2007 RECAP 1st Quarter 2008 • Volume 29:1 2007 ANnual Review page 5 Member Profile: Wes Du Charme page 3 7th Alcor Conference Recap page 13 Cryonics and Religion: Friends or Foes? page 19 INSIDE CRYONICS 2 From the Editor 1ST QUARTER 2008 • VOLUME 29:1 19 Cryonics and Religion: Friends or Foes? The cryonics community recognizes the importance and challenge of being 1st Quarter 2008 • Volume 29:1 understood by the general 2007 RECAP public. Religion plays a sub- Cover shows opening reception stantial role in our diverse at the 7th Alcor conference. 2007 ANnual society and may seem to Review Photo by Brian Harris. page 5 some to be at odds with many facets of scientific COVER STORY: PAGE 5 advancement. Meet one theologian who feels the 2007 Annual Review: Today, over ultimate success of cryonics 850page people 3 in the world rely on the is contingent upon the sup- Member Profile: Wes Du CharmeAlcor Life Extension Foundation for Recap port of more than just great Conferencecryopreservation page 13 services. Enrich your 7th Alcor scientific minds. understanding of present-day clinical advancements with the potential to CryonicsFriends and Religion: or Foes?page 19 significantly benefit Alcor’s growing 22 Book Review: Ending membership base in years to come. Aging Likened to a good detective novel, Ending Aging allures the reader into a real- life tale of the mysteries of aging. The author, Dr. 3 Member Profile: Wes Du Charme Aubrey de Grey, has been Wes Du Charme – psychologist, author and barber shop quartet the center of controversy singer – celebrates his thirteenth year as an Alcor member in since proposing a systematic June 2008. An active retiree, his interests are varied as he path for scientifically revers- strives to live a happy, healthy lifestyle. Find out if you have ing aging. Some dismiss his anything in common. ideas as simply flawed. But is a “first design” expected to be perfect? 13 7th Alcor Conference Recap Miss the 7th Alcor 23 Tech News Conference held in What do 100 billion neurons October 2007? One of and memory have in com- the attendees, Richard mon? Could calorie-restric- tion practitioners soon get Leis, Jr., shares his candid the same life extension ben- commentary on a host of efit from a pill? Is there a rousing presentations, miracle gene that prevents including a former Alcor president, a world-renowned stem cell cancer and slows aging? researcher, a life extension expert and many others. Find out in this issue of Tech News. www.alcor.org Cryonics/First Quarter 2008 1 FROM THE EDITOR n this issue of Cr yonics magazine, an accounting of Dr. Ravin Jain was Ithe Alcor Foundation’s standing and present-day welcomed to the Alcor Board operational challenges and achievements is offered in Editor of Directors in November. our 2007 Annual Review. The past year’s efforts have Jennifer Chapman been concentrated upon transitioning Alcor into an organization capable of a higher quality of clinical Art Director care for a growing membership. This can be a diffi- Jill Grasse cult balance when coupled with maintaining the day- in and day-out needs of the organization, and our Contributing Writers work is far from over. The comprehensive annual Jennifer Chapman report (pg. 5) explains how our members stand to Chana de Wolf benefit from the master vision driving Alcor’s present Richard Leis, Jr. activities, with our heavy emphasis on expediting the Calvin Mercer, Ph.D. application of cold to our patients. The Alcor man- R. Michael Perry, Ph.D. agement team invites you to carefully read the report and submit thoughtful comments. Contributing Photographers Dr. Ravin Jain is a neu- Alongside the annual review is a recap of the 7th Brian Harris Alcor conference (pg. 13) as written by one of the 130 rologist practicing in the Los Tanya Jones attendees. He is now a proud member of the Alcor Angeles area and also serves ________________________________ Foundation, but he sat amongst the nearly 50 percent as Assistant Clinical Professor of “potential members” in the audience last October. of Neurology at the UCLA Copyright 2008 I hope you enjoy his candid commentary. School of Medicine. He by Alcor Life Extension Foundation The conference delved into some challenging attended Northwestern All rights reserved. topics. Among them was a talk titled “Cryonics and Reproduction, in whole or part, without University, where he graduat- Religion: Friends or Foes?” (pg. 19), which reflected permission is prohibited. ed Phi Beta Kappa with a on opening the channels of communication for the double major in geology and betterment of all. Another important channel of Cr yonics Magazine is published quarterly. integrated sciences. He communication exists between Alcor leaders and the received his M.D. from Baylor organization’s members. To that end, a panel of To subscribe: call 480.905.1906 x101 College of Medicine. He has board members addressed questions from the audi- ________________________________ ence during the conference. I invite you to watch the been a member of Alcor exchange by ordering your copy of the 7th Alcor con- since 1989 and a member of Address correspondence to: ference DVD set for a special price today (see inside the Alcor Medical Advisory Cr yonics Magazine front cover). Board since 1999. 7895 East Acoma Drive, Suite 110 Scottsdale, Arizona 85260 Phone: 480.905.1906 Toll free: 877.462.5267 Fax: 480.922.9027 Letters to the Editor welcome: [email protected] Advertising inquiries: 480.905.1906 x113 [email protected] ISSN: 1054-4305 Visit us on the web at www.alcor.org Alcor News Blog www.alcornews.org/weblog Membership data as of April 30, 2008 2 Cryonics/First Quarter 2008 www.alcor.org Member Profile: Wes Du Charme By Chana de Wolf es Du Charme dedicated his early life and six months devoted to writing, Wes pub- Wto understanding how people work lished a book in 1995 called Becoming Immortal: together. After obtaining a Ph.D. in Nanotechnology, You, and the Demise of Death Experimental Psychology from the University about nanotechnology-driven possibilities for of Michigan in 1969 he entered the field of extending life and resuscitating cryonics industrial and organizational (I/O) psycholo- patients. Motivated by his desire to live a long gy, which seeks to influence productivity and life and see the future and to obtain credibili- satisfaction in the workplace by utilizing psy- ty as the author of a book about cryonics, chological theories and research methods. It Wes joined the cryonics experiment as an was with the logical mindset required of such Alcor member that same year. an occupation that Wes first read K. Eric I/O psychologists are by definition inter- Drexler’s book, Engines of Creation, in 1990. ested in organizational or group behavior, and Though he had heard of cryonics before, he Wes’s concerns about the future of cryonics had never seriously considered it for more leave no question that he is intensely interest- than a few moments. Confronted with ed in the underlying psychological issues sur- Drexler’s evidence for the inevitability of rounding the subject. He wonders, why do human manipulation of matter at the molec- some see so clearly, and thus feel so passion- ular scale, Wes recalls that, “suddenly, cryon- ately, the need for cryonics while others so ics made sense.” easily dismiss it? Worse still, why do so few And suddenly, Wes was on a mission. As people accept rational arguments in favor of a researcher and writer who had “always been cryonics? “Obviously,” Wes declares, “we interested in what the future will hold,” Wes would all be safer if cryonics were more pop- embarked on a quest to inform himself and ular. We are all more at risk because the idea is others of the possibilities for dramatically not well known and is not well accepted. extended lifespan. After extensive investiga- There are many ways things can go astray tion into both nanotechnology and cryonics, even in the best of circumstances.” Wes jokingly regards the cold Idaho winters as a cryonics training program. Wes with his wife, Ida, who is also an Alcor member. www.alcor.org Cryonics/First Quarter 2008 3 The answer to this problem: member- ship growth. “I think significantly increasing our membership is the key to almost every- thing else. More members would translate into more dollars, which would allow us to develop along many fronts including publici- ty, marketing, lobbying, and research. Now, if I only knew how to increase membership….” By his own admission, his efforts at recruiting more Alcor members, even after having written a book on the subject, have been less than stellar. “I was already married by the time I first learned about cryonics, and my wife became interested through me.” Unfortunately, other than his wife Ida, none of his friends or family have become mem- bers, keeping a safe distance in the camp of the “generally supportive.” Wes feels that Alcor should devote more of its energy and Wes sharing time with his mother and wife. resources toward marketing to encourage growth because “a larger organization has more clout, more resources, and more Perhaps his most ambitious pastime over lifestyle might add significantly more than options for its members.” the past three years has been running a web- just a few months or years to my lifespan.” By Now retired from his job in academia, site designed to help other retirees find inter- doing what he can to extend healthy lifespan his leisure activities include reading, keeping esting new leisure activities. The site uses now, Wes hopes to take advantage of medical up with nanotechnological developments, questionnaire/profile matching to direct cus- advances that will significantly improve that and playing tennis several times a week.