Technicians prepare a patient for cryopreservation.

Cryonics is the low-temperature preservation of humans and other animals that can no longer be sustained by contemporary medicine until resuscitation may be possible in the future. Human cryopreservation is not currently reversible. In the United States, cryonics can only be legally performed on humans after pronounced legally dead. The rationale for cryonics is that the process may be reversible in the future if performed soon enough, and that cryopreserved people are not dead by the modern information-theoretic definition of death.^[1] Cryonics is derived from the Greek word κρύος (kryos), meaning cold.^[2] Cryogenics is a branch of physics (or engineering) that studies the production of very low temperatures (below –150 °C, –238 °F or 123 K) and the behavior of materials at those temperatures. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Look up preservation in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is about modern humans. ... The word Animals when used alone has several possible meanings in the English language. ... For the chemical substances known as medicines, see medication. ... For other meanings of CPR, see CPR (disambiguation). ... Cryopreservation of plant shoots. ... This article is about law in society. ... A reversible process (or reversible cycle if the process is cyclic) , in thermodynamics, is a process that can be reversed by means of infinitesimal changes in some property of the system (Sears and Salinger, 1986). ... Information-theoretic death is the destruction of the human brain, and information within it, to such an extent that recovery of the original mind and person that occupied the brain is theoretically impossible. ...

Premises of cryonics

The central premise of cryonics is that memory, personality, and identity are stored in cellular structures and chemistry, principally in the brain. (Neuropreservation relies entirely on the brain, while "whole body" preservation addresses the possibility that some attributes, such as muscle memory, might reside at least partially elsewhere in the body.) While this view is widely accepted in medicine, and brain activity is known to stop and later resume under certain conditions, it is not generally accepted that current methods preserve the brain well enough to permit revival in the future. Cryonics advocates point to studies showing that high concentrations of cryoprotectant circulated through the brain before cooling can largely prevent freezing injury, preserving the fine cell structures of the brain in which memory and identity presumably reside.^[3] For other uses, see Memory (disambiguation). ... In philosophy, the issue of personal identity concerns many numbers of loosely related issues, in particular persistence, change, time, and sameness. ... For other uses, see Brain (disambiguation). ... Neuropreservation is cryopreservation of the human brain with the intention of future resuscitation and regrowth of a healthy body around the brain. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Procedural memory. ... A cryoprotectant is a substance that is used to protect biological tissue from freezing damage (damage due to ice formation). ... Drawing of the structure of cork as it appeared under the microscope to Robert Hooke from Micrographia which is the origin of the word cell being used to describe the smallest unit of a living organism Cells in culture, stained for keratin (red) and DNA (green) The cell is the... In philosophy, the issue of personal identity concerns many numbers of loosely related issues, in particular persistence, change, time, and sameness. ...

To its detractors, the justification for the actual practice of cryonics is unclear, given present limitations of preservation technology. Currently cells, tissues, blood vessels, and some small animal organs can be reversibly cryopreserved. Some frogs can survive for a few months in a partially frozen state a few degrees below freezing, but this is not true cryopreservation. Cryonics advocates counter that demonstrably reversible preservation is not necessary to achieve the present-day goal of cryonics, which is preservation of basic brain information that encodes memory and personal identity. Preservation of this information is said to be sufficient to prevent information theoretical death until future repairs might be possible. Cryopreservation of plant shoots. ... Distribution of frogs (in black) Suborders Archaeobatrachia Mesobatrachia Neobatrachia - List of Anuran families The frogness babe is an amphibian in the order Anura (meaning tail-less from Greek an-, without + oura, tail), formerly referred to as Salientia (Latin saltare, to jump). ... Information-theoretic death is the destruction of the human brain, and information within it, to such an extent that recovery of the original mind and person that occupied the brain is theoretically impossible. ...

Obstacles to success

Preservation injury

Long-term cryopreservation requires cooling to near −196 °C (−321 °F), the boiling point of liquid nitrogen. Cooling whole people to this temperature causes injuries that are not reversible with present technology. The common belief that water freezes inside cells causing them to burst is a myth,^[4] but damage from freezing can still be serious. When untreated tissue is slowly cooled below the freezing point of water, ice forms between cells, causing mechanical and chemical damage. Cryonics uses cryoprotectants to reduce this damage. Cryoprotectant solutions are circulated through blood vessels to remove and replace water inside cells with chemicals that prevent freezing. This can reduce damage greatly,^[5] but not enough for whole people to recover spontaneously from cryopreservation. When used at high concentrations, cryoprotectants stop ice formation completely. Cooling and solidification without freezing is called vitrification.^[6] The first cryoprotectant solutions able to vitrify at very slow cooling rates while still being compatible with tissue survival were developed in the late 1990s by cryobiologists Gregory Fahy and Brian Wowk for the purpose of banking transplantable organs.^[7] These solutions were adopted for use in cryonics by the Alcor Life Extension Foundation, for which they are believed to permit vitrification of some parts of the human body, especially the brain.^[8] This has allowed animal brains to be vitrified, warmed back up, and examined for ice damage using light and electron microscopy. No ice crystal damage was found.^[9][10][11] The Cryonics Institute also uses a vitrification solution developed by their staff cryobiologist, Dr. Yuri Pichugin, applying it principally to the brain.^[12] For other uses, see Celsius (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Fahrenheit (disambiguation). ... Italic text This article is about the boiling point of liquids. ... A tank of liquid nitrogen, used to supply a cryogenic freezer (for storing laboratory samples at a temperature of about -150 Celsius). ... Biological tissue is a group of cells that perform a similar function. ... The melting point of a solid is the temperature range at which it changes state from solid to liquid. ... A cryoprotectant is a substance that is used to protect biological tissue from freezing damage (damage due to ice formation). ... A vitrification experiment for the study of nuclear waste disposal at Pacific Northwest National Labs Vitrification is a process of converting a material into a glass-like amorphous solid which is free of any crystalline structure, either by the quick removal or addition of heat, or by mixing with an... Cryobiology is the study of living organisms, organs, biological tissues or biological cells at low temperatures. ... Gregory M. Fahy, Ph. ... Brian Wowk, Ph. ... This bigfoot Dewar is custom-designed to contain four wholebody patients and six neuropatients immersed in liquid nitrogen at −196 degrees Celsius. ... A vitrification experiment for the study of nuclear waste disposal at Pacific Northwest National Labs Vitrification is a process of converting a material into a glass-like amorphous solid which is free of any crystalline structure, either by the quick removal or addition of heat, or by mixing with an... An electron microscope is a type of microscope that uses electrons as a way to illuminate and create an image of a specimen. ... Cryonics Institute main facility in Clinton Township, Michigan The Cryonics Institute (CI) is a non-profit provider of cryonics services located in Clinton Township, Michigan. ...

Vitrification in cryonics is different than vitrification in mainstream cryobiology because vitrification in cryonics is not reversible with current technology. It is only structural vitrification. When successful it can prevent freezing injury in some body parts, but at the price of toxicity caused by cryoprotectant chemicals. The nature of this toxicity is still poorly understood. Cryonicists assume that toxicity is more subtle and repairable than obvious structural damage that would otherwise be caused by freezing. If, for example, toxicity is due to denatured proteins, those proteins could be repaired or replaced. Irreversible egg protein denaturation and loss of solubility, caused by the high temperature (while cooking it) Denaturation is the alteration of a protein or nucleic acids shape through some form of external stress (for example, by applying heat, acid or alkali), in such a way that it will no...

Ischemic injury

Ischemia means inadequate or absent blood circulation that deprives tissue of oxygen and nutrients. At least several minutes of ischemia is an unavoidable part of cryonics because of the legal requirement that cryonics procedures do not begin until after blood circulation stops. The heart must stop beating so that legal death can be declared. When there is advance notice of impending clinical death, it is sometimes possible to deploy a team of technicians to perform a “standby”. The team artificially restores blood circulation and breathing using techniques similar to CPR as soon as possible after the heart stops.^[13] The aim is to keep tissues alive after legal death by analogy to conventional medical procedures in which viable organs and tissues are obtained for transplant from legally deceased donors. Contrary to popular belief, legal death does not mean that all the cells of the body have died.^[14] In medicine, ischemia (Greek ισχαιμία, isch- is restriction, hema or haema is blood) is a restriction in blood supply, generally due to factors in the blood vessels, with resultant damage or dysfunction of tissue. ... Legal death is a legal pronouncement by a qualified person that further medical care is not appropriate, and that a patient should be considered dead under the law. ... For other meanings of CPR, see CPR (disambiguation). ...

Often in cryonics the brain is without oxygen for many minutes at warm temperatures, or even hours if the heart stops unexpectedly. This causes ischemic injury to the brain and other tissues that makes resuscitation impossible by present medical technology. Cryonicists justify preservation under such conditions by noting recent advances that allow brain resuscitation after longer periods of ischemia than the traditional 4 to 6 minute limit, and persistence of brain structure and even some brain cell function after long periods of clinical death.^[15][16] They argue that definitions of death change as technology advances, and the early stages of what is called “death” today is actually a form of ischemic injury that will be reversible in the future.^[17] They claim that personal survival during long periods of clinical death is determined by information theoretic criteria.^[18][19][20] Information-theoretic death is the destruction of the human brain, and information within it, to such an extent that recovery of the original mind and person that occupied the brain is theoretically impossible. ...

Revival

It is universally agreed by scientists and cryonics advocates that reversing human cryopreservation is not possible with “any near-term technology.”^[21] Those who believe that revival may someday be possible generally look toward advanced bioengineering, molecular nanotechnology,^[22] nanomedicine,^[23] or mind uploading as key technologies. Revival (except for mind uploading) requires repairing damage from lack of oxygen, cryoprotectant toxicity, thermal stress (fracturing), freezing in tissues that do not successfully vitrify, physical therapy to regain function of the body (similar to that of a long-term coma), and reversing the effects that caused the patient death. In many cases extensive tissue regeneration will be necessary. Hypothetical revival scenarios generally envision repairs being performed by vast numbers of microscopic organisms or devices.^{[24][25][26][27]} These devices would restore healthy cell structure and chemistry at the molecular level, ideally before warming. More radically, mind transfer has also been suggested as a possible revival approach if and when technology is ever developed to scan the memory contents of a preserved brain. Biological engineering (also biosystems engineering and bioengineering) deals with engineering biological processes in general. ... Molecular nanotechnology (MNT) is the concept of engineering functional mechanical systems at the molecular scale. ... Nanomedicine is the medical application of nanotechnology. ... In transhumanism and science fiction, mind uploading (also occasionally referred to by other terms such as mind downloading, mind transfer, whole brain emulation, whole body emulation, or electronic transcendence) refers to the hypothetical transfer of a human mind to an artificial substrate, such as a detailed computer simulation of an... In biology, regeneration is an organisms ability to replace body parts. ... In transhumanism and science fiction, mind transfer (also referred to as mind uploading or mind downloading, depending on ones point of reference), whole body emulation, or electronic transcendence refers to the hypothetical transfer of a human mind to an artificial substrate. ...

It has often been written that cryonics revival will be a last-in-first-out (LIFO) process. In this view, preservation methods will get progressively better until eventually they are demonstrably reversible, after which medicine will begin to reach back and revive people cryopreserved by more primitive methods. Revival of people cryopreserved by the current combination of neurovitrification and deep-cooling (technically not "freezing", as cryoprotectant inhibits ice crystallization) may require centuries, if it is possible at all.^[15] In a stack, the topmost item, which is added last, is taken out first. ... Neurovitrification is the term that refers to vitrification of only the human brain (or the human head as a whole), usually with the intention of neuropreservation. ...

It has been claimed that if technologies for general molecular analysis and repair are ever developed, then theoretically any damaged body could be “revived.” Survival would then depend on whether preserved brain information was sufficient to permit restoration of all or part of the personal identity of the original person, with amnesia being the final dividing line between life and death. For other uses, see Amnesia (disambiguation). ...

Neuropreservation

Neuropreservation is cryopreservation of the brain, often within the head, with surgical removal and disposal (usually cremation) of the rest of the body. Neuropreservation, sometimes called “neuro,” is one of two distinct preservation options in cryonics, the other being "whole body" preservation. In a substantial number of neuropreservation cases, only the brain is preserved. This can come about because the cryonics practitioner chooses to preserve just the brain or where the brain has been removed by a medical examiner as part of autopsy procedures. Neuropreservation is cryopreservation of the human brain with the intention of future resuscitation and regrowth of a healthy body around the brain. ...

Neuropreservation is motivated by the fact that the brain is the primary repository of memory and personal identity. (For instance, spinal cord injury victims, organ transplant patients, and amputees retain their personal identity.) It is also motivated by the belief that reversing any type of cryonic preservation is so difficult and complex that any future technology capable of it must by its nature be capable of generalized tissue regeneration, including growth of a new body around a repaired brain. Some suggested revival scenarios for whole body patients even involve discarding the original body and regenerating a new one because tissues are so badly damaged by the preservation process. These considerations, along with lower costs, easier transportation in emergencies, and the specific focus on brain preservation quality, have motivated many cryonicists to choose neuropreservation. For other uses, see Brain (disambiguation). ... In biology, regeneration is an organisms ability to replace body parts. ...

The advantages and disadvantages of neuropreservation are often debated among cryonics advocates. Critics of neuropreservation note that the body is a record of much life experience, including learned motor skills. While few cryonicists doubt that a revived neuro patient would be the same person, there are wider questions about how a regenerated body might feel different from the original.^[28] Partly for these reasons (as well as for better public relations), the Cryonics Institute preserves only whole bodies. Some proponents of neuropreservation agree with these concerns, but still feel that lower costs and better brain preservation justify preserving only the brain. About three-quarters of the patients stored at Alcor are "neuros". Cryonics Institute main facility in Clinton Township, Michigan The Cryonics Institute (CI) is a non-profit provider of cryonics services located in Clinton Township, Michigan. ...

Although the American Cryonics Society no longer offers the neuropreservation option, about half of the American Cryonic Society’s patients are “neuros.” One of the leading advocates of neuropreservation was long time American Cryonics Society President Jerry White. Under Mr. White’s direction, his mother and pet cat, Liza Jane, were so preserved with just the brain of his mother being treated. Upon his death from medical complications brought on by AIDS in 1992, Mr. White was also neuropreserved.^[29]

Financial issues

Costs of cryonics vary greatly, ranging from $28,000 for cryopreservation by Cryonics Institute, to $155,000 for whole body cryopreservation for the American Cryonics Society’s most expensive plan. ^[30] Alcor’s whole body preservation is priced at $150,000 (or $80,000 for neuropreservation of the head alone) plus a ~$500 annual membership fee during life by Alcor.^{[31] [32]} After payment of an initiaton fee, ACS full members pay an annual fee of $300 currently. ^[33] To some extent these cost differences reflect differences in how fees are quoted. The Cryonics Institute fee doesn’t include “standby” (a team that begins procedures at bedside), transportation costs, or funeral director expenses outside of Michigan, which must be purchased as extras. CI Members wanting Standby and Transport from cryonics professionals can contract for additional payment to the Florida-based company Suspended Animation, Inc. Cryonics Institute main facility in Clinton Township, Michigan The Cryonics Institute (CI) is a non-profit provider of cryonics services located in Clinton Township, Michigan. ... American Cryonics Society is a California non-profit corporation dedicated to cryonics. ... This bigfoot Dewar is custom-designed to contain four wholebody patients and six neuropatients immersed in liquid nitrogen at −196 degrees Celsius. ... Cryonics Institute main facility in Clinton Township, Michigan The Cryonics Institute (CI) is a non-profit provider of cryonics services located in Clinton Township, Michigan. ... This article is about the U.S. State of Florida. ...

While cryonics is sometimes suspected of being greatly profitable, the high expenses of doing cryonics are well documented.^[34] The expenses are comparable to major transplant surgeries. The largest single expense, especially for whole body cases, is the money that must be set aside to generate interest to pay for maintenance in perpetuity.

The most common method of paying for cryonics is life insurance, which spreads the cost over many years. Cryonics advocates are quick to point out that such insurance is especially affordable for young people. It has been claimed that cryonics is “affordable for the vast majority” of people in the industrialized world who really want it and plan for it in advance. Life insurance or life assurance is a contract between the policy owner and the insurer, where the insurer agrees to pay a sum of money upon the occurrence of the insured individuals or individuals death. ...

Philosophical and ethical considerations

Cryonics is based on a view of dying as a process that can be stopped in the minutes, and perhaps hours, following clinical death. If death is not an event that happens suddenly when the heart stops, this raises philosophical questions about what exactly death is. In 2005 an ethics debate in the medical journal, Critical Care, noted “…few if any patients pronounced dead by today’s physicians are in fact truly dead by any scientifically rigorous criteria.”^[35] Cryonics proponent Thomas Donaldson has argued that “death” based on cardiac arrest or resuscitation failure is a purely social construction used to justify terminating care of dying patients.^[36] In this view, legal death and its aftermath are a form of euthanasia in which sick people are abandoned. Philosopher Max More suggested a distinction between death associated with circumstances and intention versus death that is absolutely irreversible.^[37] Absolutely irreversible death has also been called information-theoretic death, which is destruction of the brain to such an extent that the original information content can no longer be inferred. Bioethicist James Hughes has written that increasing rights will accrue to cryonics patients as prospects for revival become clearer, noting that recovery of legally dead persons has precedent in the discovery of missing persons.^[38] Clinical death occurs when a patients heartbeat and breathing have stopped. ... For other uses, see Death (disambiguation). ... Thomas K. Donaldson Ph. ... Legal death is a legal pronouncement by a qualified person that further medical care is not appropriate, and that a patient should be considered dead under the law. ... For mercy killings not performed on humans, see Animal euthanasia. ... Max More (born January 1964, Bristol, England formerly known as Max OConnor) is a philosopher and futurist who writes, speaks, and consults on advanced decision making and foresight methods for handling the impact of emerging technologies. ... Information-theoretic death is the destruction of the human brain, and information within it, to such an extent that recovery of the original mind and person that occupied the brain is theoretically impossible. ... Bioethics is the ethics of biological science and medicine. ... James Hughes Ph. ...

Ethical and theological opinions of cryonics tend to pivot on the issue of whether cryonics is regarded as interment or medicine. If cryonics is interment, then religious beliefs about death and afterlife may come into consideration. Resuscitation may be deemed impossible by those with religious beliefs because the soul is gone, and according to most religions only God can resurrect the dead. Cryonics advocates complain that theological dismissal of cryonics because it is interment is a circular argument because calling cryonics "interment" presumes that cryonics cannot work.^[39] They believe future technical advances will validate their view that cryonics patients are recoverable, and therefore never really dead.^[40] If cryonics is regarded as medicine, with legal death as a mere enabling mechanism, then cryonics is a long-term coma with uncertain prognosis. Ethics is a general term for what is often described as the science (study) of morality. In philosophy, ethical behavior is that which is good or right. ... Theology is literally rational discourse concerning God (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογος, logos, rational discourse). By extension, it also refers to the study of other religious topics. ... By other animals Humans are not the only species to bury their dead. ... For the chemical substances known as medicines, see medication. ... Religious is a term with both a technical definition and folk use. ... For other uses, see Afterlife (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Soul (disambiguation). ... This article is about the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... Look up Resurrection in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Legal death is a legal pronouncement by a qualified person that further medical care is not appropriate, and that a patient should be considered dead under the law. ... For other uses, see Coma (disambiguation). ...

Alcor has published a vigorous Christian defense of cryonics,^[41] including excerpts of a sermon by Lutheran Reverend Kay Glaesner. Noted Christian apologist John Warwick Montgomery has defended cryonics.^[42] In 1969, a Roman Catholic priest consecrated the cryonics capsule of Ann DeBlasio, one of the first cryonics patients.^[43] Many followers of Nikolai Fyodorovich Fyodorov see cryonics as an important step in the Common Cause project (reference: Fedorov seminar in Moscow, Russia on 25.11.2006) and compatible with Orthodox Christianity. This bigfoot Dewar is custom-designed to contain four wholebody patients and six neuropatients immersed in liquid nitrogen at −196 degrees Celsius. ... The Lutheran movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity by the original definition. ... For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation). ... John Warwick Montgomery was born October 18, 1931 in Warsaw, New York. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... To consecrate an inaminate object is to dedicate it in a ritual to a special purpose, usually religious. ... Nikolai Fyodorov by Leonid Pasternak Nikolai Fyodorovich Fyodorov (Russian: ; surname also Anglicized as Fedorov) (June 9, 1829–December 28, 1903) was a Russian Orthodox Christian philosopher, who was part of the Russian cosmism movement and philosophy of Transhumanism. ... Orthodox icon of Pentecost. ...

At the request of the American Cryonics Society, in 1995, Philosopher Charles Tandy, Ph.D. ^[44] authored a paper entitled “Cryonic-Hibernation in Light of the Bioethical Pinciples of Beauchamp and Childress.” Dr. Tandy considered the four bioethical factors or principles articulated by philosophers Beauchamp and Childress as they apply to cryonic suspension. These four principles are 1) respect for autonomy; 2) nonmaleficence; 3) beneficence; and 4) justice. Tandy concluded that in respect to all four principles “biomedical professionals have a strong (not weak) and actual (not prima facie, but binding) obligation to help insure cryonic-hibernation of the cryonics patient.” ^[45]

History

Benjamin Franklin suggested in a famous 1773 letter^[46] that it might be possible to preserve human life in a suspended state for centuries. However, the modern era of cryonics began in 1962 when Michigan college physics teacher Robert Ettinger proposed in a privately published book, “The Prospect of Immortality”,^[47] that freezing people may be a way to reach future medical technology. Even though freezing a person is apparently fatal, Ettinger argued that what appears to be fatal today may be reversible in the future. He applied the same argument to the process of dying itself, saying that the early stages of clinical death may be reversible in the future. Combining these two ideas, he suggested that freezing recently deceased people may be a way to save lives. Benjamin Franklin (January 17 [O.S. January 6] 1706 – April 17, 1790) was one of the most well known Founding Fathers of the United States. ... Robert Chester Wilson Ettinger (born December 4, 1918) is known as the father of cryonics due to the impact of his 1962 book THE PROSPECT OF IMMORTALITY. He founded the Cryonics Institute and the related Immortalist Society and until 2003 served as their President. ... Clinical death occurs when a patients heartbeat and breathing have stopped. ...

Slightly before Ettinger’s book was complete, Evan Cooper^[48] (writing as Nathan Duhring) privately published a book called Immortality: Physically, Scientifically, Now that independently suggested the same idea. Cooper founded the Life Extension Society in 1965 to promote freezing people. Ettinger came to be credited as the originator of cryonics, perhaps because his book was republished by Doubleday in 1964 on recommendation of Isaac Asimov and Fred Pohl, and received more publicity. Ettinger also stayed with the movement longer. Nevertheless, cryonics historian R. Michael Perry has written “Evan Cooper deserves the principal credit for forming an organized cryonics movement.”^[49] Cooper founded the first cryonics organization in 1964, the Life Extension Society (LES). Robert Chester Wilson Ettinger (born December 4, 1918) is known as the father of cryonics due to the impact of his 1962 book THE PROSPECT OF IMMORTALITY. He founded the Cryonics Institute and the related Immortalist Society and until 2003 served as their President. ... Robert Chester Wilson Ettinger (born December 4, 1918) is known as the father of cryonics due to the impact of his 1962 book THE PROSPECT OF IMMORTALITY. He founded the Cryonics Institute and the related Immortalist Society and until 2003 served as their President. ... Isaac Asimov (January 2?, 1920?[1] – April 6, 1992), pronounced , originally Исаак Озимов but now transcribed into Russian as Айзек Азимов [1], was a Russian-born American author and professor of biochemistry, a highly successful writer, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. ... Frederik Pohl (November 26, 1919—) is an American science fiction writer and editor. ...

Cooper’s Life Extension Society became the seed tree for cryonics societies throughout the country where local cryonics advocates would get together as a result of contact through the LES mailing list. The actual word “cryonics” was invented by Karl Werner in 1965 in conjunction with the founding of the Cryonics Society of New York (CSNY) by Curtis Henderson and Saul Kent that same year. This was followed by the founding of the Cryonics Society of Michigan (CSM) and Cryonics Society of California (CSC) in 1966, and Bay Area Cryonics Society (BACS) in 1969 (renamed the American Cryonics Society, or ACS, in 1985). Neither CSNY nor CSC are currently in operation. CSM eventually became the Immortalist Society, a non-profit affiliate of the Cryonics Institute (CI), a cryonics service organization founded by Robert Ettinger in 1976. CI now has more cryonics patients than any other organization. Curtis Henderson (born September 28, 1926), was a pioneer in the controversial practice of cryonics. ... Saul Kent is a prominent life extension activist, and co-founder of the Life Extension Foundation, a major dietary supplement vendor and promoter of anti-aging research. ... American Cryonics Society is a California non-profit corporation dedicated to cryonics. ... Cryonics Institute main facility in Clinton Township, Michigan The Cryonics Institute (CI) is a non-profit provider of cryonics services located in Clinton Township, Michigan. ... Robert Chester Wilson Ettinger (born December 4, 1918) is known as the father of cryonics due to the impact of his 1962 book THE PROSPECT OF IMMORTALITY. He founded the Cryonics Institute and the related Immortalist Society and until 2003 served as their President. ...

Although there was at least one earlier aborted case, it is generally accepted that the first person frozen with intent of future resuscitation was Dr. James Bedford, a 73-year-old psychology professor frozen under crude conditions by CSC on January 12, 1967. The case made the cover of a limited print run of Life Magazine before the presses were stopped to report the death of three astronauts in the Apollo 1 fire instead. Dr. James Bedford was a psychology professor and member of the family that founded Bedford, Massachusetts [1]. He was cryonically preserved (frozen) on January 12, 1967 in Glendale, California at age 73. ... is the 12th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. ... A cover of Life Magazine from 1911 Life has been the name of two notable magazines published in the United States. ... Apollo 1 is the official name given to the never-flown Apollo/Saturn 204 (AS-204) mission. ...

Cryonics suffered a major setback in 1979 when it was discovered that nine bodies stored by CSC in a cemetery in Chatsworth, California, thawed due to depletion of funds.^[50][51] Some of the bodies had apparently thawed years earlier without notification. The head of CSC was sued, and negative publicity slowed cryonics growth for years afterward. Of seventeen documented cryonics cases between 1967 and 1973, only James Bedford remains cryopreserved today. Strict financial controls and requirements adopted in response to the Chatsworth scandal have resulted in the successful maintenance of almost all cryonics cases since that era. Cryopreservation of plant shoots. ...

The largest cryonics organization today, in terms of membership, was established by Fred and Linda Chamberlain in 1972 as the Alcor Society for Solid State Hypothermia (ALCOR). In 1977 the name was changed to the Alcor Life Extension Foundation. In 1982, the Institute for Advanced Biological Studies (IABS) founded by Mike Darwin and Steve Bridge in Indiana merged with Alcor. During the 1980s Darwin worked with UCLA cardiothoracic surgery researcher Jerry Leaf at Alcor to develop a medical model for cryonics procedures. They pioneered the first consistent use of a cryonics procedure now known as a “standby”, in which a team waits to begin life support procedures at the bedside of a cryonics patient as soon as possible after the heart stops. Fred and Linda Chamberlain are the founders of the cryonics organization Alcor Life Extension Foundation. ... This bigfoot Dewar is custom-designed to contain four wholebody patients and six neuropatients immersed in liquid nitrogen at −196 degrees Celsius. ... Michael G. Darwin (Mike Darwin) was the President of the cryonics organization Alcor Life Extension Foundation from 1983 to 1988, and Research Director until 1992. ... Binomial name Ucla xenogrammus Holleman, 1993 The largemouth triplefin, Ucla xenogrammus, is a fish of the family Tripterygiidae and only member of the genus Ucla, found in the Pacific Ocean from Viet Nam, the Philippines, Palau and the Caroline Islands to Papua New Guinea, Australia (including Christmas Island), and the... Jerry D. Leaf was Vice President of the cryonics organization Alcor Life Extension Foundation, and President of the cryonics service firm Cryovita, Inc. ...

The oldest incorporated cryonics society still extant is the American Cryonics Society (ACS). This tax-exempt 501(c)(3) membership organization was incorporated in 1969 as the Bay Area Cryonics Society (BACS) by a group of cryonics advocates that included two prominent Bay Area physicians, Dr. M. Coleman Harris and Dr. Grace Talbot. The first suspensions under BACS auspices were performed in 1974 by Trans Time, Inc., a for-profit company started by BACS members. BACS researcher Dr. Paul Segall, working with Jerry Leaf of CryoVita, developed a medical model to induce hypothermia shortly after pronouncement of death. Dr. Segall later went on to pioneer blood substitutes for use in both cryonic suspension and in mainstream medicine. American Cryonics Society is a California non-profit corporation dedicated to cryonics. ... A tax exemption is an exemption to the tax law of a state or nation in which part of the taxes that would normally be collected from an individual or an organization are instead foregone. ... 501(c)(3) is a provision of the US tax code that provides exempt status, for Federal income tax purposes, for some non-profit organizations in the United States (see 26 U.S.C. Â§ 501(c)(3)). The term refers to: Section 501. ...

Cryonics received new support in the 1980s when MIT engineer Eric Drexler started publishing papers and books foreseeing the new field of molecular nanotechnology. His 1986 book, Engines of Creation, included an entire chapter on cryonics applications.^[52] Cryonics advocates saw the nascent field of nanotechnology as vindication of their long held view that molecular repair of injured tissue was theoretically possible.^[53] Alcor’s membership expanded tenfold within a decade, with a 30% annual growth rate between 1988 and 1992. K. Eric Drexler (born April 25, 1955) is best known for popularizing the potential of molecular nanotechnology. ... Molecular nanotechnology (MNT) is the concept of engineering functional mechanical systems at the molecular scale. ... Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology Engines of Creation (ISBN 0-385-19973-2) is a seminal molecular nanotechnology book written by K. Eric Drexler in 1986. ... This bigfoot Dewar is custom-designed to contain four wholebody patients and six neuropatients immersed in liquid nitrogen at −196 degrees Celsius. ...

Alcor was disrupted by political turmoil in 1993 when a group of activists left to start the CryoCare Foundation,^[54] and associated for-profit companies CryoSpan, Inc. (headed by Paul Wakfer) and BioPreservation, Inc.^[55] (headed by Mike Darwin). Darwin and collaborators made many technical advances during this time period, including a landmark study documenting high quality brain preservation by freezing with high concentrations of glycerol.^[56] CryoCare ceased operations in 1999 when they were unable to renew their service contract with BioPreservation. CryoCare’s two patients stored at CryoSpan were transferred to Alcor. Several ACS patients stored at CryoSpan were transferred to CI. This bigfoot Dewar is custom-designed to contain four wholebody patients and six neuropatients immersed in liquid nitrogen at −196 degrees Celsius. ... Michael G. Darwin (Mike Darwin) was the President of the cryonics organization Alcor Life Extension Foundation from 1983 to 1988, and Research Director until 1992. ...

There have been numerous, often transient, for-profit companies involved in cryonics. For-profit companies were often paired or affiliated with non-profit groups they served. Some of these companies, with non-profits they served in parentheses, were Cryonic Interment, Inc. (CSC), Cryo-Span Corporation (CSNY), Cryo-Care Equipment Corporation (CSC and CSNY), Manrise Corporation (Alcor), CryoVita, Inc. (Alcor), BioTransport, Inc. (Alcor), Trans Time, Inc.^[57] (BACS), Soma, Inc. (IABS), CryoSpan, Inc. (CryoCare and ACS), BioPreservation, Inc. (CryoCare and ACS), Kryos, Inc. (ACS), Suspended Animation, Inc.^[58] (CI, ACS, and Alcor). Only Trans Time and Suspended Animation still exist. Apparently none of the companies were ever profitable.^{[citation needed]}

The cryonics field seems to have largely consolidated around three non-profit groups, Alcor, Cryonics Institute (CI), and the American Cryonics Society (ACS), all deriving significant income from bequests and donations. A newly formed non-profit group called the Cryonics Society was formally incorporated in 2006 but is devoted solely to promotion and public education of the cryonics concept.

As research in the 1990s revealed in greater detail the damaging effects of freezing, there was a trend to use higher concentrations of glycerol cryoprotectant to prevent freezing injury. In 2001 Alcor began using vitrification, a technology borrowed from mainstream organ preservation research, in an attempt to completely prevent ice formation during cooling. Initially the technology could only be applied to the head when separated from the body. In 2005 Alcor began treating the whole body with their vitrification solution in a procedure called "neurovitrification with whole body cryoprotection".^[59] In the same year, the Cryonics Institute began treating the head of their whole body patients with their own vitrification solution.^[60] A cryoprotectant is a substance that is used to protect biological tissue from freezing damage (damage due to ice formation). ... A vitrification experiment for the study of nuclear waste disposal at Pacific Northwest National Labs Vitrification is a process of converting a material into a glass-like amorphous solid which is free of any crystalline structure, either by the quick removal or addition of heat, or by mixing with an... A vitrification experiment for the study of nuclear waste disposal at Pacific Northwest National Labs Vitrification is a process of converting a material into a glass-like amorphous solid which is free of any crystalline structure, either by the quick removal or addition of heat, or by mixing with an...

The Cryonics Institute maintains 86 human patients (along with about 50 pets) at its Clinton Township, Michigan facility. A significant number of these cryopreserved humans and pets came to the CI facility through contract with the American Cryonics Society. Alcor currently maintains 77 cryonics patients in Scottsdale, Arizona. There are support groups in Europe, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. There is also a small cryonics facility in Russia storing four neuropatients called KrioRus, and plans for a facility in Australia. There are also plans for a multi-acre facility to be built in an undisclosed location in the United States. This facility is to be named Timeship^[61] and will be built along a futuristic design emphasizing security and safety developed by renowned architect Stephen Valentine^[62]. The Charter Township of Clinton, usually referred to as Clinton Township, is a charter township located in Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... KrioRus is the first Russian cryonics company. ...

In 2005, the University of Pittsburgh successfully revived clincally dead dogs by replacing their blood with an ice-cold salt solution. ^[63] The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related, doctoral/research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. ...

Culture

Cryonics in popular culture

Procedures similar to cryonics have been featured in innumerable science fiction stories to aid space travel, or as means to transport a character from the past into the future. In addition to accomplishing whatever the character's primary task is in the future, he or she must cope with the strangeness of a new world, which may contain only traces of their previous surroundings. This prospect of alienation is often cited as a major reason for the unpopularity of cryonics. Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ...

Notable early science fiction short stories featuring human cryopreservation, deliberate or accidental, include Jack London's first published work "A Thousand Deaths" (1899), H.P. Lovecraft's "Cool Air" (1928), and Edgar Rice Burroughs' "The Resurrection of Jimber-Jaw" (1937). Many of the subjects in these stories are unwilling ones, although a 1931 short story by Neil R. Jones called "The Jameson Satellite", in which the subject has himself deliberately preserved in space after death, has been credited with giving Robert Ettinger the seed of the idea of cryonics, when he was a teenager. Ettinger would later write a science fiction story called The Penultimate Trump published in 1948, in which the explicit idea of cryopreservation of legally-dead persons for future repair of medical causes of death, is promulgated ^[64]. A Thousand Deaths is an 1899 short story by Jack London, and is notable as his first work to be published. ... Cool Air was one of H.P. Lovecrafts less popular works, although it is highly regarded among his more serious fans. ... The Resurrection of Jimber-Jaw is a 1937 short story by Edgar Rice Burroughs about an unfrozen 50,000 year-old caveman and his politically-incorrect views. ... Neil R(onald) Jones (29 May 1909 - 15 Feb 1988) was an American author who worked for the state of New York. ... Robert Chester Wilson Ettinger (born December 4, 1918) is known as the father of cryonics due to the impact of his 1962 book THE PROSPECT OF IMMORTALITY. He founded the Cryonics Institute and the related Immortalist Society and until 2003 served as their President. ...

Relatively few stories have been published concerning the primary objective and definition of cryonics, which is medical time travel. Influential novels with this theme include the early The Door Into Summer by Robert A. Heinlein (1956), and The Age of the Pussyfoot (1966) by Fred Pohl. Also included are national best-seller The First Immortal by James Halperin, Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Charles Sheffield, Chiller by Sterling Blake (aka Gregory Benford), Ralph’s Journey by David Pizer, Formerly Brandewyne^[65] by Jude Liebermann, and I Was a Teenage Popsicle by Bev Katz Rosenbaum.^[66] A fictional book about cryonics specifically for children is 21st Century Kids by Shannon Vyff.^[67][68] The Door into Summer is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein, published in 1957. ... Robert Anson Heinlein (July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was one of the most popular, influential, and controversial authors of hard science fiction. ... The Age of the Pussyfoot is a science fiction novel by Frederik Pohl, first published in 1965. ... Frederik Pohl (November 26, 1919—) is an American science fiction writer and editor. ... The First Immortal is a fiction book written by James L. Halperin, about the first man re-animated after a cryonics procedure. ... James L. Halperin (born October 31, 1952 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American author and businessman. ... Tomorrow and Tomorrow is a 1997 science fiction novel by Charles Sheffield. ... Charles Sheffield (June 25, 1935 – November 2, 2002), was an English-born mathematician, physicist and science fiction author. ... Gregory Benford (born January 30, 1941 in Mobile, Alabama) is an American science fiction author and physicist who is on the faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine. ...

Domovi Butler from the Artemis Fowl series was frozen after his death and kept frozen over night in the third book, there after being revived by fairy magic. The term Artemis Fowl may refer to several things. ...

Fictional application of cryonics as rescue after freezing in space has continued since The Jameson Satellite in 1931. Arthur C. Clarke's 3001: The Final Odyssey reveals that Frank Poole, murdered by HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey was cryopreserved by his exposure to space, and found and revived a thousand years later. The Larry Niven short story "Wait It Out" depicts a sort of emergency self-cryopreservation by men marooned on Pluto. The 1992 Hugo-winning novel A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge features a protagonist who is resuscitated by a superintelligence, thousands of years after a spaceship accident. Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, Sri Lankabhimanya (16 December 1917 – 19 March 2008) was a British (lived in Sri Lanka since 1956) science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, most famous for the novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, written in collaboration with director Stanley Kubrick, a collaboration which led also to... 3001: The Final Odyssey (1997) is a science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke, fourth and final book in the Space Odyssey series. ... Frank Poole vs. ... HALs iconic camera eye. ... A movie poster from the original release of 2001 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) is an immensely popular and influential science fiction film and book; the film directed by Stanley Kubrick and the book written by Arthur C. Clarke. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A Fire Upon the Deep (1992) is a science fiction novel written by Vernor Vinge. ... Vernor Steffen Vinge (IPA: ) (born February 10, 1944) is a mathematician, computer scientist and science fiction author who is best known for his Hugo award-winning novels A Fire Upon the Deep and A Deepness in the Sky, as well as for his 1993 essay The Technological Singularity, in which...

Movies featuring cryonics for medical purposes include the Woody Allen comedy, Sleeper, and the films Late for Dinner, Abre los Ojos (remade as Vanilla Sky) and Wes Craven's Chiller. One of the most famous movies regarding a cryonics-like process was 1992's Forever Young, starring Mel Gibson. Although not about cryonics per se, the Ron Howard film Cocoon has been hailed by cryonics advocates as expressing the values motivating cryonics better than any other film.^[69] Woody Allen (born Allen Stewart Konigsberg; December 1, 1935) is a three-time Academy Award-winning American film director, writer, actor, jazz musician, comedian and playwright. ... Sleeper (1973) is a futuristic science fiction comedy film, written by, directed by, and starring Woody Allen. ... Open Your Eyes redirects here. ... For the Italian band, see Vanilla Sky (band). ... Chiller, or as it is somtimes known Wes Cravens Chiller, was a horror/thriller released in 1985. ... Forever Young can mean any of the following: Forever Young (film), a 1992 film starring Elijah Wood and Mel Gibson; Forever Young, a series of books on health, fitness and nutrition written by Filipina health and beauty expert Cory Quirino. ... Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954 in Duncan, Oklahoma) is an American actor, and an Academy Award winning film director, and producer, known for his roles on sitcoms, movies and television. ... Cocoon is a 1985 science fiction film about a group of elderly humans who were rejuvenated by aliens. ...

Cryonics is featured in the movies Alien and Aliens where the ships crew enter "cryo-sleep" so they can travel through space great distances without aging. A form of "cryo-stasis" is featured in the film Demolition Man where criminals are frozen in a "Cryo-penitentiary" and given neural implants to alter their characters and remove violent tendencies. More recently cryogenics has featured in the Austin Powers spoof series of films where Dr. Evil and Austin Powers were both cryogenically frozen between the 1960s and the 1990s. During the freezing process Dr. Evil's cat Mr Bigglesworth went completely bald due to feline complications of the freezing process. This article is about the first film in a series. ... Aliens is a 1986 science fiction/action film starring Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, and Bill Paxton. ... Demolition Man is an American science fiction-action film released in 1993. ... The tone or style of this article or section may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. ... Look up Spoof in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Dr. Evil is a fictional supervillain played by Mike Myers in the Austin Powers film series. ... The tone or style of this article or section may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. ...

In the Star Wars film The Empire Strikes Back, the character Han Solo is captured by Darth Vader in the floating Cloud City on Bespin and cryogenically frozen in carbonite before being handed over to the bounty hunter, Boba Fett. As explained in the film, carbonite freezing was an industrial process used in the station's mining operations and it was not known if Solo would survive the ordeal or not. Vader used Solo as a test subject before attempting to freeze his main quarry, Luke Skywalker, for eventual delivery to the Emperor. Fett takes possession of Solo, frozen -- but still alive, in suspended animation -- in a black block of frozen carbonite, and collects his bounty from Jabba the Hutt, who displays him as a trophy in his palace throne room on Tatooine. The opening scenes of The Return of the Jedi involve Han Solo's rescue by Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Lando Calrissian. The carbonite renders Solo disoriented and temporarily blind as he is unfrozen, but the effects eventually wear off. This article is about the series. ... Movie poster Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is the sequel to the first released Star Wars movie, and the second film released in the original trilogy. ... Han Solo is a character in the Star Wars universe. ... For information on this characters appearance in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, see Anakin Skywalker. ... Cloud City is a fictional floating city on Bespin, a planet in the Star Wars universe which appears in the film The Empire Strikes Back. ... Bespin is a fictional planet in the Star Wars universe. ... For Rarbonite, see Rarbonite. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Luke Skywalker is a fictional character from the Star Wars universe portrayed by Mark Hamill in the films Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. ... Form of Government Empire Official language Galactic Basic Capital Coruscant (Imperial Center) Head of State Emperor Palpatine Supreme Military Executor Darth Vader Head of Government Grand Vizier Sate Pestage Executive Governing Body Imperial Inner Circle Legislative Branch Imperial Senate, Council of Moffs Establishment 19 BBY Fragmentation 4 ABY Final Dissolution... Jabba the Hutt is a fictional character in George Lucass science fiction saga Star Wars. ... In George Lucass Star Wars saga, Tatooine is the home planet of the Skywalker family and Ben Kenobi, the setting for much of the action in the sagas films (as well as several of the novels and other pieces of written fiction) and one of the most iconic... Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is a 1983 science fiction film directed by Richard Marquand. ... Luke Skywalker is a fictional character from the Star Wars universe portrayed by Mark Hamill in the films Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. ... Her Royal Highness, Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan (born in 19 BBY), born Leia Amidala Skywalker, is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe played by Aiden Barton in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, actress Carrie Fisher in Star Wars: Episodes IV-VI, and by Ann... Lando Calrissian is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. ...

On television, producer David E. Kelley wrote well-researched portrayals of cryonics for the TV shows L.A. Law (1990 episode^[70]), Picket Fences (1994 episode^[71]), and Boston Legal (2005 episode^[72]). In each case, there was a dying plaintiff petitioning a court for the right to elective cryopreservation. Cryonics was also featured in an episode of Miami Vice called "The Big Thaw", the episode "When We Dead Awaken" of seaQuest DSV, the episode "The Neutral Zone" of Star Trek: The Next Generation, the last two television works of Dennis Potter, Karaoke and Cold Lazarus, and the anime Cowboy Bebop. Cryonics was also satirized by the comedy cartoon series Futurama, in which the main character is frozen from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2999. David Edward Kelley (born April 4, 1956) is a prolific multi-Emmy award winning American writer, executive producer, and creator of the well-known television series Picket Fences, Chicago Hope, The Practice, Ally McBeal, Boston Public, and Boston Legal. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Picket Fences is a 60-minute drama which initially ran from September 18, 1992 to June 26, 1996 on the CBS television network in the United States. ... Boston Legal is an American dramedy television series that began airing on ABC on October 3rd, 2004. ... Cryopreservation of plant shoots. ... For the 2006 movie, see Miami Vice (film). ... This section has been identified as trivia. ... The Neutral Zone is the finale of the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. ... The title as it appeared in most episodes opening credits. ... Liber Amoris Dennis Christopher George Potter (17 May 1935—7 June 1994) was a controversial British dramatist who is best known for several widely acclaimed television dramas which mixed fantasy and reality, the personal and the social. ... Karaoke was a British television drama written by Dennis Potter with the knowledge that he was dying from cancer of the pancreas. ... Cold Lazarus is a television play written by Dennis Potter shortly before his death, and broadcast after it in 1994. ... Original run April 3, 1998 – April 23, 1999 Episodes 26 Movie: Knockin on Heavens Door (天国の扉) Director Shinichiro Watanabe Writer Keiko Nobumoto Studio Sunrise BONES Bandai Visual[2] Released September 1, 2001 Runtime 115 min. ... This article is about the television series. ...

Captain America was placed unwillingly in a form of cryogenic suspension, according to Marvel Comics, when he was entombed in ice, preserving him, mind and body, for twenty years in the mainstream Marvel continuity (disappearing in 1945, and being revived in the sixties), and nearly sixty years in the Ultimate Marvel timeline, during which time each version was revived. His arch-nemesis the Red Skull was the recipient of a similar treatment in the Heroes Reborn universe. This article is about the comic book superhero Captain America. ... Red Skull is the name of three Marvel Comics supervillains who are enemies of Captain America, other superheroes, and the United States in general. ...

The most famous cryopreserved patient is baseball player Ted Williams. The popular urban legend that Walt Disney was cryopreserved is false; he was cremated, and interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery. Robert A. Heinlein, who wrote enthusiastically of the concept, was cremated and his ashes distributed over the Pacific Ocean. Timothy Leary was a long-time cryonics advocate, and signed up with a major cryonics provider. He changed his mind, however, shortly before his death, and so was not cryopreserved. Theodore Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002), best known as Ted Williams, nicknamed The Kid, the Splendid Splinter, Teddy Ballgame and The Thumper, was an American left fielder in Major League Baseball. ... An urban legend or urban myth is similar to a modern folklore consisting of stories often thought to be factual by those circulating them. ... For the company founded by Disney, see The Walt Disney Company. ... Gates of Forest Lawn Forest Lawn Memorial Park is a cemetery in Glendale, Los Angeles County, California. ... Robert Anson Heinlein (July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was one of the most popular, influential, and controversial authors of hard science fiction. ... The Door into Summer is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein, published in 1957. ... For the American baseball player, see Tim Leary (baseball player). ...

Cryonics was the inspiration for the song "Cryogenic" by the electronic rock group TheSwimmingPools.

In the South park two part episode entitled, "Go God Go" the character Eric Cartman is disparately awaiting the launch of the Wii. To pass the time quicker, Cartman has himself frozen into a mountain side to be reawakened at the launch of the Wii. An avalanche covers his body and he is never found by his friends or family. He sits in suspended animation for more than 500 years until he is unfrozen by the Unified Atheist League, one of three groups of atheists that then control the world. This article is about the TV series. ... Go God Go is episode 1012 (#151) of Comedy Centrals South Park. ... Eric Theodore Cartman, commonly referred to by his family name, Cartman, is one of the four main characters in the animated series South Park (the others being Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Kenny McCormick). ... The Wii (pronounced as the pronoun we, IPA: ) is the fifth home video game console released by Nintendo. ...

The subculture of cryonicists

Cryonicists have been able to form cryonics societies in highly populated areas (see history section), have regular meetings, publish magazines and hold conferences. Saul Kent, Evan Cooper, Jerry White, Dr. M. Coleman Harris, as well as Fred and Linda Chamberlain were active in organizing cryonics conferences in the early years of cryonics. The magazines of the cryonics organizations have also helped keep members of the cryonics community informed about events and common problems. On July 24, 1988, a Ph.D. in computer science named Kevin Brown started an electronic mailing list called CryoNet^[73] that became a powerful tool of communication for the cryonics community. Numerous other mailing lists and web forums for discussing cryonics and the affairs of particular organizations have since appeared, but CryoNet remains a central point of contact for cryonicists. Not to be confused with cryogenics. ... Saul Kent is a prominent life extension activist, and co-founder of the Life Extension Foundation, a major dietary supplement vendor and promoter of anti-aging research. ... Fred and Linda Chamberlain are the founders of the cryonics organization Alcor Life Extension Foundation. ... Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated Ph. ... Computer science, or computing science, is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their implementation and application in computer systems. ... An electronic mailing list, a type of Internet forum, is a special usage of e-mail that allows for widespread distribution of information to many Internet users. ...

Cryonicists have also had a common jargon, including their use of the words patient, deanimation and suspension. The phrase cryonic suspension to describe cryopreservation is falling into disfavor, partly because the abbreviation suspension is too easily misunderstood. As in other subcultures, some members of the community can have strong feelings about the use of "politically correct" cryonics language. Political correctness is the alteration of language to redress real or alleged injustices and discrimination or to avoid offense. ...

See also

• Alcor Life Extension Foundation
• American Cryonics Society
• Cryonics Institute
• Cryonics Society
• Cryptobiosis
• Engineered negligible senescence
• Hibernation
• Immortality Institute
• Immortalist Society
• Information theoretical death
• KrioRus
• Pros and cons of Cryonics
• Life extension
• Neuropreservation
• Rejuvenation (aging)
• Super cooling
• Suspended animation
• Vitrification

This bigfoot Dewar is custom-designed to contain four wholebody patients and six neuropatients immersed in liquid nitrogen at −196 degrees Celsius. ... American Cryonics Society is a California non-profit corporation dedicated to cryonics. ... Cryonics Institute main facility in Clinton Township, Michigan The Cryonics Institute (CI) is a non-profit provider of cryonics services located in Clinton Township, Michigan. ... Cryptobiosis is an ametabolic state of life entered by some lower organisms in response to adverse environmental conditions such as desiccation, freezing, and oxygen deficiency. ... Engineered negligible senescence refers to an engineered prevention or reversal of cellular aging (referred to as senescence in biology). ... This article refers to the process of hibernation in biology. ... The current Immortality Institute header/logo. ... The Immortalist Society is a charitable trust [501(c)3] organization devoted to research and education in the areas of cryonics and life extension. ... Information-theoretic death is the destruction of the human brain, and information within it, to such an extent that recovery of the original mind and person that occupied the brain is theoretically impossible. ... KrioRus is the first Russian cryonics company. ... Life extension refers to an increase in maximum or average lifespan, especially in humans, by slowing down or reversing the processes of aging. ... Neuropreservation is cryopreservation of the human brain with the intention of future resuscitation and regrowth of a healthy body around the brain. ... Rejuvenation is the procedure of reversing the aging process, thus regaining youth. ... Supercooling is the process of chilling a liquid below its freezing point, without it becoming solid. ... This article is about suspended animation in a medical context. ... A vitrification experiment for the study of nuclear waste disposal at Pacific Northwest National Labs Vitrification is a process of converting a material into a glass-like amorphous solid which is free of any crystalline structure, either by the quick removal or addition of heat, or by mixing with an...

References

2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 7th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 7th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 76th day of the year (77th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 119th day of the year (120th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 76th day of the year (77th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 119th day of the year (120th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 119th day of the year (120th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 119th day of the year (120th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 90th day of the year (91st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 90th day of the year (91st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 90th day of the year (91st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 119th day of the year (120th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 119th day of the year (120th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 119th day of the year (120th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 119th day of the year (120th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 119th day of the year (120th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 119th day of the year (120th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 119th day of the year (120th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 119th day of the year (120th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 119th day of the year (120th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 94th day of the year (95th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 94th day of the year (95th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 94th day of the year (95th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 94th day of the year (95th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 75th day of the year (76th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 76th day of the year (77th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 76th day of the year (77th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 76th day of the year (77th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 76th day of the year (77th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 76th day of the year (77th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 76th day of the year (77th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 159th day of the year (160th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 76th day of the year (77th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 130th day of the year (131st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 76th day of the year (77th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Curtis Henderson (born September 28, 1926), was a pioneer in the controversial practice of cryonics. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 108th day of the year (109th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 76th day of the year (77th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 76th day of the year (77th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 76th day of the year (77th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This American Life (TAL) is a weekly hour-long radio program produced by Chicago Public Radio. ... is the 108th day of the year (109th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 76th day of the year (77th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 76th day of the year (77th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 76th day of the year (77th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 76th day of the year (77th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 76th day of the year (77th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 76th day of the year (77th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 76th day of the year (77th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 76th day of the year (77th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Ben Best is most noted for his active involvement in cryonics. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 158th day of the year (159th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Warren Publishing is a magazine firm founded by James Warren, who published his first magazines in 1957 and continued in the business for decades. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 76th day of the year (77th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 76th day of the year (77th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 76th day of the year (77th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 76th day of the year (77th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 76th day of the year (77th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Cryonics FAQ
• Ralph Merkle's introduction to cryonics
• CryoNet
• Alcor Life Extension Foundation
• Cryonics Institute
• American Cryonics Society
• Cryonics Europe
• Cryonics Society of Canada
• Cryonics Society - Resources and Advocacy
• Cryostasis.com: Cryonics
• Depressed Metabolism (cryonics technology blog)
• Immortality Institute Cryonics
• Cryonics UK
• Cryonics Association of Australia FAQ
• "Mistakes Were Made", This American Life, 18 April 2008. The story of Robert ("Bob") Nelson, the Cryonics Society of California, and the Chatsworth case.