “We don’t know what to do!” ics organization (Alcor). There were the questions of who was my parents' friends continued. “Can legally “next of kin” and could con- you fly out here right away?” Back to the Recent Call sent to a suspension. These were only It came to me in a flash! I knew I explained this to the Alcor the tip of the iceberg, in the way of those early cryonics groups were tiny, Member calling about the sudden problems. but I’d never asked for details, had I? death of his cousin. “I’ve been My mother’s will would say, “cre- there!” I said. “I know what you’re Past Experience mation,” wouldn’t it? My Father was feeling!” “I know what you’re going “next of kin.” He would have to ap- There was a sigh of relief at the through!” I told the Member. prove. Why hadn’t I thought ahead? other end of the phone. The Member Starting in 1965, I told my rela- How shallow the suggestions to now knew that what we want, and tives about cryonics, after reading my relatives now seemed! I’d asked what we can actually do in a practical Bob Ettinger’s Prospect of Immor- them to consider something I didn’t sense, may be very different. Inevita- tality. When a cousin or uncle of even have facts about, myself! Now, bly, we will lose people we want to mine had a terminal illness, I gave with many hours gone by, my mother take along. There is no way around them names of cryonics groups and was probably already embalmed, for this. All we can do is to do what we suggested they “check them out”. the funeral. Cryonics was not a vi- can, and not mentally torture our- None were ever frozen. I felt it wasn’t able option for my mother, given all selves endlessly about irrecoverable right for me to push them, to inter- the factors involved. I had to face losses. that!

1st Qtr, 1999 • Cryonics 5 Important Points planation of the above two points. rope and fall, as they pass into the 1. Without arrangements in ad- Please do not advocate cryonics as a clouds below, they are lost to us vance, cryonic suspensions are un- way of attempting to deal with death, forever, so far as we know or have likely to take place. The basic idea without pointing out the essential any concrete reason to believe. of cryonics is simple. Arrangements need for arrangements in advance. Parachutes and safety ropes are in advance are not simple. Those not for everyone. For some of us, arranging to be frozen need to weigh Parachutes and Safety Ropes however, the thirst for the future, the the technical challenges and other Cryonics arrangements are like company of each other, and the en- uncertainties, as well as the costs. parachutes. If life is like a flight, and joyment of life are one continuous “Snap decisions” under great stress, there is a possibility you might fall whole. We rope ourselves together on behalf of others, are not a reason- from the sky, the parachute must be for safety, and wear parachutes so able way to deal with complex life/ there when you need it. You cannot that we stand some chance of rejoin- death options. reach for a ripcord as you fall, and ing the others if all else should fail. 2. Freezing people without ad- pull it, or have someone pull it for Despite unknowns of many kinds, vance arrangements is possible, but you, if you do not wear a parachute we fly and climb as if our lives were only if the next of kin takes indepen- to begin with. the most valuable things we possess. dent action or finds others to help, In another sense, we are like For indeed, they are! who rush in blindly without due re- climbers going upward, toward the gard to potential problems or liabili- future. If someone falls, cryonic sus- ties. Alcor, with 35 suspendees to pension is like a very long safety protect and about 450 signed up sus- rope, which tugs on the rest of us as pension members, cannot take these the suspended member “falls into risks, no matter how much we want the clouds below.” Is the member to help. alive, or not? We will not know for 3. If you communicate with oth- many decades. Still, we climb on, ers about cryonics, as a personal op- toward the future. If those climbing tion for them, you owe them an ex- near us are not tied into the safety

Cover Art by Tim Hubley !

Over the last year and a half, Tim Hubley has provided Cryonics with some of the most beautiful and creative CGI art we’ve 4th Qtr 97 1st Qtr 98 2nd Qtr 98 ever seen. Now Tim is selling a limited run (only 20 copies each!) of matted 8.5” x 11” color ink-jet prints of these images (without all the messy text added in lay- out) for only $15.00., plus shipping and handling. To order your prints, contact Tim Hubley through email at:

3rd Qtr 98 4th Qtr 98 1st Qtr 99 [email protected].

6 Cryonics • 1st Qtr, 1999 Reality Check The Seminar: Amazing Breakthroughs in and Resuscitation

by Charles Platt

fter 13 years of unsuccessful at which enable vitrification at lower con- rate sidebar.) Atempts to improve his own best centrations and higher temperatures. These multiple breakthroughs formula, cryobiologist Wowk has also developed synthetic “ice should enable preservation of human Greg Fahy has discovered a way to de- blockers” that enhance many other brains with minimal or even zero ice velop a whole new family of compounds and eliminate problems damage, and may lead to reversible that should enable human organs to be associated with rewarming vitrified or- brain within ten years. vitrified in the very near future. “Vitri- gans. If this goal is achieved, cryonics will not fication” means changing a liquid to a Finally, , a former have to rely on future technology to re- glasslike solid as temperature falls, with- President of Alcor, has led a highly suc- pair damage caused by freezing or tox- out forming ice crystals that damage cessful initiative to minimize ischemic icity, and will take a major step toward cells. For twenty years, cryobiologists injury—the damage that is caused by credibility in conventional science. have questioned whether vitrification of insufficient blood flow, typically when Long before that, however, the re- human organs will ever be practical. The the heart stops beating. Darwin’s team search has applications outside cryon- fundamental problem now seems to now holds the unofficial world record ics that should be highly profitable for have been solved. for resuscitating dogs after up to 17 min- 21st Century Medicine and its stock- Concurrently, biophysicist Brian utes of “death” at normal body tempera- holders. Wowk, a former President of CryoCare ture. (Since his research has been con- Biologist Christopher Rasch and Foundation, has discovered a different ducted separately from the work in cryo- surgeon Yasumitsu Okouchi collabo- family of cryoprotectant compounds , it is summarized here in a sepa- rated with Gregory Fahy and on their work, while Steven B. Harris, MD, Sandra Russell, Joan O’Farrell, and Carlotta Pengelley par- ticipated with Mike Darwin. 21st Century Medicine was founded in 1993 by and Bill Faloon, long-time cryonics activists who run a lucrative vitamin mail-order business and offer information on dietary supple- ments via their Founda- tion. In 1997, after Kent and Faloon won a long legal battle with the FDA, they purchased a second building for 21st Century Medicine, hired additional per- sonnel, and are spending currently al- most $2 million a year on research. At a seminar on November 8th, 1998 in Ontario, California, the princi- Photo 1: 21CM’s November 8, 1998 conference; pal researchers from 21st Century Medi- cine described some amazing payoffs a view from the audience.

1st Qtr, 1999 • Cryonics 7 “If you do this, you get some rather dra- these results with new results that sur- matic results.” passed them by almost an order of mag- In the case of propylene glycol, the nitude.” methoxylated version is almost 100 times less viscous than the regular ver- Another Cryoprotectant Family sion. Ethylene glycol and glycerol can be modified in the same way, though the At this point during the presenta- improvements are less extreme. tions, Gregory Fahy took the micro- The modified compounds penetrate phone from Brian Wowk to describe his cells much faster than conventional own discovery. He began by noting the cryoprotectants. Ethylene glycol is prob- mysterious behavior of cryoprotectants. ably the most penetrating cryoprotectant “We don’t understand their toxicity, and known, but the methoxylated version we can’t predict their toxicity,” he said. gets into red blood cells about four times He added that “there is no consensus, faster. no common denominator, no basic grasp Better still, the methoxylated com- of what it is we are seeking and how to pounds inhibit ice formation and enable get to a less toxic solution.” Photo 2: Dr. Gregory Fahy vitrification far more effectively. Wowk Initially he suspected that solutions showed a cooling curve for a 45 percent which are more liable to denature pro- that have resulted from the investment glycerol solution, and another curve for teins would be more toxic—but found by Kent and Faloon, far sooner than any- methoxylated glycerol. The former in- that just the opposite is true, which one expected. The presentations were dicated significant ice formation; the “makes no sense.” He also thought that tantalizing, because key information is latter showed virtually none. a less-concentrated solution would be being withheld while patents are being Moreover, methoxylated com- less likely to disrupt biological systems, filed. Still, a huge amount of informa- pounds vitrify at higher temperatures. but found no correlation between tion was communicated, and I can pro- Wowk predicted that in the future, we cryoprotectant concentration needed for vide only a partial summary here. 21st won’t need to use liquid nitrogen for vitrification, and viability of cells. Century Medicine is selling videotapes long-term storage because a suitable In 1998, Fahy came up with a novel to anyone who wants the complete ver- cocktail of methoxylated compounds idea to make sense of the data. This led sion. should vitrify above -79 degrees Celsius him to a new way to measure concen- (dry-ice temperature), which will reduce tration of cryoprotectants, which does New Cryoprotectants storage costs and the risk of structural correlate properly with viability of cells. cracking. “Suddenly all the data points fall on a Brian Wowk began the presenta- One problem with the new com- straight line,” Fahy told his audience at tions by describing his search for pounds is that they are more toxic to cryoprotectant molecules that would cells. However, Wowk has found that bind less readily with each other, and toxicity can be mitigated by mixing ap- more readily with water molecules, thus propriate compounds. In the lab, viabil- reducing viscosity and enabling faster ity of cells has been measured in terms perfusion. “The idea that we came up of their ability to pump potassium and with was to replace hydroxyl groups on sodium ions across their membranes, cryoprotectant molecules with methoxyl while they are exposed to cryoprotec- groups,” he said. tive agents. Ultimately Wowk found that For example, propylene glycol con- if he replaced propylene glycol with sists of a chain of carbon atoms, with methoxylated glycerol in VS4-1A (the two OH (hydroxyl) atomic groups at- previous state-of-the-art cryoprotectant tached to the first two atoms in the chain. developed more than ten years ago by Wowk proposed replacing one of the hy- Gregory Fahy), it enhanced the ability droxyl groups with an OCH (methoxyl) 3 of cells to survive. Since VS4-1A for- group, creating a methoxylated version merly was the least toxic vitrifying agent of propylene glycol. “We can make known, Wowk felt that this was “a pretty similar modifications to a variety of impressive result.” However, he went other standard cryoprotectants,” he said. on, “Dr. Fahy completely destroyed Photo 3: Dr. Brian Wowk

8 Cryonics • 1st Qtr, 1999 Treating and Minimizing Ischemic Injury

For several years, Mike Darwin similar in some ways to the swelling and procedure. According to Darwin, ex- has been looking for new techniques inflammation that occur after any local- periments with dogs have proved that to inhibit or treat brain damage that ized injury. mixed-mode liquid ventilation using occurs after blood circulation stops Darwin reported that in eight sepa- a perfluorocarbon at about 2 degrees suddenly, as in a heart attack. In his rate experiments with dogs, three Celsius can provide more than presentation at the 21st Century achieved excellent recovery after six enough breathable oxygen while Medicine seminar, Darwin noted that weeks (showing no neurological deficit lowering body temperature by about sudden cardiac arrest is the leading at all), three showed good results, and four degrees in the first five minutes. cause of death in the United States, two did not survive. He claimed that An average cooling rate of .36 de- afflicting 540,000 people annually. these results have not been matched by grees Celsius per minute has been He said that despite the advent of any other laboratory. achieved, and dogs have recovered CPR and widespread deployment of Unfortunately the protocol is com- fully after their temperature has been paramedic teams, fewer than 1 per- plicated. After blood flow is restored, reduced by as much as 10 degrees. cent of cardiac patients survive with- multiple drugs must be delivered within Since liquid ventilation is not out any brain damage if they suffer 5 to 15 seconds, while body tempera- only effective but could be deployed four to six minutes of cardiac arrest. ture must be lowered by about 4 degrees relatively easily in the field, it has a Any treatment that can improve Celsius within 3 to 5 minutes. How can clear advantage over any other these dismal statistics obviously this be achieved by paramedics work- method of reducing temperature. It would be extremely valuable in ing out in the field? could be used to treat head injuries emergency medicine, and Darwin Darwin said that a computer-con- as well as ischemic injury caused by told his audience that the methods he trolled system will be needed to deliver cardiac arrest, according to Darwin. has developed with his primary team, the drugs. The FDA has been reluctant He said that inspection of lungs Steven B. Harris, MD, Sandra to approve biomedical software, and after liquid ventilation showed “some Russell, Joan O’Farrell, and Carlotta also is generally opposed to multidrug isolated areas of injury,” particularly Pengelley, could save 300,000 lives cocktails. Consequently, the approach at the bottom part of the lungs, prob- each year. developed by Darwin and his team may ably from contact with the very cold The research is important also to be applied only outside of the United perfluorocarbon liquid. Still, the ani- cryonicists, since we are concerned States, initially at least. mals showed no sign of distress, and with preserving the brain with mini- The challenge of rapid cooling light and electron microscopy re- mal damage in all phases of our pro- seems severe. Darwin told the audience vealed no sign of structural damage cedures, including the first crucial at the seminar that external cooling via in other areas of the lungs. minutes after legal death is pro- a stirred ice-water bath typically requires “If you can automate this pro- nounced. about 80 minutes to lower body tem- cess, any paramedic can do it,” Dar- Darwin and his team have been perature by 5 degrees Celsius. This is win told his audience. He predicted remarkably successful, routinely re- far too slow, and requires about 300 that it could be “a potential profit viving dogs after 15 to 17 minutes pounds of ice and 200 pounds of water, center” that could save a lot of lives, of cardiac arrest near normal body making it impractical for use in the field. and said he hopes to see clinical tri- temperature, under anesthesia. However, Darwin said that the lungs als 2 to 3 years from now. (These results should not be confused can be used as a heat exchanger. Since Although Darwin didn’t mention with those of previous dog experi- all cardiac output flows through the the use of liquid ventilation in cry- ments where much longer survival lungs, which have a huge surface area onics cases, obviously it would be times were achieved with deep hy- of 70 square meters, they provide an ex- extremely valuable and could be ap- pothermia.) cellent opportunity to draw heat out of plied in the very near future. A major factor in the success of the blood, which then cools the brain. recent resuscitation research was Cold air cannot remove heat rapidly Steve Harris’s suggestion that is- enough, but a breathable liquid is effec- chemic injury can be viewed and tive and can be applied by intubating the treated as an inflammatory response, patient, which is a standard emergency

1st Qtr, 1999 • Cryonics 9 the 21st Century Medicine seminar. perature to above freezing point with- DMSO. “That doesn’t sound like a lot,” He would not reveal the exact na- out ice crystals causing catastrophic said Wowk, “but in terms of toxicity it ture of his insight, but claimed it enabled damage along the way. Since raising the is.” him to understand how to reduce toxic- temperature of large organs rapidly is Also, X1 turned out to work like ity in cryoprotectants more effectively quite difficult, zero-damage rewarming beetle protein in preventing ice damage than has ever been achieved before. He has always been a formidable challenge. during rewarming. “Even if you have a came up with a solution which he calls But with Fahy’s new vehicle and 1 per- perfectly vitrified system, generally VX. For thirteen years he had been try- cent beetle protein, he found he could when you rewarm it ice forms in it like ing to find something less toxic than his avoid ice formation at a warming rate crazy,” Wowk said. “However we found previous achievement, VS4-1A, a 55 of just 1 degree per minute. that by adding very small amounts of percent solution of DMSO, formamide, “This is wonderful,” he told the au- X1 we may in fact have got the devitri- and propylene glycol. VX turned out to dience at his presentation, “but beetle fication problem under control at even be the answer. protein is hard to come by, and is ex- very modest rewarming rates.” He Using it as a starting point he de- pensive. We wanted to come up with our showed a videotape of a lab experiment veloped four new vitrification solutions, own solution, our own ice-blocking in which a beaker of DMSO solution “each of which is statistically signifi- agent, which is dirt cheap. Why not? formed ice crystals when it was re- cantly superior to the previous world Let’s ask for the moon, maybe we’ll get warmed, while the same solution with a champion solution, VS4-1A.” One of it. And luckily Brian found the moon tiny amount of ice blocker showed vir- the new VX mixes should enable 100- for us, and now Brian will deliver it.” tually no ice at all. Another video dem- percent survival of perfused rabbit kid- onstrated that a vitrified solution of eth- neys, according to Fahy. Ice Blockers ylene glycol could be rewarmed rela- Still, this did not solve the problem tively slowly, without any ice forming, posed by larger organs that cannot be Brian Wowk took over from Gre- if the X1 ice blocker was added. cooled as rapidly as rabbit kidneys, and gory Fahy at this point and described tend to suffer from increased ice dam- his search for “synthetic ice blockers, Real-World Applications age as a result. Fahy said he considered hoping they could be made more inex- using “some tricks from ” to in- pensively than natural antifreeze pro- Having described his discoveries, hibit the ice crystal growth. teins.” He mentioned that the beetle pro- Fahy listed some immediate, potentially The trick he tried was an antifreeze tein used in Fahy’s experiments costs lucrative applications. First, there’s the protein found in arctic fish. When he about $1,000 per milligram. Some re- transplant field. “Most kidneys are not added it to conventional cryoprotectants, searchers are working to synthesize a matched to the recipient,” Fahy said. it achieved barely measurable results. substitute, but Wowk believes even this “This causes rejection.... 95 percent of However, when he used a new “vehicle” will be relatively expensive, plus its ice- the time we have a bad match between to deliver the cryoprotectant, and then blocking action will be most effective the recipient and the donor in terms of added the antifreeze protein, he reduced near freezing point. He wanted a substi- tissue type. Livers and hearts are an even the amount of ice formed in a solution tute that would work at the much lower worse problem.” of VS4-1A by a factor of 1,000. temperatures required for organ storage. Obviously if organs can be kept “on He also tried a different vehicle de- “We were successful in this, almost ice,” this would allow time for better signed to enhance a different antifreeze completely successful,” he said. “We matching. About 15,000 organs are protein found in a species of beetles. were able to devise a family of synthetic transplanted each year in the United This reduced ice formation even more ice-blocking molecules that are very States; if a banking system enabled more effectively, by an additional factor of 10. inexpensive, a small fraction of the cost efficient use of these organs by solving The practical bottom-line result was that of even fish antifreeze proteins.” the problem of rejection, this would jus- he could achieve vitrification with a He showed a graph of vitrification tify the expense of setting up the sys- slow cooling rate of 1 degree Celsius enhancement that occurred when he tem and paying a royalty to 21st Cen- per minute—which is practical for hu- added an ice blocker that he referred to tury Medicine for its preservation tech- man kidneys. as 21CM-X1 to a solution of dimethyl niques. Also he found that the beetle pro- sulfoxide (DMSO). Without the ice But according to Fahy, “The really tein would eliminate another intractable blocker, a 50 percent concentration of big market is in artificial tissues and problem: ice crystals forming when a DMSO is needed to avoid ice formation organs, because there’s no limitation on vitrified sample is rewarmed. Typically, when cooling at 7 degrees per minute. supply.” He estimated that the total a sample has to be rewarmed extremely Adding 1 percent of the ice blocker en- market is for at least 100,000 implants fast to get it from its deep subzero tem- abled the same results with 47 percent a year.

10 Cryonics • 1st Qtr, 1999 Initially he hopes to cryopreserve rejected because their sperm cannot sur- other exotic techniques, and a sample kidneys, since this is the organ that has vive the primitive preservation proce- brain has been not only cryopreserved been used most extensively in experi- dures, while vitrifying corneas has been but rewarmed with virtually no damage. ments and is best understood. “I’ve had considered so difficult, no one is even There is some chemical damage from clinicians tell me that as soon as I think trying to do it anymore. “Currently there toxicity, which would prevent restora- I’m ready, they’ll go ahead and trans- are about 50,000 cornea transplants a tion of function. Additional research will plant a human kidney at the drop of a year,” Fahy said, “but I’m told by the be needed to address this. hat,” Fahy said. top people in the field that if you could Currently, under ideal circum- At the same time, he noted that 21st bank corneas without limit, this market stances (which are often unavailable), a Century Medicine is “negotiating a con- would expand by a minimum of 5-fold, cryonics patient is perfused with a solu- tract with a major university which is so the corneas alone would be worth $2 tion of glycerol reaching a final concen- skilled in cardiac preservation, and we billion a year, and we’d get whatever tration of 7 to 7.5 molar, after which the will test out our new vitrification solu- royalty we could charge on that.” patient is cooled at approximately one- tions in that laboratory.” 21st Century He showed a video tape in which tenth of a degree per minute. This is the Medicine will retain the commercial sperm died in a 1 molar glycerol solu- best we can hope for. But as Brian rights to results of the research. tion, but survived in his new VX Wowk demonstrated at the conference, “We also have some possibilities for cryoprotectant. “We’re new at this,” he the results are extremely unsatisfactory. going into liver cryopreservation,” Fahy admitted. But, “Our result, preliminary He showed a slide (reproduced in Photo went on. “We’re now negotiating a con- though it may be, is better than what’s 5) of a two-liter solution of 7.3 molar tract with a liver transplant laboratory out there, so it is possible we can help glycerol that was cooled at 0.1 to 0.3 that is interested in developing short the sperm bankers with their problem degrees per minute, to a temperature of term liver cryopreservation at relatively of expanding the donor pool and saving -100 degrees. The chalky white appear- high subzero temperatures, and we will money. That means a market for 21st ance is caused by millions of tiny ice move forward at their expense on that, Century Medicine.” crystals in the solution. In a human but 21st Century Medicine again will He predicted similar success in vit- brain, each crystal is likely to cause sig- own the commercial rights.” rifying corneas, though he has not tried nificant damage. Summing up, Fahy said, “We are this yet using VX. “We’re currently col- Photo 4 illustrates this damage. The now building a perfusion machine to laborating with a major-name medical picture is a reproduction of an electron actually do the experiments in house. clinic to have a venture to demonstrate micrograph of a canine brain that was The surgical facilities are ready to go.... that we can cryopreserve corneas by vit- perfused with 7.5 molar glycerol, cooled And we’re already engaged in friendly rification, using the new technology.” using optimal cryonics protocol, and negotiations with a number of organ then rewarmed. The white, “empty” ar- preservation labs, to go further.” Brain Cryopreservation eas almost certainly were caused by ice forming and displacing or destroying Other Markets For cryonicists, the most exciting tissue. After rewarming, the ice melts aspect of the conference came at the end, and debris remains. Remember, this is Fahy said he had never paid much where Brian Wowk and Gregory Fahy attention to freezing small organisms revealed results of their first two experi- such as sperm, because the problem ments applying new cryoprotectant for- seemed “too trivial” compared with mulas to rabbit brains. freezing a large, complexly structured “In general,” Fahy organ such as a kidney. Still, 21st Cen- commented, “we think tury Medicine can acquire revenue and we have achieved com- credibility if its research improves ex- plete vitrification of the isting procedures such as brain.” cryopreservation of sperm or corneas. A year ago, no one Fahy valued the market for human had any idea that this sperm at $20 million, while bovine might be achieved so sperm is a $200 million market, and quickly. Moreover, the human corneas are a $400 million mar- procedure does not re- ket. He said, however, that when he in- quire extremely rapid vestigated these areas, he found that cooling, high atmo- between 90 and 95 percent of donors are spheric pressures, or Photo 4

1st Qtr, 1999 • Cryonics 11 Photo 5 Photo 6 Photo 7 the best we can hope for, using current ice blocker does not penetrate cell mem- room has been built at 21st Century procedures. branes. If cooling can be done more rap- Medicine. Photo 6 shows an obvious improve- idly, however, internal cell damage Perfluorocarbon cooling is such a ment. This flask contains a 7.2 molar should be minimized, because (in very powerful technique, it enables vitrifica- glycerol solution to which 1 percent of simple terms) ice has less time to form. tion with lower concentrations of Wowk’s “X1” ice blocker was added be- Until relatively recently, no one cryoprotectant. A 7 molar solution of fore freezing. The solution is now par- knew how to cool a human patient faster glycerol, with X1 ice blocker added, tially vitrified, meaning that it has turned than .1 degree Celsius per minute. The should be sufficient. into a uniform glasslike substance in- new technique of perfluorocarbon per- Unfortunately, even a 7 molar glyc- terspersed with hundreds of ice balls a fusion, however, offers a radical im- erol solution is biochemically toxic to few millimeters across, as opposed to provement. First, the patient would be cells. Perhaps chemical damage will be millions of tiny ice crystals. The large perfused normally with cryoprotectant. much easier to undo in the future than pale object at the bottom of the flask is Then the vascular system would be structural damage, but still we would not ice; it is a stir bar. Wowk estimates flushed with a perfluorocarbon, which prefer, obviously, to do no damage at that ice now constitutes only 10 percent is nontoxic and remains free-flowing at all. of the mixture, by volume. temperatures as low as -130 degrees. Wowk and Fahy have taken a step This is still less than ideal, but it can Potentially this can produce a cooling in that direction. Shortly before the con- be achieved right now just by adding the rate of almost 10 degrees per minute— ference, assisted by biologist Christo- X1 ice blocker that Wowk has discov- 100 times the best rate for a cryonics pher Rasch and surgeon Yasumitsu ered. No special cooling technology is patient using conventional methods. Okouchi, Fahy perfused two rabbits (the required. Because the temperature differential di- first consisting of the upper body, the What if we use a 7.5 molar glycerol minishes as cooling takes place, the second consisting of the head only) us- solution with 2 percent X1? Photo 7 cooling rate will diminish also; but 1 ing two different perfusates. The com- shows the result. There is now virtually degree per minute is still possible at position of the perfusates is not public no ice, and almost 100-percent vitrifi- -110 degrees. This has actually been information at this time, but one of them cation has occurred. verified in dog experiments. relied more on concepts developed by The 7.5 molar solution is so viscous, The procedure will require a spe- Brian Wowk in his research into it can be used on human patients only cially insulated room where methoxylated compounds, while the with difficulty. Also, there’s no guar- perfluorocarbon can be sprayed onto the other incorporated ideas relating to the antee that the insides of cells will be patient and perfused through the patient VX series of cryoprotectants formulated completely protected, because the X1 under remote control. A prototype cold by Fahy.

12 Cryonics • 1st Qtr, 1999 Photo 8

Graph 1

Photo 9 Graph 2

Photo 8 shows the perfusion in After perfusion, Photo 9 shows one change. progress, using an open circuit in which of the specimens being cooled in the Graph 2 shows the rate of cooling. concentration was gradually ramped up, plastic bucket just in front of the stain- Note the small bumps around 130 min- as shown in Graph 1. This procedure is less-steel dewar. Note the electric drill utes and -40 degrees C. These irregu- roughly similar to that used in rabbit- clamped over the bucket, which pro- larities suggest that a small amount of kidney cryopreservation. vided rapid stirring, promoting heat ex- water froze, briefly liberating latent heat

1st Qtr, 1999 • Cryonics 13 as it turned to ice. Photo 10 is an electron micrograph showing the condition of the brain after rewarming. An intact synapse and pre- synaptic neurotransmitter vesicles are visible, with good postsynaptic density. Some shrinkage has occurred because of the high concentration of cryoprotectant, creating the small white Photo 10 Photo 11 spaces around cells. Fahy feels that this shrinkage is not very significant because the structure seems intact. Photo 11 is at a smaller scale (the original electron micrographs range from 10,000 to 40,000 magnification) showing an intact axon with clearly de- fined cell membrane. “We do see some cavities on the local level,” Fahy com- mented when he showed this picture at the conference. But these cavities are minimal compared with the damage in Photo 12 Photo 13 brain tissue perfused conventionally with glycerol. Photo 12 provides a broader over- view showing no apparent ice holes. There are some slightly shrunken neu- rons, but again the membranes are in- tact and structure is clearly visible. Not all areas of the brain were pre- served so successfully. Photo 13 shows cells that have been damaged by ice, toxicity, or inadequate osmotic pressure allowing tissue edema. “Nevertheless this seems a substantial advance over glycerol,” Fahy commented. In their second rabbit experiment, Fahy’s team attempted total vitrification Graph 3 of the brain. “We did various things to optimize the perfusion,” he told his au- dience at the conference, though he would not reveal specific details. Graph 3 shows the increase in concentration of perfusate over time, while Graph 4 is a remarkably smooth cooling curve, showing no kinks or bumps that would indicate ice formation as the tempera- ture fell, and no ice forming either dur- ing the rewarming phase. Electron micrographs of this brain revealed truly exceptional results. Photo 14 shows an axon containing neural fila- ments—individual conglomerations of Graph 4 molecules. These are clearly discernible

14 Cryonics • 1st Qtr, 1999 in the original picture but may be harder in brains that are treated with techniques to see here because of the limits of half- that yield the same kind of ultrastruc- tone printing. “We have never seen those tural results.” [filaments] in any cryopreserved brain, Of course, we don’t know how eas- ever,” Mike Darwin commented, as the ily the work will translate and scale to slide was shown at the conference. human brains. Also, the researchers at “This is a level of preservation that’s 21st Century Medicine have been ex- really unprecedented,” Fahy agreed. ploring several different approaches, in A lower-magnification overview of parallel, to the same basic problems of the second brain, in photo 15, shows no reducing damage. “We have not com- pockets of cell damage of the kind seen pletely and fully combined [these ideas] in the first brain. There are moderately to get the most powerful possible ap- Photo 14 dehydrated but basically intact cells proach to cryopreservation,” Fahy said, amid shrinkage spaces that are moder- adding that the next step will involve ate and probably not a source for con- “fine tuning all the parameters in order cern. Intact myelin sheaths are visible to get the best possible result. But it’s around axonal processes. just a straightforward process, there’s All the electron micrographs men- nothing magical about it.” tioned so far were of the cerebral cor- “The magic is the money and the tex. Photo 16 is of the hippocampus, time,” Darwin commented. which is the area most sensitive to is- chemic insults. Although the cells seem Questions and Answers dehydrated and shrunken, they remain Photo 15 well connected to the neuropil surround- After the formal presentations, ing them. Mike Darwin, Steve Harris, MD, Gre- Fahy was quick to warn his audi- gory Fahy, and Brian Wowk received ence that these two experiments are just questions from the audience. the first that have been done using the Linda Chamberlain of Alcor asked new processes developed this year at about the price and availability of 21st Century Medicine. “We expect that perfluorocarbon compounds. Mike Dar- we can go farther than this fairly rap- win replied that it had been difficult to idly,” he said, “now that we have a bet- obtain them, but recently he located a ter feel for the kind of cooling and warm- new supplier with a large stock. The ing rates that we’re dealing with.” compounds may cost between $20 and $35 per pound, but in a perfluorocarbon Sitting next to Fahy, Mike Darwin Photo 16 added that “I’ve spent twenty years do- perfusion circuit most of the chemicals ing cryoprotective perfusions and sub- can be retained and reused. that,” he said. A problem with X1 is that sequent evaluations of brains....my opin- Another questioner asked exactly it tends to increase viscosity of ion is a very dismal one about the util- how antifreeze proteins prevent ice from cryoprotectants. Overall, Wowk said he ity of current procedures, particularly in forming. Brian Wowk explained that expects that the optimum concentration preserving the fine connections of the they “form a kind of antibody-antigen of X1 will be “a few percent.” cells to the neuropil, which is probably match onto the a-axis face of ice. They Saul Kent said it was premature to where you’re at, where your identity is coat it and prevent growth in that direc- talk about pricing, but Brian Wowk really encoded.” But he went on: “I just tion.” pointed out that anyone with a chemi- cannot emphasize the difference be- Fred Chamberlain of Alcor won- cal catalogue could find methoxylated tween this [new work] and the previous dered what happens if you increase the compounds available off-the-shelf. work that has been done. We’ve elimi- concentration of ice blockers or “Technically the only thing to stop you nated virtually all of these terrible tears, methoxylated compounds, and whether from using them is infringement on our massive tears that occur at 10 and 30 they will be prohibitively expensive. pending patent,” he said. micron intervals, and the ultrastructure Brian Wowk answered that a higher As for ice blockers, “We could prob- is remarkably better. I think that within concentration of methoxylated com- ably supply as much as you want at a very short order we’re going to have sig- pounds will tend to dissolve cell mem- reasonable price.... Chemical synthesis nificant viability, 50 percent viability, branes. “We’re cruising on the edge of houses making this compound for us are

1st Qtr, 1999 • Cryonics 15 ter. Prospects, however, don’t turn into realities without an infusion of money and labor. The new brain studies at 21st Cen- tury Medicine are immensely promis- ing, but the company must pursue re- search that will generate revenue, and brain research is unlikely to fulfill this need in the immediate future. Therefore, if we want zero-damage, reversible brain cryopreservation, we can’t count on outside investors to pay for it. We, as cryonicists, will have to pay for it our- selves. Six years ago, I bought $10,000 of Photo 17: Question & Answer Panel stock in 21st Century Medicine. This represented about one-quarter of my l -r: Mike Darwin, Dr. Gregory Fahy, Dr. Steven Harris savings at that time. Some others also purchased stock, but the wealthiest not giving us anywhere near the kind of and we’ll have to solve those problems. people in cryonics showed only a token sticker shock that antifreeze protein syn- This will take a dedicated team work- interest—or no interest at all. Conse- thesis gives us.” ing week in, week out, year in year out, quently, Bill Faloon and Saul Kent Another questioner asked how long relentlessly, until the problem is solved. shouldered the primary burden. By my we have to wait for viable suspended We just don’t have the assets for that estimate, they have spent about $10 animation. Brian Wowk said it should now.” million so far. be possible within ten years for the brain, Another questioner asked how I am constantly amazed by the re- but much sooner for kidneys, because much it might cost. luctance of wealthy cryonicists to put this is the major focus of research. “If “$10 million has been speculated,” money into research that could increase sufficient funds become available from Brian Wowk answered, adding that this their own chances of survival. It seems people who are interested in the [brain] is a reasonable guess. He didn’t think it grossly irresponsible to assume that oth- problem,” he went on, “we could tackle would cost as much $100 million, but ers in the future will fix freezing dam- the brain just like any other organ.” he was sure it would cost more than $5 age for us, when we could address the Mike Darwin agreed that “some- million. issue ourselves. body has to fund the work on brains, and The panel discussion broke up In the past, there was some doubt it isn’t going to be the people funding shortly after this, and many of the at- that investment in research would pay the work on hearts or kidneys or livers,” tendees visited the two laboratories off. This doubt should be dispelled, now, because that research has an obvious fi- where the research has been done. Some by the evidence presented at the 21st nancial payoff, while brain preservation people complained that the presentations Century Medicine seminar. Kent and interests only cryonicists. Consequently, had been overly technical, while others Faloon have demonstrated that money according to Darwin, “this audience and wondered whether the owners of the really can buy remarkable progress the people they represent are going to new technology will make it available within a short space of time, and almost be the ones who pay for it, else it just on an affordable basis. Saul Kent said certainly reversible cryopreservation isn’t going to get done.” subsequently that he intends to offer re- can be ours if we really want it. “To get to the point where a brain is sults of the research at a reasonable price Within the next year we will see whether successfully cryopreserved in every to all cryonics organizations. Obviously cryonicists are willing to acknowledge sense of the word is an enormously com- 21st Century Medicine hopes to reap this fact—or whether “Let someone else plicated and resource-intensive pro- profits from applications outside cryon- deal with the problem” will continue as cess,” Gregory Fahy commented. “We ics, which is a minuscule market by the dominant motto in cryonics, as it has don’t have the manpower to divert a lot comparison. for the past thirty years. of extra attention into those areas un- less they are funded.” He said he expects Conclusion to discover “all kinds of adverse things that we have no clue exist right now, all The prospects for human kinds of things we haven’t thought of, cryopreservation have never looked bet-

16 Cryonics • 1st Qtr, 1999 : Frequently Asked Questions

by Robert A. Freitas, Jr.

ost cryonicists agree that some type of nanotechnology will be necessary to reanimate patients Mcurrently in cryonic suspension, but few of us have any concrete idea of what form such nanotechnological medicine — “nanomedicine” — might take. “Nanomedicine” may be defined as the monitoring, repair, construction, and control of human biological systems at the molecular level, using engineered nanodevices and nanostructures. Basic nanostructured materials, engineered enzymes, and the many products of biotechnology will be enormously useful in near-term medical applications. However, the full promise of nanomedicine (including the recovery of cryonics patients) is unlikely to arrive until after the development of precisely controlled or programmable medical nanomachines and “nanorobots.”

What chemical elements form of diamond or diamondoid/ nometers (1 nanometer = 10-9 meter) would medical nanorobots be fullerene nanocomposites largely be- in characteristic dimension. made of? cause of the tremendous strength and Nonbloodborne tissue-traversing chemical inertness of diamond. nanorobots might be as large as 50- Many other light elements such as 100 microns, and alimentary or bron- The typical medical nanodevice hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, nitrogen, chial-traveling nanorobots may be will probably be a micron-scale ro- fluorine, silicon, etc. will be used even larger still. Each species of bot assembled from nanoscale parts. for special purposes in nanoscale medical nanorobot will be designed These parts could range in size from gears and other components. to accomplish a specific task, and 1-100 nm (1 nm = 10-9 meter), and many shapes and sizes are possible. might be fitted together to make a Finally, and perhaps most im- working machine measuring perhaps portantly, no actual working 0.5-3 microns (1 micron = 10-6 meter) What would a typical nanorobot has yet been built. Many in diameter. Three microns is about nanorobot look like? theoretical designs have been pro- the maximum size for bloodborne posed that look good on paper, but medical nanorobots, due to the cap- It is impossible to say exactly these preliminary designs could illary passage requirement. what a generic nanorobot would look change significantly after the neces- Carbon will likely be the princi- like. Nanorobots intended to travel sary research, development and test- pal element comprising the bulk of a through the bloodstream to their tar- ing has been completed. medical nanorobot, probably in the get will probably be 500-3000 na-

1st Qtr, 1999 • Cryonics 17 Robert A. Freitas, Jr. is currently writing Nanomedicine, the first book to compre- hensively address the technical issues involved in the medical applications of molecular nanotechnology and medical nanodevice design.

Nanomedicine, to be published in three volumes, represents a preliminary attempt to explore the full range of nanomedical applications, along with some details of the required foundational technical competencies. An established biomedical book publisher, Landes Bioscience, has been signed to produce all three volumes. The target publication date for Volume I is late Spring 1999.

Cryonics Magazine would like to thank both Mr. Freitas and the Foresight Institute for permission to reprint these Frequently Asked Questions. For the unabridged listing of “Frequently Asked Questions in Nanomedicine,” for out- lines and excerpts from Volume I of Nanomedicine, and for further information about this topic, please refer to the Foresight Institute’s Nanomedicine Web Site, http://www.foresight.org/Nanomedicine/index.html.

Can you give a concrete ex- gen (O2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) of each device. When the nanorobot ample of a simple medical molecules. Later on, these gases can passes through the lung capillaries, be released from the tiny tank in a O partial pressure is high and CO nanorobot? 2 2 controlled manner. The gases are partial pressure is low, so the onboard One very simple nanorobot that stored onboard at pressures up to computer tells the sorting rotors to I designed a few years ago is the about 1000 atmospheres. load the tanks with oxygen and to (Respirocytes can be rendered com- dump the CO . When the device later artificial mechanical red cell, which 2 I call a “respirocyte.” The respirocyte pletely nonflammable by construct- finds itself in the oxygen-starved measures about 1 micron in diam- ing the device internally of sapphire, peripheral tissues, the sensor read- a flameproof material with chemical ings are reversed. That is, CO par- eter and just floats along in the blood- 2 stream. It is a spherical nanorobot and mechanical properties otherwise tial pressure is relatively high and similar to diamond.) O partial pressure relatively low, so made of 18 billion atoms. These at- 2 oms are mostly carbon atoms ar- The surface of each respirocyte the onboard computer commands the is 37% covered with 29,160 molecu- sorting rotors to release O and to ranged as diamond in a porous lat- 2 lar sorting rotors (Nanosystems, page absorb CO . tice structure inside the spherical 2 shell. The respirocyte is essentially 374) that can load and unload gases Respirocytes mimic the action a tiny pressure tank that can be into the tanks. There are also gas of the natural hemoglobin-filled red pumped full of up to 9 billion oxy- concentration sensors on the outside blood cells. But a respirocyte can

Robert A. Freitas Jr. has degrees in physics, psychology, and law, and has written nearly 100 techni- cal papers, book chapters, or popular articles on a diverse set of scientific, engineering, and legal topics. He co-edited the 1980 NASA feasibility analysis of self-replicating space factories and re- cently authored the first detailed technical design study of a medical nanorobot ever published in a refereed biomedical journal.

18 Cryonics • 1st Qtr, 1999 deliver 236 times more oxygen per textures, depending on the functions pleted, it may be desirable to extract unit volume than a natural red cell. they must perform. They will have artificial devices from circulation. This nanorobot is far more efficient different types of robotic manipula- Onboard water ballast control is ex- than biology, mainly because its tors, different sensor arrays, and so tremely useful during respirocyte diamondoid construction permits a forth. Each medical nanorobot will exfusion from the blood. Blood to much higher operating pressure. (The be designed to do a particular job be cleared may be passed from the operating pressure of the natural red extremely well, and will have a patient to a specialized centrifuga- blood cell is the equivalent of only unique shape and behavior. tion apparatus where acoustic trans- about 0.51 atm, of which only about mitters command respirocytes to es- 0.13 atm is deliverable to tissues.) tablish neutral buoyancy. No other So the injection of a 5 cm3 dose of Will “old nanorobots” left in solid blood component can maintain 50% respirocyte aqueous suspension the body cause problems exact neutral buoyancy, hence those into the bloodstream can exactly re- when they eventually fail? other components precipitate out- place the entire O2 and CO2 carrying ward during gentle centrifugation capacity of the patient’s entire 5,400 and are drawn off and added back to Following most simple treat- cm3 of blood! filtered plasma on the other side of ments, nanodoctors of the 21st cen- Respirocytes will have pressure the apparatus. Meanwhile, after a tury will want to remove their thera- sensors to receive acoustic signals period of centrifugation, the plasma, peutic nanorobots from the patient’s from the doctor, who will use an containing mostly suspended body as soon as the nanodevices have ultrasound-like transmitter device to respirocytes but few other solids, is finished the job. So there will be give the respirocytes commands to drawn off through a 1-micron filter, little danger of “old nanorobots” modify their behavior while they are removing the respirocytes. Filtered breaking down or malfunctioning, still inside the patient’s body. For plasma is recombined with centri- or causing something unpleasant to example, the doctor might order all fuged solid components and returned happen to the patient after the origi- the respirocytes to just stop pump- undamaged to the patient’s body. The nal disease or traumatic condition ing, and become dormant. Later, the rate of separation is further enhanced has been treated. doctor might order them all to turn either by commanding respirocytes Additionally, nanorobots will be on again. to empty all tanks, lowering net den- designed with a high level of redun- What if you added 1 liter of sity to 66% of blood plasma density, dancy to ensure fail-operational and respirocytes into your bloodstream, or by commanding respirocytes to fail-safe performance, further reduc- the maximum that could possibly be blow a 5-micron O gas bubble to ing the medical risk. 2 safe? You could then hold your which the device may adhere via breath for nearly 4 hours if sitting surface tension, allowing it to rise at quietly at the bottom of a swimming 45 mm/hour under normal gravita- pool. Or if you were sprinting at top How would the nanorobots be tional acceleration.” speed, you could run for at least 15 retrieved from the body? minutes before you had to take a (Quoted from Robert A. Freitas breath! Some nanodevices will be able Jr., “Exploratory Design in Medical It is clear that very “simple” to exfuse themselves from the body Nanotechnology: A Mechanical Ar- medical nanodevices can have ex- via the usual human excretory chan- tificial Red Cell,” Artificial Cells, tremely useful abilities, even when nels; others will be designed to al- Volume 26, 1998, pp. 411-430. This applied in relatively small doses. low ready exfusion by medical per- paper is apparently the first detailed Other more complex devices will sonnel using apheresis-like processes design study of a specific medical have a broader range of capabilities. or active scavenger systems. It is nanodevice (of the general type pro- Some devices may have mobility, very design dependent. In the case posed by Drexler in Nanosystems) the ability to swim through the blood, of the respirocytes, the removal pro- that has been published. See earlier or crawl through body tissue or along cedure is fairly simple: description in: Robert A. Freitas Jr., the walls of arteries. Others will have “Respirocytes: High Performance different shapes, colors, and surface “Once a therapeutic purpose is com- Artificial Nanotechnology Red

1st Qtr, 1999 • Cryonics 19 Blood Cells,” Nanotechnology bioactivity. Due to the extremely Replicators will almost certainly be Magazine, Volume 2, October 1996, high surface energy of the passivated very tightly regulated by govern- pp. 1, 8-13.) diamond surface and the strong hy- ments everywhere. drophobicity of the diamond surface, the diamond exterior is almost com- Won’t medical nanorobots be pletely chemically inert and so Will medical nanorobots pos- attacked by the immune sys- opsonization should be minimized. sess a humanlike artificial in- tem, as soon as they are However, even if flawless dia- telligence? mond surfaces alone do not prove placed inside the human fully bioinactive as hoped, active This is another common error. body? surface management of the Many medical nanorobots will have nanorobot exterior can be used to very simple computers on board each Immune system response is pri- ensure complete nanodevice device. Respirocytes, for example, marily a reaction to a “foreign” sur- biocompatibility. Allergic and shock have only a ~1,000 operations/sec face. Nanorobot size is also an im- reactions are similarly easily computer on board each device -- portant variable, along with device avoided. mobility, surface roughness, surface far less computing power than an mobility, and other factors. Yet the old Apple II. problem of nanodevice biocom- Most cellular repair nanorobots How fast can medical will not need more than 106-109 op- patibility is in principle no more dif- nanorobots replicate inside ficult than the biocompatibility of erations/sec of onboard computing medical implants generally. In some the human body? capacity to do their work. This is a ways it may even be an easier prob- full 4-7 orders of magnitude below lem, because many medical This is a very common error. (even the potential for) true human- nanorobots will have only tempo- Medical nanorobots need not ever equivalent computing at 10 teraflops 13 rary residence in the body. Even to- replicate. In fact, it is unlikely that (~10 operations/sec). Faster com- day, application of immunosuppres- the FDA (or its future equivalent) puting capacity is simply not re- sive agents during the treatment pe- would ever approve for general use quired for most medical nanorobots. riod would allow poorly-engineered a medical nanodevice that was ca- non-bioinactive nanorobots to per- pable of in vivo replication. Except form their repair work without in the most unusual of circumstances, How would a medical trouble. you would never want anything that nanorobot be powered? Passive diamond exteriors may could replicate itself to be turned turn out to be ideal. Several experi- loose inside your body. Replicating One of the earliest proposals by mental studies hint that the smoother bacteria are trouble enough! Drexler in Engines of Creation was and more flawless the diamond sur- Replication is a crucial basic ca- that an in vivo medical nanodevice face, the less leukocyte activity and pability for molecular manufactur- could metabolize local glucose and the less fibrinogen adsorption you ing. But aside from the most aggres- oxygen for energy. Another possi- will get. So it seems reasonable to sive applications, there is simply no bility is externally supplied acoustic hope that when diamond coatings good reason to risk manufacturing power, which is probably most ap- can be laid down with almost flaw- “fertile” nanorobots inside the hu- propriate in a clinical setting. There less atomic precision, making man body, when “mule” nanorobots are literally dozens of useful power nanorobot exterior surfaces with can be manufactured so cheaply, con- sources that are potentially available near-nanometer smoothness, that veniently, and in such vast numbers in the human body, as described in these surfaces may have very low outside of the human body. Chapter 6 of Nanomedicine. “Replication is a crucial basic capability for molecular manufacturing. But aside from the most aggressive applications, there is simply no good reason to risk manufacturing ‘fertile’ nanorobots inside the human body.”

20 Cryonics • 1st Qtr, 1999 “Nanomedicine will eliminate virtually all common diseases of the 20th century, virtually all medical pain and suffering, and allow the extension of human capabilities, most especially our mental abilities.”

How would you communicate may release at most 60 watts of waste type, the species of the animal, and with the machines as they do heat (less than the 100-watt human even the identity of the individual: a their work? body basal rate) assuming a (worst kind of biochemical Social Security case) full 100% network duty cycle. Number. There are many other techniques So the short answer to this ques- There are many different ways that may be used as well -- this one tion is: Use chemotactic sensors to do this. One of the simplest ways is just the easiest to describe. (crudely analogous to chemical force to send broadcast-type messages into microscopy), keyed to the specific the body, to be received by in vivo known antigens on the target cells nanorobots, is acoustic messaging. If medical nanorobots are in- you are looking for. Knowledge of A device similar to an ultrasound these antigens will become exten- probe would encode messages on fused into the human body, intravenously, how would one sive, soon after the completion of acoustic carrier waves at frequen- the Human Genome Project early in cies between 1-10 MHz. Thus the track their location? the 21st century. supervising physician can easily send new commands or parameters to A navigational network may be nanorobots already at work inside installed in the body, with station- How would chemical agents the body. Each nanorobot has its own keeping navigational elements pro- power supply, computer, and senso- viding high positional accuracy to (e.g. an anti-cancer drug) be rium, thus can receive the physician’s all passing nanorobots that interro- transported and delivered to messages via acoustic sensors, then gate them, wanting to know their a target cell? compute and implement the appro- location. priate response. Physical positions can be re- Once you’ve identified a group The other half of the process is ported continuously using an in vivo of cells that needs some chemical getting messages back out of the communications network. Since the substance delivered to it, you can body, from the working nanodevices typical therapeutic dose may involve simply release the agent from out to the physician. This can also billions or trillions of nanorobots onboard tanks after the nanorobot be done acoustically. However, (e.g. up to a few cm3 of injection), it arrives on the scene. A 1 cm3 injec- onboard power requirements for mi- will usually be impractical to ad- tion of 1-micron nanodevices could cron-scale acoustic wave generators dress nanorobots individually, probably hold at least 0.5 cm3 of in water dictate a maximum practi- though this is in principle possible chemical agent. Virtually all of these cal transmission range of at most a for treatments involving only a few billions of nanites (in the 1 cm3) will few hundred microns for each indi- million devices, or fewer. be smart enough to show up at the vidual nanorobot. Therefore it is con- correct group of cells that are tar- venient to establish an internal com- geted for destruction, so delivery ef- munications network that can col- What form of detection sys- ficiency is virtually 100%. Onboard lect local messages and pass them tem would medical nanoro- sensors can test for ambient levels along to a central location, which bots use to distinguish be- of the chemical agent, to prevent the physician can then monitor us- overdose. ing sensitive ultrasound detectors to tween differing cell types? However, this question is a good receive the messages. Such a net- example of an “anachronistic” ap- work can probably be deployed in- Each cell type has its own unique plication -- one that could be done side a patient in less than an hour, set of surface antigens. Other cell using medical nanorobots, but in fact may involve up to 100 billion mo- surface antigens indicate the health would probably never be done that bile nanorobotic network nodes, and status of the cell, the parent organ way, because in an era of advanced

1st Qtr, 1999 • Cryonics 21 nanotechnology much more efficient have been exhaustively tested in full- Consider that a nanostructured and much less destructive ways up systems, in advance. data storage device measuring would exist to get the same job done. As a simple example, consider ~8,000 micron3, a cubic volume In the above example, bulk delivery two nanorobot species that are jointly about the size of a single human of cytotoxins to tissue cells is com- repairing a given block of tissue. If liver cell and smaller than a typical pletely unnecessary if the means ex- the nanorobot programming allows neuron, could store an amount of ists to reverse the carcinomatous pro- species A to interpret the repair work information equivalent to the entire cess at the cellular and genetic level. of species B as a new tissue flaw Library of Congress. If implanted that lies within species A’s original somewhere in the human brain, to- repair mission parameters, and vice gether with the appropriate interface What could go wrong during versa, then it would be possible for mechanisms, such a device could al- a nanomedical procedure? the two species to become locked in low extremely rapid access to this an endless recursive cycle, as each information. The incompetence or negligence species attempted repeatedly to undo A single nanocomputer CPU, of medical personnel is always a po- the other’s work. also having the volume of just one tential concern. However, in the But even in such cases, control tiny human cell, could compute at 13 nanomedical era, as today, such oc- over the devices is not lost. The su- the rate of 10 teraflops (10 float- currences should be infrequent and pervising physician, upon observing ing-point operations per second), ap- notorious. the fault, would simply shut down proximately equalling (by many es- A true glitch will come from one or the other species to allow the timates) the computational output of some direction that nobody antici- work to proceed, or would shut down the entire human brain. Such a pated. Biocompatibility problems are both species and reprogram them nanocomputer might produce only well anticipated, and multiple-redun- both (while they are still inside the about 0.001 watt of waste heat, as dant onboard computers should en- body) to avoid the unwanted emer- compared to the ~25 watts of waste sure safe operation, correct opera- gent behavior. The doctor must al- heat for the biological brain in which tion, and reprogrammability of op- ways be able to “pull the plug” on the nanocomputer might be embed- erational parameters even after the the nanomachines. This is one of the ded. devices have been launched on their most important design constraints, But perhaps the most important mission -- especially to permit deac- one that will probably become a strict long-term benefit to human society tivation if anything goes wrong. Fail- and universal regulatory requirement as a whole could be the dawning of a stop protocols may be particularly for all medical nanodevices. new era of peace. We could hope appropriate in high-risk missions that people who are independently where large numbers of replacement well-fed, well-clothed, well-housed, nanorobots are readily available. What would be the biggest smart, well-educated, healthy and Therefore, the most serious prob- benefit to be gained for hu- happy will have little motivation to lems may devolve from the inherent man society from nanomedi- make war. Human beings who have a reasonable prospect of living many complexity of a trillion machines in- cine? dependently trying to cooperatively “normal” lifetimes will learn pa- work on a very complex repair prob- tience from experience, and will be Nanomedicine will eliminate vir- extremely unlikely to risk those lem in a short period of time. One tually all common diseases of the class of malfunction might involve “many lifetimes” for any but the most 20th century, virtually all medical compelling of reasons. some unexpected emergent machine- pain and suffering, and allow the machine interaction -- the kind of extension of human capabilities, subtle interaction that is unlikely to most especially our mental abilities. Look for more about Nanomedicine in Cryonics, 2nd Quarter 1999, when Robert Freitas will answer questions specifically about the application of nanomedicine to cryonics.

22 Cryonics • 1st Qtr, 1999 Taking Your Money With You

by William Faloon

Editor’s Note: At least once a week, Alcor members and membership prospects call me to ask about methods for preserving their money during cryonic suspension. Aside from a few very general suggestions, I have little to tell them. Although the cryonics community seems to have a serious interest in the topic of wealth preservation, so far no one has developed an inexpensive, practical method for accomplishing this. I first heard of the Reanimation Foundation in 1990, not long after it was established. After this initial contact, I noticed little else publicized about this organization. As lately as March of 1998, I was told that all attempts at communicating with the Reanimation Foundation had failed. I as- sumed that it was no longer accepting contributors. At a recent cryonics conference, Saul Kent and Bill Faloon (the men behind the Reanimation Foundation) assured me that this organization was alive, open, and still ready for business. Be- cause of the frequent interest cryonicists express in the topic of wealth preservation, I invited Mr. Kent and Mr. Faloon to submit an article about the Reanimation Foundation. Please note that the following is intended only for informational purposes, and should not be considered an endorsement of the Reanimation Foundation by the Alcor Life Extension Founda- tion, Cryonics Magazine, or myself. —BRS

as Walt Disney interested in years, he would be penniless, with in the future, this direct approach Wcryonics? Ever since 1966, no control whatsoever over the bil- simply wouldn’t work. No current when Disney succumbed to cancer, lion-dollar company he created. The law allows you to leave money to rumors have circulated that he was same is true for every patient now in yourself through testamentary frozen. Despite the lack of evidence cryonic suspension. If any of them means. Legislators have never con- for this, many people are utterly con- are ever restored to life, they will sidered the possibility that a person vinced that Disney is resting in fro- have to start from scratch to rebuild “dead” by today’s standards might be zen slumber until he can rise again their finances, regardless of how considered only “critically ill” ac- to reclaim dominion over Mickey, wealthy or powerful they once were. cording to medical science of the Donald, and the rest of his empire. next century. Walt Disney was not frozen, but Why Can’t We One possible solution is to cre- even if he were, his return would not “Take It With Us?” ate and endow a trust. If written prop- be as triumphant as we might imag- erly, such a trust might possibly man- ine. If a hypothetical Walt Disney As much as cryonicists might age your funds and return them to were brought back to life in 100 like to will their money to themselves you at some time in the distant fu-

1st Qtr, 1999 • Cryonics 23 ture. However, writing a legally complete control over assets in their management team, and there are also sound trust requires the services of accounts. three American cryonicists who form an attorney. Unless one of your close Contributing financial assets to a “Committee of Protectors” to over- family members practices law, estab- the Reanimation Foundation may see these Directors. (While we are lishing this “wealth preservation” provide funding for three purposes: seeking the President of a major system could exhaust a significant Swiss bank to oversee the fraction of the wealth you’d like to 1. Scientific research to reanimate Foundation’s Directors, no such per- preserve. those contributors in cryonic suspen- son in Switzerland is currently will- Then too, Trusts must work sion. ing to accept the position, which in- within the Rule Against Perpetuities, cludes potential responsibility of cry- which is now in effect throughout the 2. Attempts at reanimation for con- onics patients.) As a further precau- United States (with the exception of tributors. tion, the Reanimation Foundation Wisconsin, South Dakota, and per- submits to an annual independent haps a few other states) and most 3. Reintegration of contributors into audit. other countries. The Rule Against society after reanimation (wealth When the first person with a Re- Perpetuities limits the time that the preservation). animation Account finally deani- assets of a deceased person can be mates, we plan on forming a Com- tied up, allowing you to leave your Anyone can donate money and mittee of Scientific Advisors to be- estate to your immediate heirs, but other assets to the Reanimation gin studying possible reanimation prohibiting your control over assets Foundation. Contributions can be techniques. much beyond that. This time limit for directed to the Foundation’s General trusts varies from state to state and Reanimation Fund, to an Individual For more information about the country to country, but usually Reanimation Account, or the indi- Reanimation Foundation, call 1-800- doesn’t extend beyond a few decades vidual Reanimation Account of an- 841-LIFE. after your legal death. The average other person. The minimum funding trust probably won’t survive until the level required to set up an Individual reanimation of cryonics patients be- Reanimation Account is U.S. comes possible. $25,000, which may take the form of cash, stocks, bonds, real estate, The Reanimation Foundation precious metals, insurance, or any other established method of Not all countries subscribe to the funding. Contributors may also use Rule Against Perpetuities. Among a will or trust to designate which as- MOVING? the nations free of this restriction is sets are to be transferred to their ac- Liechtenstein, a very small (about 60 counts after legal death. square miles) mountainous principal- Funds can be removed from an Let us know about it! ity nestled between Switzerland and Individual Reanimation Account at Call 1-602-905-1906 Austria, with a population of about any time, for any reason, prior to the and ask for Joe Hovey. 27,000. Because of this and other contributor’s cryonic suspension. As factors, in 1989 Saul Kent and I soon as suspension occurs, however, chose this as the home for our Re- the full amount of a contributor’s Don’t miss even one issue animation Foundation, an organiza- account is released for use by the of Cryonics! tion designed to maintain contributed Foundation. assets for an indefinite period of time, The affairs of the Reanimation until medical science acquires the Foundation are governed by a Board ability to bring frozen individuals of Directors, in strict accordance with back to life and health. After reani- its by-laws. The Foundation’s Board mation, contributors to the Reanima- is comprised of three Liechtenstein tion Foundation will be returned Directors who are members of a trust

24 Cryonics • 1st Qtr, 1999 An Exploratory Survey Examining the Familiarity with and Attitudes toward Cryonic Perservation by W. Scott Badger, Ph.D.

ABSTRACT A consumer survey designed to measure familiarity with and attitudes toward the idea of cryonics was conducted over the internet. A total of 517 responses were examined in an effort to clarify the relationships between (1) the reported level of familiarity vs. the accuracy of responses, and (2) demographic variables vs. attitudes and dispositions toward cryonics. Results indicate that (1) those claiming superior familiarity do not have superior knowledge, (2) a sizable number of those surveyed have significant misconceptions regarding cryonics, and (3) important attitudinal differences exist between demographically diverse groups.

INTRODUCTION of those they love. in several lines of research, one of which is Cryonics has been defined as “the tech- The successful reanimation of those investigating the viability of vitrification as nology for freezing a person after a termi- who have been frozen will depend on a an effective suspension protocol. His re- nal illness or a fatal accident, in the hope number of factors. First and foremost, the cent essay titled, “The Failure of Cryon- that medical science will be able to revive technology required to repair the damaged ics”3 concludes that consumers are not at- that person in the future, when life exten- bodies will have to be developed. The suc- tracted to cryonic services for the simple sion and anti-aging have become a real- cessful operation and long-term growth of reason that there is no convincing evidence ity”.1 Cryonic suspension is an emergency the organization responsible for one’s even- that cryonics will work. He characterized medical procedure designed to save lives tual reanimation will also be of significant cryonics as “a bad product,” insisting that (much like Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscita- importance. emphasis needs to be placed on research tion), a last-ditch effort to forestall irrevers- It has been stated that despite three aimed at better suspension techniques. Only ible brain damage. Since the first individual decades of massive publicity, the growth of when it can be demonstrated that humans was cryonically preserved in 1967, a hand- the cryonics industry has been abysmal.3 can be revived will we see a significant ful of firms have sprung up offering Cryonicists have appeared on talk shows, increase in the number of people interested cryopreservation and/or storage services to television magazines have taken tours of in signing up for cryonics, according to his the general public. cryonics facilities, a number of magazine essay. It is often argued on the Cryonet2 (an and newspaper articles have been published, Some contributors to the Cryonet internet newsgroup for cryonics related is- marketing professionals have tried to sell newsgroup suggest that resistance among sues) that the cryonics industry has experi- cryonic services as they have successfully consumers is strongly related to the diffi- enced a relatively slow rate of growth over done with other services, and individual culty they experience dealing with the idea the years although some firms have grown members have tried to persuade their friends of their own death. Some say that many faster than others. Between the several firms and family. Even so, these approaches ap- people object to the notion of cryonics on involved, it is estimated that only about 100 pear to have had little effect on the growth religious or ethical grounds. Others suggest individuals have been frozen to date, with rate of the industry. The lackluster response that the general populace is not attracted to another 700-800 signed up for of the market has consequently been the cryonics because they do not fully under- cryopreservation once they are pronounced focus of many spirited debates among stand the concepts which underlie it. Some legally dead.3 These figures cannot be con- cryonicists. A number of hypotheses have argue that the concept of cryonics is mar- sidered to be highly reliable since some been generated regarding why the Ameri- ketable, but the correct marketing strategy firms do not divulge membership informa- can public has been so slow to embrace the has yet to be discovered. In fact, some sug- tion. These are disappointing figures for central tenets of cryonics. gest that a sophisticated marketing strategy many leading cryonicists who have One of the most clearly articulated hy- has yet to be undertaken. Others insist that struggled financially and worked incessantly potheses is that presented by one of the the only way to sell someone on cryonics is to convince the public that cryonics is a pioneers in cryonics, Saul Kent. Mr. Kent is through persistent and patient persuasion rational and affordable alternative for those currently the Director of 21st Century Medi- over a long period of time. This paper will who wish to extend their lives and the lives cine. This research firm is currently involved examine the survey participants’ familiar-

Scott Badger is 48 years old and currently works as a school psychologist in the Dallas, Texas area. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Biology and his MBA (marketing specialization) from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. After working in various business environments for several years, he returned to school and earned a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Oklahoma State University.

1st Qtr, 1999 • Cryonics 25 ity with and attitudes toward cryonics, and Variable Percent Variable Percent Variable Percent in so doing will attempt to address some of the controversy discussed. Gender Marital Status Income METHOD Males 57.1 Married 58.6 <25K 19.5 Procedure Females 42.9 Single 41.4 25-49K 41.0 This was an exploratory, correlational 50-74K 26.3 75-99K 7.5 study designed to examine relationships >100K 5.6 between factors relevant to the issues dis- cussed above. For this purpose, a consumer Age Ethnicity Occupation survey was designed to measure the famil- iarity with and the attitudes toward the ideas <25 8.7 African American 6.8 Agricultural Field 3.5 of cryonics. The survey was reviewed by a 25-34 24.8 Asian American 2.3 Engineering 6.0 number of cryonicists before the final ver- 35-44 26.9 Caucasian 80.5 Computer Field 23.0 sion was completed and placed on the 45-54 25.1 Hispanic 0.8 Health Care 7.0 internet. The survey included four sections; 55-64 9.9 Native American 1.9 Legal Field 1.9 (1) a Demographics Section, (2) a Quiz >64 4.6 Other 7.7 Research Scientist 2.1 Sales 5.8 Section measuring familiarity, (3) an Atti- Service Industry 6.4 tudes Section, and (4) an Answers Section Social Services 1.0 providing the correct answers to the items Teacher/Instructor 9.1 presented in the Quiz Section. Respondents Other 34.2 were unable to proceed from one section to the next until all the items for that section Children Education Religion had been answered. The majority of the items were in a 5 point Likert-type, mul- 0 42.2 Elementary 1.7 Agnostic 16.4 tiple-choice format. 1 14.3 High School 25.5 Atheist 6.6 2 24.4 Associate’s Degree 12.6 Buddhist 2.5 3 12.2 Bachelor’s Degree 27.5 Christian 57.1 Participants 4 4.1 Master’s Degree 21.5 Hindu 1.5 Participants in the study were subscrib- 5 1.9 Doctoral Degree 2.7 Jewish 4.4 ers to a weekly internet magazine/newslet- 6 1.0 Medical Doctor 0.4 Moslem 1.2 ter known as “The Tourbus” (http:// Jurisprudence 1.0 Taoist 10.3 www.tourbus.com). Information on various Other 7.2 web sites and internet-related issues is e- mailed to approximately 80,000 subscrib- Table 1. Demographic Variables’ Frequency Distributions for Survey Respondents ers according to the editor on a bi-weekly basis. The following paragraph appeared WHO LEFT THE REFRIGERATOR DOOR they may not be (and probably are not) on the front page in the September 1, 1998 OPEN? representative of the larger population. edition of The Tourbus: Before we begin our tour for the day, I Consequently, findings may have limited wanted to remind you about the Cryonics generalizability. Also, the sample popula- Is It Cold In Here? survey we mentioned in a previous issue. tion appears to be disproportionately Cau- If a person’s body is frozen just after clinical It’s really quite fascinating, and you’ll be death, could they perhaps be revived at some surprised at some of the answers. Is Walt casian and Christian. The small size of a future time when medical technology per- Disney’s body frozen? Find out soon, be- number of subgroups (e.g. Hispanics, Hin- mits? That question is the essence of Cryon- cause the survey is closing in a few days. dus) may have suppressed significant re- ics. I recently found a really interesting and sults related to their responses. It should Cryonics Survey - http:// educational web site which deals with Cry- also be noted that a large percentage (25%) onics, and all the questions that surround the homepages.waymark.net/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/ wbadger/demoinfo.cgi of the participants marked “Computer Field” issue. The Associated Cryonicists Consumer for their occupation. In addition, the over- Survey is a fun way to explore this fascinat- As of October 1, 1998, a total of 517 all response rate was less than one percent. ing subject, and learn whether cryonics is responses were collected after 32 acciden- A larger and more representative sample, just wild-eyed idealism or serious science. tally repetitious and clearly disingenuous You can find it here: and possibly a different sampling source replies were deleted. Table 1 outlines the may address some of these problems in Cryonics Survey - http:// demographic profile of the sample. future studies. homepages.waymark.net/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/ Limitations of the Study wbadger/demoinfo.cgi RESULTS It is important to point to some of the Approximately 250 completed surveys limitations of the current study. First, the Familiarity Questions were collected over the next two weeks. sample of participants used for this study The first question examined in this study The survey was mentioned once again on was not randomly selected. Participants were addresses the assertion among some September 23rd as follows: solicited through the internet. Therefore, cryonicists that increased publicity designed

26 Cryonics • 1st Qtr, 1999 to educate the public on cryonics will be procedure which requires a relatively nor- The overall normal mean and median ineffective since the public is already suffi- mal distribution as one of its assumptions. values of the non-transformed distribution ciently familiar with the essential elements Consequently, the three variables were trans- was 9,969 and 1,000 respectively (once of cryonics. Question #2 examines self-re- formed using a log function which resulted again a 10:1 ratio). The log means in this ported levels of familiarity and appears be- in a lognormal frequency distribution for instance are again relatively accurate given low. The frequency distribution in percent- each variable. The means of these trans- the estimated “true” value of 700-800 de- ages lies to the right of each group. formed distributions (log means) were then scribed earlier. No statistically significant used for the ANOVA procedures to look differences were found between the groups 2. How familiar would you say you are for group differences. The log means were at the .05 level even though it appears that with Cryonics compared to the average per- then transformed back (exponentiated) into Group 4 (those claiming superior familiar- son? figures which may be more easily com- ity) are closer to the true estimate. It may pared by the reader to the original means. be worth noting that 106 individuals (20.5% Group 1= Questions #5 and #6 were designed to of the total sample) estimated there were Much less than the average person. determine how popular or successful par- 10,000 or more people already signed up to 5.2% ticipants perceived the cryonics industry to be cryonically frozen, overestimating by at Group 2= be. least a factor of 10. About as much as the average person. Q5. What is your estimate of the number of Question #7 was designed to assess partici- 64.4% people that have already been cryonically pants’ familiarity with the costs of being Group 3= suspended? cryonically preserved. Somewhat more than the average person. Q7. How much do you believe it costs to 27.3% Groups Normal Exponentiated have your body cryonically preserved? Group 4 = Means of Logs Quite a bit more than the average person. 3.1% 1 842 86 Groups Normal Exponentiated 2 1296 190 Means of Logs Self-reports may now be compared to 3 1327 207 other quiz items to determine how accurate 4 896 158 1 626,288 42,480 respondents’ self-evaluations are. In addi- 2 588,343 58,489 tion, we can compare responses between 3 303,606 58,402 the four groups created in Question #2 us- The mean and median values of the 4 150,937 65,303 ing one-way Analysis of Variance non-transformed distribution was 1,271 and (ANOVA) and Tukey HSD post-hoc strate- 100 respectively. The correct answer, as gies. ANOVA is a statistical procedure used previously asserted, is approximately 100 The overall normal mean and median to determine whether there are any group suggesting that the log means of all four values of the non-transformed distribution differences overall on a variable. Tukey groups were fairly accurate. In addition, was $499,545 and $50,000 respectively. HSD is a follow-up procedure used to de- there is no statistically significant differ- Log means for the four groups are fairly tect specific group differences. Unless oth- ence between the four groups at the .05 accurate estimates of the previously asserted erwise specified, the parameter for statisti- level, suggesting that those who claim to range of $28,000 to $165,000. Although cal significance will be set at p < .05. This have much greater familiarity than the av- no statistically significant group differences means that if one group is said to be “differ- erage person are no more accurate in their were detected at the .05 level, one can see ent” from another (e.g. males and females) estimates than those who claim to have much that the estimates appear to decrease as the on a particular variable (e.g. Q23), then less familiarity. It should be noted, how- level of alleged familiarity increases on the there is less than a 5% chance that there is, ever, that 144 individuals (27.9% of the non-transformed figures, while the oppo- in fact, no difference between the groups. total sample) estimated there were 1,000 or site seems to be the case with the lognormal There were a total of 16 questions in more people already cryonically frozen, means. Since there are no statistically sig- the Quiz section of the survey. In the inter- overestimating by a factor of 10. nificant differences between the means, ests of limiting the scope of this article, Q6. What is your estimate of the number of these trends should be disregarded. It is only three variables considered to have par- people that have made arrangements to be noted once more, however, that 91 indi- ticular relevance to the study (Q5, Q6, and cryonically suspended upon their death? viduals (17.6% of the total sample) esti- Q7) were investigated. Upon examination, mated the cost of cryonic preservation to be the responses to these three questions ranged Groups Normal Exponentiated $300,000 or more, overestimating by at least widely, and the frequency distributions ap- Means of Logs a factor of 10 based on the least expensive peared to be highly skewed. The reader suspension service available. will note that the mean values are almost 10 1 4571 400 At this point, one might ask, “Are the times the median values, and that the me- 2 10,030 1026 gross overestimates across variables Q5, dian values are considerably closer to the 3 10,864 1229 Q6, and Q7 being consistently made by the estimated true values. This degree of skew- 4 8,813 849 same group of people from the sample?” A ness threatens the validity of the ANOVA

1st Qtr, 1999 • Cryonics 27 bi-variate correlation analysis measures the degree of association between two vari- Table 2. Means and standards deviations of positive attitude statements ables. The results of correlation analysis indicates that the responses to Q5 correlate Positive Statements Mean Std. Dev. significantly with the responses to Q6 (r = .31, p < .000), but there are no other statisti- Q18. I love being alive and I want to remain alive and 1.46 0.78 cally significant correlations among these healthy for as long as I can. three variables at the .05 level. For the Q19. Being frozen is no guarantee that I will be revived 1.57 0.88 most part, it appears that the answer to the someday, but I know my chances are zero if I am buried question posed is, “Most of the responses or cremated. appear to be independent of each other.” Q20. I could accomplish much more with my life if it 2.49 1.03 Attitude Questions were significantly extended. Participants were asked to respond to six positive statements and ten negative Q21. I’m very optimistic about humankind’s future and 2.40 1.09 want to be there to see and participate in the amazing statements about their attitudes toward vari- advances that will be made. ous aspects of cryonics. All of the items in this section were in the form of a Likert Q22. I look forward to a time when we won’t have to 2.50 1.20 scale as shown below. The numbers of the suffer the loss of our friends and family because of aging Likert scale are treated as interval values and disease. rather than as categorical or ordinal values. This means there are equal differences be- Q23. I’m excited about the prospect of waking up in a 2.77 1.25 tween measures (e.g. temperature, IQ, etc.). body made young again through bio-technological advances. 1 = Strongly Agree 2 = Agree 3 = Not Sure 4 = Disagree Table 3. Means and standards deviations of negative attitude statements 5 = Strongly Disagree Negative Statements Mean Std. Dev. Mean (arithmetic average) Likert scores and standard deviations for the positive Q24. Cryonics doesn’t interest me because I just don’t 3.11 1.12 statements appear in Table 2. think it will work. It can be seen that the mean response to Questions 18 and 19 fell about midpoint Q25. The cost of having my body frozen is far too 2.21 0.95 between “Strongly Agree” and “Agree” in- expensive for me. dicating a moderately positive attitude to- wards extended lives and towards cryonics Q26. Dealing with wills, insurance policies, and other 3.22 1.00 as representing a chance for achieving that legal matters is too much trouble to make Cryonics worthwhile. end. Questions 20 through 23 fell about midway between “Agree” and “Unsure” Q27. Extending one’s life span through Cryonics is 3.20 1.16 suggesting a mildly positive view towards unnatural, selfish, and immoral. those statements. Though all means fell on the left (favorable) side of the Likert scale, Q28. Cryonics is a bad idea because it would lead to an 2.90 1.11 respondents were least positive overall about overpopulation problem. the statement made in Question 23. Mean values and standard deviations Q29. I don’t think about Cryonics because I don’t like 3.69 1.02 for the negative statements appear in Table thinking about death. 3. The values in Table 3 suggest that people Q30. Cryonically preserving me would be too hard/weird 2.83 1.06 perceive cryonics as unaffordable, and they for my family/friends to handle. have mildly negative feelings about what the impact of being frozen would be on Q31. I’m too young and healthy to even care about it at 3.52 1.03 their friends and relatives as well as not this point. having those friends or relatives around when they are revived in some future time. Q32. I would not want to wake up in a future time 2.73 1.19 There was mild to moderate disagreement without my family or friends around. with the idea that considering one’s own Q33. I don’t think that people in the future will have any 3.36 1.09 death is so difficult that cryonics is hard to interest in reviving frozen bodies. think about. There was also mild to moder-

28 Cryonics • 1st Qtr, 1999 ate disagreement with the idea that people Table 4. Means and standards deviations of motivation statements do not care about cryonics because they are young and healthy. There is also mild dis- Motivation Statements Mean Std Dev agreement with the negative statement re- garding all the paperwork involved in sign- Q34. Thousands of other people were signing up. 3.58 0.95 ing up for cryonics. Q35. Millions of other people were signing up. 3.48 1.08

Disposition Questions Q36. My physician approved of and recommended the idea. 3.26 1.06 Finally, a series of statements were pre- sented which required participants to con- Q37. Celebrities I admired were signing up. 4.09 0.88 sider different conditions under which they might become favorably disposed toward Q38. Someone in my family were signing up. 3.15 1.06 the idea of cryonics. The purpose was to identify variables which may or may not be Q39. a mouse were completely revived after cryonic storage. 3.30 1.02 helpful in motivating individuals to give Q40. a dog were completely revived after cryonic storage. 3.20 1.07 favorable consideration to being cryonically preserved. The stem for each statement is, Q41. a human were revived. 2.52 1.19 “I would feel more favorably toward the idea of cryonics if . . .” Table 4 summarizes Q42. if it were cheaper. 2.85 1.12 the means and standard deviations for this group of questions. Q43. Under no circumstances. 3.45 1.12 A simple examination of the descrip- tive statistics in Table 4 indicates that the participants are less likely as a whole to be motivated to sign up for cryonics because in the survey. Examination of the distribu- men with the idea (Q32) that it would be celebrities sign up or even if large numbers tion frequencies of the Q18 through Q44 unpleasant to awake in the future without of others sign up. It also appears that suc- indicates they are relatively unskewed, and one’s family and friends (p < .00001) cessfully reviving mice or dogs (and pre- lognormal transformations will not be nec- Women also appeared less confident than sumably any other non-human animals) will essary. men that people in the future would have be mildly ineffective motivators. The two any interest in reviving frozen bodies (Q33) variables which appear to have some mild Table 5. Gender (p < .032). Finally, men were found to agree motivational potential was Q41 (the revival more strongly than women with item Q44 Group # Gender #Participants of a human being) and Q42 (if it were which stated, “I believe that cryonics is an cheaper). exciting idea and intend on looking into it 1 Male 295 The final item in the survey was: further” (p < .0002). 2 Female 222 Q44. I believe that Cryonics is an exciting Table 6. Occupation idea and intend on looking into it further. Gender differences appeared early on Group # Occupation # Participants Using the same Likert scale as before in the survey with several differences un- the overall mean was determined to be 2.09 covered on a number of items. On item Q2, suggesting that there is fairly solid agree- 1 Agricultural Field 18 males perceived themselves as more famil- 2 Engineering 31 ment with this statement among those sur- iar with cryonics than females (p < .00001). 3 Computer Field 119 veyed. Responses to Q20 indicate that males feel 4 Health Care 36 they could be more productive if their lives 5 Legal Field 10 Group Differences were significantly extended while women 6 Research Scientist 11 Descriptive statistics such as the ma- were less prone to agree (p < .0015). Women 7 Sales 30 8 Service Industry 33 jority of those discussed above can be use- had a higher degree of agreement with item 9 Social Services 5 ful in developing a general profile of the Q22 suggesting than men were less con- sample population. They can also act as 10 Teacher/Instructor 47 cerned with the loss of family and friends 11 Other 177 indicators that point to productive areas of (p < .083). Males were more agreeable than inquiry. The second section of this report females to the idea in Q23 of waking up in a will examine differences between groups young and healthy body in the future (p < Few differences were found between formed by demographic dissimilarities .022). Women perceived cryonics as less the occupational groups. Individuals in the within the sample. In other words, the groups affordable than men (p < .009). Item Q27 Service Industry expressed a greater will- created by the participants’ responses to the results indicated that men disagreed more ingness to feel favorably toward cryonics if questions in the Demographic Section will strongly than women with regard cryonics thousands of others signed up as compared be compared to see if they differ with re- being immoral, selfish, or unnatural (p < to Research Scientists and those in the Com- spect to their responses to various questions .036). Women were more agreeable than puter Field. When that number was raised

1st Qtr, 1999 • Cryonics 29 to millions instead of thousands, Research value could be placed in any interpretations tivators. No group difference were found Scientists were still more reluctant to think drawn from the analysis due to the rela- among social motivators. Differences first favorably of cryonics than either those in tively small group memberships for all ex- appear with Q39 “if . . . a mouse were the Service Industry or Engineers. When cept Caucasians. completely revived after cryonics storage” asked whether cryonics was unnatural, self- with Agnostics more favorably disposed ish, and immoral, those in Health Care re- Table 9. Religion than Christians. Atheists join Agnostics in plied more affirmatively than did Engineers. being more favorably disposed than Chris- Group # Religion # Participants It is worth noting that 177 participants fell tians toward cryonics if and when a dog is into Group 11 while many other Groups 1 Agnostic 85 completely revived. The same was true for had quite small numbers suggesting that a 2 Atheist 34 Q41 (“if . . . a human were revived.”). different set of occupational fields may be 3 Buddhist 13 Finally, Christians agreed more strongly advisable in future surveys. 4 Christian 295 than Agnostics or Atheists with Q43 ( . . . 5 Hindu 8 Table 7. Age under no circumstances.”). 6 Jewish 23 The last question of the survey (Q44) 7 Moslem 6 Group # Age Range # Participants addressed overall interest in the idea of cry- 8 Taoist 53 onics. Among all the religious groups, Chris- 1 < 24 45 tians had the highest (least interested) mean 2 25 – 34 128 score and these scores were significantly 3 35 – 44 139 Several group differences were found different from Agnostics and Atheists who 4 45 – 54 130 to exist as a function of this demographic. appear to be among the most interested. It 5 55 – 64 51 The reported level of familiarity with cry- may be helpful for the reader to know for 6 > 64 24 onics was significantly higher for Agnos- comparison’s sake that the mean scores on A relatively large number of group dif- tics and Atheists as compared to Christians. Q44 were: Christians = 3.12; Agnostics = ferences was found on the basis of age Even so, no group differences were found 2.57; Atheists = 2.41. It is interesting to range. Group 2 appeared to be more con- with respect to the answers given on the note that out of 295 Christians participating cerned with population problems arising as Quiz Section. Agnostics and Atheists also in the survey, 20 marked “Strongly Agree” a result of cryonics than either groups 3 or agreed more strongly than Christians with for Q44 and 57 marked “Agree.” This sug- 4. In responding to items Q34 and Q35 (I Q20 (I could accomplish much more with gests that about 26% of those from the would feel more favorably toward cryonics my life if it were significantly extended). Christian faith seem to be approachable on if thousands (millions) were signing up), Agnostics had a significantly lower (more the subject of cryonics. Groups 2 and 3 disagreed most strongly, agreeable) mean score than Christians on Table 10. Marital Status both having significantly higher scores than Q21 as well, suggesting they are more opti- Group 1 which was the most agreeable mistic about the future of humans. The same Group # Marital Status # Participants group. The same group differences were was true for Q23 indicating that Agnostics found for Q36 (if my physician approved look forward to waking up in a young body 1 Married 303 of and recommended the idea). Group 2 in the future more so than do Christians. 2 Single 214 also disagreed more strongly with item Q44 Christians were found to agree more (I believe that Cryonics is an exciting idea strongly with Q24 (Cryonics doesn’t inter- Married individuals expressed signifi- and intend on looking into it further) than est me because I just don’t think it will cantly greater reluctance toward cryonics Group 1. Group 2 appears to be the Group work.) than did Agnostics. Christians also due to family-related issues (Q30, Q32) than least disposed toward the idea of cryonics. viewed cryonics to be less affordable than did single respondents. There may be a cohort effect for those in did Agnostics (Q25). Christians perceived High school graduates agreed more this age range due to cultural events in their the paperwork and legal work associated strongly with Q29 (“I don’t think about lives, or it may be that people at this stage with cryonics as more troublesome than cryonics because I don’t like thinking about of life are more skeptical in general than Agnostics (Q26). Christians were more dis- death.”). than did individuals with Associ- other age groups. posed to perceive cryonics as unnatural, ates, Bachelors, or Masters degrees. They Although there were a number of sta- selfish, and immoral than either Agnostics tistically significant mean differences be- or Atheists (Q27). Agnostics and Atheists Table 11. Education tween ethnic groups, it was felt that little had fewer concerns with the negative per- ceptions of family and friends toward cry- Group # Education # Participants Table 8. Ethnicity onics than Christians (Q30). They were also 1 Elementary 9 Group # Ethnicity # Participants less concerned about waking up in a future 2 High School 132 time without family and friends around 3 Associate’s Degree 65 1 African American 35 (Q32) than either Christians or Jews. 4 Bachelor’s Degree 142 2 Asian American 12 Questions 34 through 43 all began with 5 Master’s Degree 111 3 Caucasian 416 the same sentence stem; “I would feel more 6 Doctoral Degree 14 4 Hispanic 4 favorably toward cryonics if . . .” and were 7 Medical Doctor 2 5 Native American 10 designed to assess the relative value of vari- 8 Jurisprudence 5 6 Other 40 ous social, financial, and technological mo- 9 Other 37

30 Cryonics • 1st Qtr, 1999 also expressed greater concern about wak- set of dependent variables (e.g. Q23) Noise is a term used to represent error. R2 ing up in the future without family and (Stevens, 1995). One of the purposes of this is a value that reflects the degree to which friends being there as compared to indi- procedure is to determine whether there are the regression equation explains the vari- viduals with Master’s degrees. any interaction effects between demographic ance in Q44. In this case, R2 = .0259, so variables (e.g. “Do male agnostics differ only about 2 1/2 % of the variance in Q44 is Table 12. Income from female agnostics?” “Do older married explained by Gender. Four other variables people differ from younger married achieving significance levels of p < .10 but Group # Income # Participants people?” etc.). No significant interaction not p < .05 are included in Table 13. These 1 < 25K 101 effects were found to exist between these variables may be considered to be approach- 2 25 - 49K 212 variables indicating that only main effects ing significance. Nevertheless, regression 3 50 - 74K 136 have any statistical or practical significance analysis suggests that demographic factors 4 75 - 99K 39 in this study. have limited usefulness in predicting dispo- 5 > 100K 29 sitions toward cryonics. Multiple Linear Regression Analysis Table 13. Regression Analysis #1 In multiple regression we are interested It was found that individuals in Group in predicting a value for a dependent vari- Demographic Variable Significance of T #5 believed themselves to more familiar able from a set of predictor (independent) with cryonics than those in Groups # 2 or variables. The final question addressed in Gender .0002 #3. Even so, individuals in Group #5 fared this study asks, “To what degree does each Age .0843 no better on the items in the Quiz Section demographic variable contribute to the vari- Marital Status .0750 than any of the other groups. Although all ance observed in the responses to Q44.” (“I Occupation .0689 Ethnicity .0797 groups were in at least moderate agreement believe that cryonics is an exciting idea and with Q18 (“I love being alive and I want to intend on looking into it further.”). A step- remain alive and healthy for as long as I wise linear regression analysis was per- A similar analysis was performed us- can.”), Group #4 most strongly agreed with formed to identify which demographic vari- ing the items from the Attitude Section this item. Similarly, all groups generally ables significantly contributed to explain- (Q18-Q33) as the independent variables and agreed with Q19 (“Being frozen is no guar- ing fluctuations in Q44. The results indi- regressing them on to Q44, the dependent antee that I will be revived someday, but I cate that Gender alone reached the .05 level variable. The following regression equa- know my chances are zero if I am buried or of significance required to be entered into tion was derived: cremated.”), but Group #5 agreed most the regression equation. Some may ask why Q44 = 3.35 + .08 (Q21) + .30 (Q23) strongly. As would be expected, group #5 other demographic variables such as Reli- - .25(Q24) - .14 (Q27) - .08 (Q30) + noise was least concerned with the affordability gion, where important group differences of cryonics while Group #2 was the most were previously discovered, failed to enter R2 = .49 concerned. Group #5 was also the least con- into the equation. It must be remembered Using the same parameters, a relatively cerned group when the issue of overpopu- that although Christians differed from Ag- impressive R2 value of .49 was obtained lation was brought up while Group #3 was nostics and Atheists, there were no other indicating that almost half of the variance found to be the most concerned. When pre- statistically significant group differences in Q44 can be explained by the five vari- sented with factors which might favorably found. In other words, there was relatively ables in the equation. This equation sug- dispose them to cryonics, Group #1 ap- little overall variance observed for the Reli- gests that those who find Cryonics to be an peared to be the group most motivated by gion variable so it was unable to explain a exciting idea and intend on looking into it the idea of large numbers of other people significant amount of variance in Q44. The further are also those who (1) are optimistic signing up and to the idea of cryonics being equation derived from the multiple linear about humankind’s future; (2) are excited recommended by their physician, while regression procedure follows: about the prospect of waking up in a body Group #2 disagreed most strongly with these Q44 = 2.40 + .35 (Gender) + noise made young again; (3) tend to believe that items. cryonics will work; (4) disagree that cryon- Group differences based on Income ap- R2 = .0259 ics is unnatural, selfish, and immoral; and proached statistical significance (n = 516, p (standard error of the regression coefficient = .09) (5) disagree that cryonic preservation would = .07) on Item Q44 (“I believe that cryonics be too hard/weird for their family/friends to is an exciting idea and intend on looking into it further.”). Group #5 most strongly Table 14. Regression Analysis #2 agreed with this item (mean = 2.69) while Variable B Value (Coefficient) Standard Error of the Significance Level of Group #2 most strongly disagreed (mean = Coefficient T 3.05). Factorial Analysis Q21 .081577 .038534 .0347 The factorial analysis of variance is a Q23 .299711 .034873 .0000 Q24 -.253954 .035224 .0000 statistical procedure designed to examine Q27 -.142850 .037327 .0001 the effect of two or more independent or Q30 -.083530 .036120 .0211 classification variables (e.g. gender) on a Constant 3.355794 .223347 .0000

1st Qtr, 1999 • Cryonics 31 handle. celebrities would sign up for cryonics, re- licity aimed at the general public may not Precise coefficient values and associ- sults demonstrate that this statement was be the most effective approach. A more ated standard errors are presented in Table more strongly disagreed with than any other. effective marketing effort might be one tar- 14. In terms of differences along demo- geted at male agnostics and atheists. There graphic variables, a number of statistically may also be some value in targeting indi- SUMMARY significant results were uncovered. Men per- viduals who are single, fairly well-educated, ceived themselves as more familiar with or younger than 25 or between 35 and 64 In the Quiz Section, survey participants cryonics and had, for the most part, more years of age. It is reasonable to assume that expressed a considerable amount of vari- positive attitudes toward cryonics than individuals who meet more than one of ability in their responses to “fill-in-the- women. With respect to age, it appears that these criteria are likely to have an increas- blank” questions. After being transformed individuals between the ages of 25 and 34 ingly favorable disposition toward cryon- into lognormal distributions to compensate and those older than 65 are most strongly ics. for their overly skewed distributions, Q5, opposed to the idea of cryonics while those The results also suggest that the con- Q6, and Q7 provided log means that were younger than 24 express the greatest amount tent of marketing efforts focus on certain relatively accurate. ANOVA procedures of interest. This finding fails to support issues. Emphasis should be placed on (1) indicated that there were no statistically sig- those who hypothesize that the young lack the affordability of cryonics, (2) promoting nificant differences between those who interest in cryonics for one reason or an- optimism with regard to the future, and (3) claimed to be familiar with cryonics and other. the idea of receiving a young and healthy those who claimed they weren’t. Even so, a It became clear when examining group body in the future. Results also suggest that portion (17.6 - 27.9%) of the sample over- differences between religious groups that the most important negative attitudes which estimated in their responses to Q5, Q6, and Agnostics and Atheists were consistently need to be overcome include: (1) beliefs Q7 by a factor of 10. This suggests that a more favorably disposed toward cryonics that cryonics will not work, (2) beliefs that sizable segment of the population greatly than were Christians. No other group dif- cryonics is unnatural, selfish, and immoral, over-estimates the number of people frozen ferences were found based on religion. Mar- and (3) the belief that cryonic preservation and those signed up for cryonics. Further, a ried individuals were more concerned about would be too hard/weird for their family/ sizable portion may also greatly over-esti- family issues related to cryonics than were friends to handle. mate the cost of cryonics. This result indi- single individuals, but there was no differ- A number of cryonicists express strong cates that the affordability of cryonics ence in overall interest in cryonics between opinions in their subjective assessments of through life insurance policies is a message married and single individuals. Those with the public’s perception and attitude toward that may be failing to reach the general no more than a high school education were the idea of cryonics. Although the results of public. more uncomfortable thinking about death the current survey assist in clarifying some In the Attitudes Section, the average in general and more concerned with family aspects of the debate on this issue, several participant was moderately positive toward issues than those with more education. In- questions remain unresolved. Additional life extension and toward cryonics as a dividuals making more than $100K were surveys designed to replicate and extend means to that end. They were mildly agree- generally more favorably disposed toward the scope of the current study may provide able with the remaining statements associ- cryonics while those making from $25K - the beginnings of an empirical foundation ated with positive and optimistic attitudes $49K appeared to be the least favorably for guiding the efforts of firms offering toward the promise of future developments disposed income group. cryonic services. in anti-aging and other technological ad- vances. When given a chance to respond to CONCLUSIONS statements representing negative attitudes, results indicated that participants were most Keeping the aforementioned limitations ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS negative about the perceived cost of cryon- in mind, the data gathered points to a num- I would like to express my sincere appreciation ics. They also had mildly negative attitudes ber of tentative conclusions. It suggests to Brent Allsop for the time and programming exper- toward the idea of becoming alienated from that, for the most part, people are able to tise he voluntarily donated to this research project. I their family and friends as a result of sign- make reasonably good estimates of the cur- would also like to thank the many cryonicists who ing up and being frozen. Though it is often rent memberships and costs associated with provided feedback on the design of the survey. Spe- cial thanks goes out to and Brian cited as an important reason why people cryonics, although about one-fifth over-es- Shock. Much appreciation is also offered to those resist considering cryonics, participants timate these values by a factor of 10. Some involved in the peer review of this article. This article most strongly disagreed with the idea that will maintain that this tends to support those is reprinted from the Journal of Transhumanism, 1998, they are uncomfortable thinking about their who have contended that the cryonics in- Vol. 3. own mortality. dustry has received sufficient publicity and REFERENCES Survey participants indicated overall thus, more publicity will not significantly 1. Alcor Foundation, (1993). Cryonics: Reaching that the successful revival of a cryonically increase membership. Others might argue, For Tomorrow, 4th Ed., p.5. frozen human being would be the most per- by way of analogy, that there would be 2. http:\\www.cryonet.org suasive factor of those considered. The next great concern in the computer industry if 3. Kent, S. (1998). “The Failure of Cryonics,” Cry- most persuasive factor was lowered costs. one-fifth of the public believed that the onics, 19:3, p.8. Although many have suggested that mem- average computer was priced at $10,000. 4. Stevens, J. (1992). Applied Multivariate Statistics bership rates would likely increase if more The data also suggests, however, that pub- for the Social Sciences, 2nd Ed.

32 Cryonics • 1st Qtr, 1999 The Donaldson Perspective

Cryonics and Emergency Medicine

by Thomas Donaldson, Ph.D.

will begin with a simple statement: Yes, sion process itself. come to that decision in circumstances II do think that we’ll someday find means No, improving cryonics-style proce- which made their suspended animation just to revive most of those suspension patients dures to the point of reversible suspended as difficult as many cryonic suspensions to- frozen with current methods, now or in the animation will not alleviate all of our prob- day. past. Revival of patients suspended by fu- lems. How many people will decide, in full We will not have completed our re- ture methods will be even easier. However, health, that they want to enter suspended ani- search if we only go so far as reversible sus- all of human history suggests that revivals mation? They would be helpless for an un- pended animation. For emergency medicine will not occur within just a few years, and known length of time, and would arrive in we need much more: the equipment to per- they will certainly not occur at any one given an unknown world missing all of their form suspended animation must become time. If theoretical ideas tested only by com- friends and requiring their extensive re-edu- portable. Ideally, such equipment must al- puter need no revision, current scientific cation. Given these likelihoods, the choice low only one person to carry out a full pro- ideas about memory are close to correct, of suspended animation while healthy looks cedure. Facilities able to carry out suspended money for the required research becomes almost as irrational as the choice of cryonic animation must become easily accessible on available instantly, everybody cooperates, suspension in a similar condition*. (Yes, very short notice. And we’ll still have to no one stands up to oppose the changes, and some people would subject themselves to work out just how to deal with patients who no one insists on proof before we can pro- either one, but not many). have experienced cessation of breathing and ceed . . . then means to revive suspended Beyond the rationality of this choice, heartbeat many minutes before the sus- patients will arrive quite soon. there is the price tag. Few people would pended animation team arrives. Yes, if a Yet to assume that everything will go happily decide to spend in excess of $75,000 deanimation is expected, we might avoid so smoothly is simply to dream. To believe without prolonged deliberation. Certainly re- these difficulties, but not all deanimations that we might specify repair processes based versible suspended animation will be no less will be expected — ever. on nothing more than computer studies looks expensive than this, and so its cost will af- What this means is that even if 21st to me like the belief of a novice program- fect the circumstances under which some- Century Medicine succeeded in its basic aim mer; since he can easily write flawless one might choose it. Again, most people of perfecting reversible suspended anima- “Hello” programs, he assumes he can write would probably not submit to suspended ani- tion, cryonics organizations such as Alcor a million-line program totally without bugs. mation (or cryonic suspension) until near the would still be far from obsolete. Full sus- Then too, explicit reports of suspen- end of a terminal illness. pended animation might demand as much sions published by cryonics organizations Here we encounter our main problem: research to extend its practical application suggest that patients will not be revived by death does not follow a schedule. as was necessary to develop it in the first only a few repairs. We already know that Cryonicists die by accidents that occur thou- place. And we must never forget that we will such patients have experienced a wide range sands of miles from their cryonics society, inevitably find ourselves in situations where of conditions, from those whose brains alone they die suddenly in the apparent peak of the patient is so damaged or long deanimated were straight-frozen, to those suspended un- physical health, and they die all alone in their that suspended animation would not be fea- der the best conditions according to current private homes and apartments. Even in cases sible. We will always need some form of knowledge (which may be mistaken!). Re- for which their time of death is predicted, cryonic suspension as a safety net. pair must deal not with one kind of problem they may doubt that prediction, holding out but with many. We will not simultaneously until the very last minute. If we had true sus- solve every problem of reanimation, regard- pended animation, they might take this op- less even of how far we develop the suspen- tion before death, but they also might only

* It may still prove useful in special cases, such as the need to move someone from one hospital to another because the other hospital has devices the prior one lacked. Some uses will require further development, since the first versions of suspended animation will probably leave a revived suspendee needing time (and money) to recover. Once fully developed, we might see its use in space exploration. We might also see suspensions for economic or justice reasons: people choosing suspension until “revival” of the industry that employed them, or suspension as an alternative to jail.

1st Qtr, 1999 • Cryonics 33 Shock Treatments

Cryonics Family Values?

by Brian Shock

hom do you trust with your trust board members have relatives ial ferocity if there were any evi- Wlife? in suspension. Of course a cryonics dence whatsoever that suspension Most of us trust our families. organization owes respect and con- patients were at immediate risk. Of Why shouldn’t we? Family gave us sideration to the families of its pa- course, this has not been the case for life. In most cases, family provided tients — if only to maintain good several years (though our siege men- food, clothing, and shelter during our will and cooperation — but how did tality will no doubt drive us to reject formative years. Even as adults, a non-traditional movement like cry- evidence of peace). If we consider many of us can still look to our fami- onics develop such reverence for possible decades of patient storage lies for occasional aid, advice, and family connections? carried out in a relatively calm envi- comfort. Cryonics belongs to an extremely ronment, overactive defense be- But the family unit behaves ac- small social fringe. We as cryonicists comes initially embarrassing and, cording to a fairly rigid cultural and may find ourselves descending into eventually, counterproductive. biological program. Cryonicists in a “siege mentality,” coming to be- Even if we value the mindless particular know that the same fam- lieve that everyone outside our im- reactions of family defense instincts, ily members who nurtured them mediate group must stand against us why would we assume that they through life may very well expect and our cause. In the end, our in- might become active for the benefit them to embrace certain customs of stinctive need for safety and com- of cryonics patients? Again, in last death such as burial, decomposition, fort within the tiny tribe of quarter’s editorial I postulated that and nonexistence. In my editorial cryonicists reminds us (if uncon- humans might possess some instinc- from last quarter, I suggested that sciously) that family was our first tive sense of “death” in others. With technology had outstripped the evo- source of such safety and comfort. no heartbeat, breathing, or body lution of instincts, leaving us with Our instincts take us even fur- warmth, cryonics patients may ap- powerful but obsolete feelings about ther in this direction when we con- pear “simply dead” to the primitive “death.” Now I would like to sug- sider the archetypal family’s active parts of our brains, thereby deacti- gest something very similar about protection of its members. With tooth vating any defensive instincts. the evolution of culture, particularly and claw, mothers feel an instinc- Would a mother defend the child the culture of families. tive need to protect their children, she knew was “simply dead?” We I have encountered many within and husbands feel an instinctive need might like to believe so, but health the cryonics community who harbor to protect their wives. It’s quite easy considerations alone suggest that the a tacit belief that cryonicists with to imagine relatives of suspension death instinct probably also includes family relationships to cryonics pa- patients in violent confrontations, de- avoidance behaviors; in primitive tients must serve as the most reli- fending their frozen loved ones with situations, defending a corpse for too able custodians of such patients. A all the tenacity of Davy Crockett at long would have resulted in the ill- dramatic example of this belief is the Alamo. But how useful are these ness and probable death of the de- Alcor’s Patient Care Trust, which instincts? fender. currently requires that at least three Certainly we would value famil- Still, family members of suspen-

34 Cryonics • 1st Qtr, 1999 sion patients do experience very real, weeks, months, or years), but if they gators in his case? Of course not — very violent emotions at the death of retain any capacity for emotional over the years, professionals have their loved ones. As much as these balance, they inevitably lose any pro- learned that efficient performance of grieving individuals deserve sensi- found attachment to the patient. a task requires emotional detach- tive treatment, we must recognize The early history of cryonics is ment. Anxiety, rage, and grief have that grief is a well studied condition, choked with examples of this phe- no place in rational decision mak- not a mystical state that confers spe- nomenon. Patient after patient was ing, and individuals in situations that cial knowledge and abilities. suspended by the Cryonics Society evoke such feelings often have no Whatever role the irrationality of New York (CSNY) and the Cry- insight into how their judgment is of instinct may play in grief, people onics Society of California (CSC), affected. in the throes of this emotion are ob- with the expectation that relatives Emotionalism — the primary viously not rational. At least once a would pay for suspension mainte- case against relatives of suspension month (and usually two or three nance in perpetuity. When these rela- patients — looks worse still when times that) Alcor receives calls from tives recovered from their grief, how- you consider that 90% of all reported individuals who just lost a parent or ever, they either stopped paying or physical violence in the U.S. occurs spouse. Over the years we have ob- looked for ill-considered economic between family members. Your hus- served that grieving family mem- shortcuts. Though many would right- band, mother, son, etc. are far more bers will say or do almost anything fully blame Robert Nelson of CSC likely to injure or kill you than any — up to and including flat misrepre- for misleading some of these family random stranger (though our siege sentations of fact — to use cryonics members, most of his poor advice mentality will probably force us to as a means of dealing with their ini- revolved around impractical ways remain much warier of the random tial grief. More than once I have families could save themselves stranger). By that token alone, rela- asked such a caller, “Can you pay money, such as convincing the hus- tives are also far more likely to sabo- the $120,000 suspension minimum?” band of suspension patient Ann tage your suspension, even if they and received a reply that “money DeBlasio to move her dewar to a happen to have suspension arrange- was no problem”; further probing cemetery for personal care, or alleg- ments themselves. usually revealed that money didn’t edly offering the family of suspen- Cryonics patients may have to present a problem for these individu- sion patient Mildred Harris the op- remain safely suspended for hun- als because they had no interest in tion of an inadequate lump-sum for dreds of years. As much as we might paying for the service they de- perpetual storage (which Nelson still wish to romanticize the force of fa- manded! denies). milial emotion, maneuvering safely Even when last-minute suspen- Are the overly enthusiastic pio- through such vast amounts of time sion prospects seem to have suffi- neers of cryonics responsible for the requires foresight and emotional bal- cient funding, Alcor rarely accepts loss of almost all patients suspended ance. The extremes of emotion we them; it’s all too easy for us to imag- before 1972, or should we in part have valued in relatives of suspen- ine a family member recovering from look to the relatives who completed sion patients may actually strip them his grief, looking at this $120,000 the grieving process and went on of these vital characteristics and ren- expenditure with more rational eyes, with their lives? With that sort of der them the worst possible choices and then suing Alcor for taking ad- precedent, do we really want family for suspension patient custodians! vantage of his pain. This illustrates members retaining any responsibil- another important aspect of grief: ity for suspension patients today? it’s a process with a discrete begin- Finally, we come to the topic of ning, middle, and end. When an in- professionalism and emotional de- dividual grieves properly (as most tachment. How often is a surgeon do), he works through his emotional allowed to operate on his son or problems within a finite period and daughter? When does an attorney then stops grieving. Relatives of sus- act as defense counsel for her own pension patients may appear keenly husband? Do the police draft a mur- interested for this period (days, der victim’s children to play investi-

1st Qtr, 1999 • Cryonics 35 For The Record

Alcor’s Legal Battles

by R. Michael Perry, Ph.D.

had been frozen. The relatives (or before). Alcor also established either wanted the money that safeguards, financial and otherwise, had been set aside for suspen- to maintain patients even in adverse sion and weren’t interested in circumstances, such as when fund- keeping the patient frozen, ing problems developed. wanted someone else to as- The legal confrontations I’ll sume the expenses they had cover here mainly involve two Alcor been paying to maintain the patients, and Robert suspension, or (as in the Binkowski, frozen within months of Chatsworth incident) were su- each other in 1987 and 1988. These ing because somebody had not cases and their consequences cover 1. Make-believe confrontation. The been kept frozen. Ev Cooper the most important (though not the legal establishment vies with those came up with an early slogan only) legal battles directly or indi- who seek to benefit humankind for cryonics, “Freeze, wait, re- rectly involving Alcor. As is so of- through cryopreservation, in this animate.” But Curtis Hend- ten true in these columns, there is 1940 movie. erson, who had helped start enough material here to fill a good the first organization for real book or two; I’ll only be able to cience fiction may have presaged cryonic suspension (Cryonics Soci- skim some of the highlights. Slegal battles in cryonics even be- ety of New York, Aug. 1965), sug- fore the fact of cryonics itself. One gested that it should really be, example is the 1940 sci-fi flick, The “Freeze, wait, litigate.”2 Man With Nine Lives, in which there By the late 1980s, the le- was a spirited showdown between gal battlefield had shifted, al- the local sheriff and a Mad Scientist most adaptively, so that new (played appropriately by Boris kinds of confrontations were Karloff) who had developed revers- more prevalent. These skir- ible cryopreservation.1 Though cry- mishes primarly involved one onics history in years to come was organization, Alcor, which had almost as melodramatic as this, the been set up in large part to roles of protagonist and antagonist avoid the problems that went through considerable revision. plagued cryonics in the past. When the real cryonics move- Rather than ask relatives to pay ment started in the 1960s, real legal year by year for the mainte- 2. Real-life confrontation. Attorney confrontations were not far off. Gen- nance of suspensions, Alcor re- Christopher Ashworth pleads the case erally such confrontations involved quired the all funds as a lump for Dora Kent in Riverside Superior unhappy relatives of someone who sum at the time of deanimation Court, Feb. 1, 1988.

36 Cryonics • 1st Qtr, 1999 Dora Kent early January, 1988. The raid’s stated given after her decease (an effect goal was to seize the frozen head of that could also have resulted from The mother of long-time cryonics Dora Kent for autopsy, on grounds the metabolic support that cryonics activist Saul Kent was frozen in De- that it too must be tested to further patients are routinely given post- cember, 1987. In an effort to give clarify the cause and mode of death. mortem).5 Mrs. Kent the best suspension pos- (Such a damaging procedure would, The “murder” case would drag sible, Alcor personnel brought her of course, inflict irreparable harm on for years. It foundered, finally, to their organization’s facility, then and compromise the patient’s for lack of evidence. No charges were in Riverside, California, where she chances of reanimation.) Fortunately, ever filed. The physical evidence was deanimated with no physician the coroner’s contacts with the press hardly conclusive. Alcor personnel, present. (Her attending physician had given ample warning; prior to the only witnesses present at the sus- was called in and found the death the raid, Dora Kent was moved to pension, could also claim “transac- had occurred from natural causes.) another location. Despite the tional immunity.” This meant they From a technical point of view, the coroner’s failure, though, word of could not be prosecuted for each objective was achieved: Dora Kent’s this case spread far and wide.3 other’s testimony, a point upheld body washout and cryoprotective At first public opinion favored when the matter was pursued all the perfusion proceeded swiftly, and the coroner, but it soon swung to- way to the California Supreme Court within a few hours she was being ward the beleaguered cryonicists, by Alcor’s opponents.6 cooled to dry ice temperature (as a several of whom were detained in Meanwhile, the fortunes of Ray neuro-patient). The local coroner, handcuffs for several hours during Carrillo ground slowly downward as sensing that something out of the the raid, and who, after all, did not blunders in his administration be- ordinary had happened, became in- seem much like “criminals.” A sec- came public. In one case, a body terested. (This man, Ray Carrillo, ond raid, conducted a few days later, needed for criminal investigation was had recently gained notice for hav- resulted in seizure of much of Alcor’s cremated by mistake. In another, a ing ordered an autopsy of a promi- equipment, including computers. couple that performed freelance dis- nent Riverside County resident, Alcor meanwhile fought the autopsy sections for the coroner’s office left Liberace, establishing, against the order in court and won. On Feb. 1 a boxes of human body parts in their family’s wishes to conceal it, that local judge (1) found no evidence of garage when they moved to another the well-known entertainer had been foul play on Alcor’s part, and (2) house; when the house’s new own- an AIDS victim.) Alcor cooperated issued an order barring the coroner ers discovered these grisly leftovers, with the coroner’s request for Mrs. from autopsying Dora Kent or any the event made local news.7 Not sur- Kent’s headless remains, being al- other Alcor patient.4 prisingly, in 1990 Carrillo lost his lowed to retain the now-cooling head That might have ended the mat- bid for reelection. Not long after- to complete her cryonic suspension. ter, except that Coroner Carrillo was ward, the pathologist who helped An autopsy was conducted and a a “fighter.” Not one but at least three make the “finding” against Alcor death certificate issued, giving the separate legal challenges would be died of Creutzfeldt-Jacob’s disease mode of death as natural causes, sec- launched over this incident. The most (which he possibly contracted by onding the conclusion of Mrs. Kent’s serious was a murder claim: a re- handling infected human tissue dur- physician. vised death certificate proclaimed ing an autopsy), a brain disorder re- For a short while, the potential that Dora Kent was a victim of “ho- lated to bovine spongiform encepha- crisis seemed to have been averted. micide,” and that she had died of litis or “mad cow” disease. The However, soon afterward the coro- barbiturates deliberately adminis- coroner’s office relaxed its grip, tell- ner called a press conference and tered to “help” her deanimate, not of ing inquirers that it was no longer aired suspicions that “maybe she natural causes after all. According pursuing an investigation into the [Dora Kent] wasn’t dead after all” to a pathologist and others marshaled death of Dora Kent.8 Nevertheless, when the freezing process started. by the coroner’s office, Dora Kent the case remained on the books as a Matters took a new and menac- wasn’t dead when the suspension “homicide.” Ironically, this classifi- ing turn: the coroner’s office con- process had started because her body cation was actually to benefit Alcor ducted a raid of the Alcor facility in metabolized the drugs supposedly in other struggles.

1st Qtr, 1999 • Cryonics 37 3-4. Two Special Patients. The Suspensions of Dora Kent and Bob Binkowski provoked lengthy and costly legal confrontations which, however, ultimately strengthened Alcor and cryonics. The second legal challenge in the an angry Alcor staffer ejected a CMB the rolling rack, while new, had been Dora Kent saga was a claim by the official from the facility at gun- superseded by an even newer model, California Medical Board (earlier point.10 (True, this action was inap- allowing UCLA to sell it to Alcor as known as the Bureau of Medical propriate, and the staff member was obsolete equipment. (This investi- Quality Assurance) that Alcor per- promptly dismissed.) gation, by the way, was skillfully sonnel involved in the Kent suspen- Finally, there was the third and concluded by an Alcor member’s sion were guilty of “felony practice silliest legal attack, in which authori- detective work after officials had of medicine without a license.” The ties claimed that Alcor was guilty of waffled for many months and ac- physician who participated was “aid- grand theft of medical supplies and complished very little.) So the “theft” ing and abetting the practice of medi- equipment from UCLA. In fact, case collapsed too, and the whole cine without a license,” according to Alcor did have a lot of these items Dora Kent affair was finally laid to the CMB.9 One important issue was — all legitimately purchased, many rest.6,11,12,13 (Of course homicide cases whether the patient was dead or alive at UCLA’s surplus sales department. have no statute of limitations, and so when any “medicine” was practiced, In most cases, receipts existed to theoretically the Dora Kent file could something presumably the “murder” prove Alcor’s legal ownership. How- still be reactivated, though this seems investigation would settle. In any ever, both the materials and the re- highly unlikely. One hopes that the case, the CMB action was stopped ceipts were seized during the raids “homicide” finding will be revoked in its tracks by the ever-pending but on Alcor’s facility, complicating any by the time, assuming we are so for- dormant homicide case. Alcor per- attempt to prove how the goods were tunate, that Dora Kent herself is re- sonnel or associates could and did obtained. One particular item was a animated!) refuse to testify unless granted trans- large, stainless steel utility cart or There were two other repercus- actional immunity, which stymied “rolling rack,” which, authorities sions of the Dora Kent case that de- the CMB. No testimony was taken, said, could not have been purchased serve mention, additional legal con- and this case too was eventually as surplus because it was brand new frontations in which Alcor members abandoned after some bizarre harass- (and worth over $1,000)! Eventu- received some compensation from ment, including an incident in which ally an investigation determined that the harassing bureaucrats. A false

38 Cryonics • 1st Qtr, 1999 arrest suit was filed against the Robert Binkowski seems to have taken its cue from the coroner’s office shortly after the first coroner’s harassment over Dora raid. The eventual out-of-court settle- This suspension occurred in Kent.6) In this incident, several ne- ment, finalized in the summer of May, 1988. It was the next one at glected patients of a badly managed 1991, awarded $90,000 for the sev- Alcor after Dora Kent, and also cryonics operation had thawed out eral hours that 6 Alcor personnel Alcor’s first whole body suspension. and decomposed, leaving a legacy had spent handcuffed that day at the Binkowski, a Florida resident, died of distrust and revulsion for cryon- Riverside Police Station.14 (As a of a heart attack in his home, at- ics among officials who were called party to this incident, I should men- tended by his family. After some in to investigate.18 The PHS memo tion that generally the police depart- negotiations with generally coopera- denied that cryonics organizations ment was sympathetic to Alcor’s tive local officials, his ice-packed were authorized to receive anatomi- plight, though constrained by an of- body was flown cross-country to the cal donations under the Scientific ficial request to cooperate.15) The Alcor facility to be frozen. Thus there Use provision of the Uniform Ana- second Dora Kent spin-off case in- was no question of his being legally tomical Gift Act. Mitchell echoed volved the seizure of computers at dead at the time of suspension. The this denial, noting that no organiza- Alcor during the second raid in Janu- suspension went off as planned, and tion had a license to practice cryon- ary, 1988. The Alcor Bulletin Board matters after that should have been ics, whether for scientific or other Service (BBS) was disabled by this routine. purposes. (On the other hand, there action, and electronic correspon- They weren’t. The California was no way an organization could dence confiscated. This, it turned out, Public Health Service objected to obtain such a license — it didn’t violated a federal law protecting the this suspension, claiming that Alcor exist.) privacy and privilege of e-mail ser- (and by implication, any cryonics Though Mitchell advised that vices. The case involving 15 Alcor organization in California) lacked au- Alcor be “reported” for investiga- members was also settled out of court thority to do what it was doing. David tion and prosecution as appropriate,” in their favor, for a total of Mitchell, chief of the Office of Reg- the actual prosecution was put on $30,000.14,16 istrar that oversaw the PHS, rumbled hold pending the homicide investi- that, “Existing California stat- gation.17 Alcor’s suspensions con- utes provide no basis to autho- tinued unhindered, though the dis- rize cryonic facilities to store posal permits required for storing human remains. Therefore, if whole bodies were unobtainable. (No the Alcor Foundation has any such permits were required for head- bodies or body parts stored in only cases, which could be treated the facility, the foundation is as tissue samples.) guilty of a misdemeanor ... and The hold-up in prosecution gave should be reported to the local some breathing room for Alcor to district attorney for investiga- strike back. In August, 1988, termi- tion and prosecution as appro- nally ill Alcor member Dick Jones priate.”17 filed suit against Mitchell and Ken- Why was there such a heavy- neth Kizer, head of the PHS. (Jones, handed response, when cryon- a well-known TV script writer and ics organizations had been op- producer who had won several erating in California for so Emmy awards, used the name John many years? Apparently this Roe in this suit to remain incognito.) was not a backlash from the The suit claimed the legal right to Dora Kent case, but instead the choose cryonics irrespective of “ex- 5. Superior Court Judge Aurelio Muñoz, result of a memo issued by the isting California statutes,” which, who handed down a favorable ruling PHS in 1980, relating to the while not endorsing the practice, did in the Mitchell case, graces the cover Chatsworth disaster. (The style not forbid it either.18 A ruling favor- of the Nov. 1990 Cryonics. of the PHS response, though, able to Jones and Alcor was obtained

1st Qtr, 1999 • Cryonics 39 onics Mar. 1988 6-7. 6. Mondragon, C. “A New Era Be- gins,” Cryonics Jan. 1993 10-15. 7. Darwin, M. “Keystone Coroners,” Cryonics Oct. 1988 8-16. 8. Darwin, M. “Whatever Happened to the Riverside Coroner?” Cryon- ics Dec. 1990 3-5. 9. “Legal Update,” Cryonics Oct. 1989 7-8. 10. “More Trouble at Alcor,” Cry- onics May 1991 21-22. 11. Cryonics Jan. 1988 7. 12. “UCLA ‘Stolen’ Property Inves- tigation: Home Again!” Cryonics May 1988 1. 13. “The D.A.’s Alcor Stocking Stuffer,” Cryonics Jan. 1991 2-3. 14. Cryonics Jan. 1988 5. 6. “Grand Theft.” The famous rolling rack “stolen” from 15. Cryonics Jan. 1988 21 (from UCLA is still in use at Alcor. Darwin, M. “The Past, Present and in October, 1990 (nearly two years — if misguided — opposition. Fun- Future”). after Jones was suspended).19 The damental rights were upheld, includ- 16. Henson, K. “They Haven’t Got a State appealed; the ruling was up- ing the right to choose cryonic sus- Clue—The Government and High held at the appellate level in June, pension itself. The seriousness of the Tech,” Cryonics Jan. 1992 5. 1992,20 and not appealed further.6 commitment to patients in suspen- 17. Babwin, D. “AIDS Victim Sues So after years of delay and resis- sion, whom we hope to recover alive State to Allow Freezing of Body,” tance, the disposal permits for someday, was well demonstrated. Riverside, CA Press-Enterprise Sep. Alcor’s growing total of whole-body Cryonics gained a new, more posi- 1, 1988 B-1-2, reprinted in Cryonics suspensions were finally obtained, tive image, with its legality now Sep. 1988 5 and facing 6. and other cryonics organizations in firmly established. 18. “Alcor Files Suit against the Cali- the state were similarly benefited. fornia Public Health Service,” Cry- Alcor’s legal battles cost hun- onics Sep. 1988 4-5. dreds of thousands of dollars, most 19. Mondragón, C. “A Stunning Le- of which were never compensated. gal Victory for Alcor,” Cryonics One of the staunchest and ablest sup- REFERENCES Nov. 1990 3-7. porters of Alcor and cryonics, Jerry 20. “Mitchell v. Roe Decision,” Cry- Leaf, lost his researcher’s job of long 1. Harris, S. “The Man With Nine onics Jul. 1992 17-18. standing at UCLA over the Dora Lives” (movie review) Cryonics Feb. 21. Perry, M. “,” The Alcor Kent incident.21 It’s very possible 1989 28-42. Phoenix Aug.-Sep. 1998 13-15. the stresses contributed to his own 2. Henderson, C. private communi- I also thank Hugh Hixon for consul- untimely death and suspension, at cation about 1987. tation while writing this article. the age of 50, in 1991. Aside from 3. Much of this is recounted in the these negatives (and the unhappy Jan. 1988 Cryonics. Picture credits: 1. Favorite Films experiences of others during the bit- 4. Cryonics Feb. 1988 2-3. Corp. 2. (Based on) Miller, K. Riv- ter struggles), I think both Alcor and 5. Babwin, D. “Coroner says lethal erside Press-Enterprise Feb. 2, 1988 cryonics gained tremendously. dose of drugs killed cryonics case fig- B-1. 3-6. Alcor Foundation. Cryonicists proved they could fight ure,” Riverside Press-Enterprise 24 and win against far more powerful Feb. 1988 A1, A4, reprinted in Cry-

40 Cryonics • 1st Qtr, 1999 Alcor Member Profile

Louise Murray

Profile Editor: Russell Cheney

Date joined Alcor: 8/98.

Place of birth: Dallas, TX.

City and state of current residence: LA, CA.

Date of birth: 1/22/56.

Occupation: Financial analyst.

Marital status: Legally separated.

Children: Dallas, a 20-lb super-sweet Maine Coon (only native North-American domestic cat), and Hanson, a ma- jestic graceful orange long-haired Persian (the breed of the king’s courts).

Educational background: A.S., Criminal Justice; B.S., Accounting, Southern Methodist Uni- versity, Dallas, TX.

Height / Weight: 5’ 5”, 114.

Best feature: Mental: Curiosity; Physical: Legs. My curiosity helps me decipher peoples’ psychological motivations. My strong legs enable me to enjoy and excel in my favorite sport: running.

Favorite author: Ayn Rand, because of her wonderful writing on the rationale for living, the importance of the individual, and the importance of being fulfilled with one’s work.

Favorite book: Atlas Shrugged.

Book you are currently reading: Sperm Wars, on the evolutionary/biological basis of social and individual sexual behavior.

Favorite non-cryonics magazine: Runners’ World.

1st Qtr, 1999 • Cryonics 41 Favorite movie: “Say Anything.”

Favorite artist: The prolific painter Jose Capuletti.

Hobbies: Running, hiking, concerts (classical and rock & roll), reading.

Make of car you drive: Chevy Cavalier.

Make of car you’d like to drive: Chevy Corvette.

Greatest adventure: 18-hour technical climb of Longs Peak, northern Colorado, Rocky Mountain National Park. Gorgeous country. I was reaching beyond.

Favorite vacation destination: Paris.

Political affiliation: Libertarian. I ran for Texas State senate. I’m considering running in CA.

Religion: Atheist.

Most-prized possession: The memories associated with the reasons for a very special gift: my Rolex watch.

Most-prized possession you’ve arranged to have upon reanimation: I will treasure rejoining my cryonics friends.

Personal hero: Nathaniel Branden, author of The Six Pillars of Self Esteem, and a number of other books relating self esteem to the psychology of romantic love and other feel- ings.

Favorite famous quote: “Take what you want, says god, and pay for it.” This can be inter- preted as, “Be careful what you ask for — you may get it.”

Personal philosophy: To love and work wisely, and enjoy every single day of living.

Short-term goal: To obtain CA CPA (Certified Public Accountant) license. This will require nine more months at my current position.

Long-term goal: First, to have sufficient assets to fund my cryonic suspension using personal financial resources, rather than insurance. Second, to be mentally and physically very active throughout this life.

Immediate goal upon reanimation: Check and see if I can still run.

42 Cryonics • 1st Qtr, 1999 Longer-term goals after reanimation: With enhanced physical and mental abilities, acquire artistic skills, including singing, paint- ing, photography and ice skating.

Achievements for which you are most proud: Successfully passing the CPA exam, winning three races (Dallas 10K & 20K, and German 10K), and the completion of 25 marathons.

Pet peeve: People who are afraid to trust in love.

Greatest fear: Reanimation as a conscious guinea pig.

Happiest memory: Finishing first in my age division at Fort Worth Cowtown Marathon. Not expecting to place, I’d gone home. I was contacted at home later that day, and given a separate per- sonal award-ceremony by race management the following day.

Secret ambition/fantasy: Become famous rock and ballad singer/ dancer a la Janet Jackson.

First choice to share your dewar: Nathaniel Branden.

First became interested in life extension: Via Extropians.

Most effective things you do to promote your own longevity (other than being an Alcor member): Regu- lar running, healthy eating.

Least: Not having achieved personal financial strength (yet).

Biggest surprise since becoming a member: How positively most people react to my being a cryonicist and my reasons for this life decision.

Cryonics idol and why: James Halperin, an excellent writer on future possibilities, savvy businessman, devoted family-man, open hearted.

Why you are a cryonicist: Want to live to have a variety of experiences, vocations, part- ners, living places.

Advice you have for other cryonicists: Make the most of this life. Keep your body and mind in good order; don’t use cryonics as an excuse not to live and love during this lifespan.

1st Qtr, 1999 • Cryonics 43 Review: fiction

Nanotime by Bart Kosko Avon Books, New York, 1997

Reviewed by Brian Shock

et’s get our “Relevance Miscellaneous Observations: rage-filled bundle of energy who yearns LScorecard” out of the way imme- 1) Although Nanotime has a human pro- for freedom in a surveillance-intensive diately. tagonist, the “main character” is really society. Since the typical first-time nov- Kosko’s future history. With impres- elist tends to draw heavily on his own Cryonics: ~3% (I picked out a few sively broad knowledge and insight, personality for portraying a protago- weak references; what the heck, Kosko’s Kosko extrapolates realistic events, nist, I wonder . . . a cryonicist) trends, and technologies, from nuclear Future Speculation: ~90% terrorist attacks, to the imminent ex- b) Another common trope for the haustion of world oil supplies, to inex- science fiction beginner is to plaster Life Extension: ~30% (uploading was pensive artificially intelligent missiles. intervening chapters with lists of “fu- a major theme) You may not like the landscape of this ture current events.” Sometimes this Nanotechnology: ?% (I stumbled future, but you’ll probably believe it. helps to fill difficult expository gaps, across technologies that seem to require and sometimes it reads as though the Drexlerian Nanotechnology, but I could 2) Technophiles will happily wallow in author wants to justify his logical leaps discern little or no explicit reference to this novel’s fluency of cyberpunk with footnotes. the field itself) “bafflegab.” You’ll find no “bol- ognium” or “unobtainium” here; Bart c) Although Kosko employs the le- Synopsis: Kosko is at least as accomplished a gitimate technique of switching view- In 2030, young polymath scientist scientist as “John Grant,” and never al- point characters between chapters, many John Grant develops a “smart molecule” lows the reader to forget that fact. story threads for these characters meet which can split water into oxygen and only in a very indirect fashion. This hydrogen. This, in conjunction with 3) The title “Nanotime” does not mean feels like padding. his work for the Israelis, sets him at “time for nanotechnology,” but refers odds with Sufi mathematician/terrorist to uploaded individuals’ speed of d) Forgive the minor quibble, but Hamid Tabriz. After Tabriz converts thought: nanoseconds. Grant’s AI buddy sports an annoyingly Grant’s fiancee into a murderous com- adolescent nickname: “JiSM,” for John puterized zombie (her brain replaced 4) Nanotime’s scope and pace? Think Steward Mill. Perhaps John Grant is an with a microchip, onto which Tabriz of Tom Clancy on methamphetamine. annoyingly adolescent character, but re- may or may not have uploaded her per- alism should never become an excuse sonality), Grant runs to his Israeli al- 5) Halfway through Nanotime, Kosko for less-than-optimal fiction. lies. Israeli Intelligence promptly re- writes one of the most wonderfully dis- places Grant’s brain with a chip (onto turbing scenes of mind-uploading since Conclusion: which his personality has graciously Rudy Rucker’s novel Software. Enjoy! If you’re searching for comforting been uploaded), in order to use him as stories of a gentle, pastel-colored fu- an agent against Tabriz. The inevitable 6) As a newcomer to fiction, Kosko ture, search somewhere else. If you confrontation between Grant and Tabriz demonstrates a few minor weaknesses: want a ruthless flash of things to come, occurs, with World War III as a back- you may be in luck. drop. a) We never come to know John Grant well. He’s a brilliant, egocentric,

44 Cryonics • 1st Qtr, 1999 Review: Nonfiction

Carpenter’s Human Neuroanatomy by Andre Parent 9th Edition, 1996, ISBN 0-683-06752-4

Reviewed by Thomas Donaldson, PhD

am reviewing this book not be- knowledge is important both for test- tailed physical structure of our brains Icause it should be read and owned ing the result of a new suspension as well. I can hardly do justice to it by every cryonicist, but because it method and for repair of those pre- in a short review. As a very short gives the best discussion I know of viously suspended. For example, the taste of its depth, I will discuss our the neural anatomy of human beings, presence of particular biochemicals cerebral cortex, that part of the brain both for our brain and our peripheral in a neural fragment will identify it which holds many of our memories nerves. I am reviewing a library quite definitely as belonging to a par- (our cerebellum may hold memories, copy, of which 2 exist in Australia. I ticular type of neuron, each of which too, but there isn’t room here to dis- plan to buy it for myself (the price has its own form and character. Such cuss that now). Chapter 20* begins quoted comes to about $85.00 US), information might be useful for sort- with a discussion of the different mainly because I’ve been intensively ing and reassociating the cell frag- kinds of neuron in our cortex: pyra- involved in writing about this sub- ments found in frozen tissue. midal cells and granule cells (which ject. It isn’t a book to be read straight Nanotechnology alone will not use glutamate or aspartate for their through, but rather a valuable refer- be sufficient for repairing cryonics transmitter), and a list of the differ- ence as to the state of our knowledge patients — before anything else, we ent inhibitory neurons (generally of brain structure and function in will need to know the original struc- called interneurons). Axons from 1996, when it was published. (The tures of tissue we wish to repair. Neu- other brain areas, using acetylcho- first edition was written in 1948, by ral anatomy, especially neural chemi- line, dopamine, serotonin, and other Carpenter.) If you are interested in cal anatomy, will give these to us. neurotransmitters also connect with neuroanatomy, try to get your local Freezing (even without cryo- our cortical neurons. (Interesting university library to buy this book. protectant) damages relatively few fact: synapses of different kinds have You might also combine with other molecules; most freezing damage different forms, depending on the cryonicists to donate a copy to a lo- involves the disruption of molecular neurotransmitter they use.) The book cal university library. arrangements of cells, synapses, discusses both location and form of Why is brain neuroanatomy so axons, dendrites. To repair such dam- these axons from outside the cortex. important to us as cryonicists? If we age, we want to restore that original Our cortical neurons occur in 6 are to do any worthwhile thinking at arrangement. Although some kinds different layers, with different forms all about how to repair brains dam- of nanotechnology may give us ways for each kind. (The layers have aged by the freezing process, we need of working out post-damage arrange- names, but often are referred to sim- to understand their original state. ment, only a thorough knowledge of ply with Roman numerals. “I” is the This book distinguishes itself by original structures will allow accu- layer on the outside of our brain, “VI” close attention not just to the detailed rate restoration. the innermost layer. anatomy of our brains, but to the bio- Carpenter’s Human Neu- Pyramidal neurons will have dif- chemical anatomy too: the distribu- roanatomy is very rich in detail of ferent sizes and connectivity at each tion of various chemicals and chemi- all kinds, not just distributions of dif- layer. The frequency of other kinds cal markers within our brains. This ferent biochemicals but in the de- of neuron varies with the layer in a

1st Qtr, 1999 • Cryonics 45 characteristic manner. Our cortex area. The book again discusses these knowledge about the structure and generally also has a “vertical” struc- differences in detail. It also details chemical distribution of the human ture of pyramids, perpendicular to the the different brain areas involved brain continues to increase. layers. This structure contains neu- with our senses, and finally with our Carpenter’s Human Neuroanatomy, rons of all the different cortical types, prefrontal cortex (where, very primi- ninth edition will become outmoded, with a great deal of internal connec- tively put, we do our “thinking”). as did the previous eight versions. tion and a certain amount of linkage Naturally all these areas connect with Yet it still gives in book form what to other such pyramids. Moreover, one another, usually with indirect was known on all these questions in the thickness of the layers, the exact connections which pass through our 1996. We can hope that Parent or proportions and form of the differ- thalamus. someone else continues to update this ent neurons in each layer, and the Anyone who wants to think seri- book into the future. vertical pyramidal structures vary ously about reviving brains should depending on the particular brain at least have access to this book. Our

* For those totally unfamiliar with brain anatomy, here are some facts and definitions: Axons send impulses. Dendrites receive them. Neurons will only conduct impulses received, either at synapses or (more rarely) at gap junctions, from their dendrites through their axons. Neurons have a widely varying number of connections with other neurons, from over 100,000 down to as few as 6,000. Chemicals transmitting such impulses are generally released at synapses, which have two sides, the sending side on an axon branch of the sending neuron and the receiving side on a dendrite. Synapses have different forms. They can also either exist on the neuron cell surface or else on a projection of it (a dendritic spine). Electrical impulses can pass through gap junctions, but generally the electrical impulse occurs during conduction through the axon of an individual neuron. Such axons may be orders of magnitude longer than the neuron cell body itself. Show Your Support -- Wear Our Symbol! T-Shirts $10.00 each

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