Dead Bodies to Be Frozen Then Woken Up: The Details Behind This Futuristic Science Will Shock You

Scientists are edging closer to a reality that
once existed only in science-fiction – the
ability to cryonically freeze and reawaken
human beings.
In understanding the science behind the
futuristic concept, it is important to
understand the difference between cryonics
and cryogenics.
Cryonics refers to the process by which an
already-dead person’s body is preserved in
the hope that they can be brought back to
life and cured of their illness in the future.
Cryogenics is a field of study focused on the
preservation of materials – or objects,
including human bodies – through low
temperatures.
Today, however, the terms are often used
interchangeably.
Sci-fi films – such as the recently released
Passengers starring Chris Pratt and Jennifer
Lawrence as shown in the above short clip
– often depict the treatment as quick and
effortless, leaving out large parts of the gory
reality.
But a short video goes some way to
explaining the fascinating, if not somewhat
disgusting, process behind cryopreservation.
Once the person is declared dead, a
response team races to the body in order to
keep the blood flowing around the person as
quickly as possibly to avoid any further
damage.
The cadaver is then cooled in an ice bath
before chemicals are injected to help avoid
blood clotting and brain damage.
Once the body reaches the cryonics facility,
it is further cooled until just above zero
degrees before the blood is drained and
replaced with “organ preservation fluid”.
America, along with Russia, are the only two
countries in the world home to such a
facility.
The body’s blood vessels are then injected
with a cryoprotectant solution to avoid the
formation of ice crystals in the vital organs
before the corpse is cooled to -130C.
At this point the body is ready to be stored,
lowered into a tank of liquid nitrogen at a
chilly -196C.
Despite the treatment being commercially
available to the general public – with prices
soaring up to £52,000 – scientists have yet
to make the crucial breakthrough allowing
humans to be “defrosted” and revived.
And the news doesn’t sound good for those
already in storage.
“We have many different organs and we
know from research into preserving
transplant organs that even if it were
possible to successfully cryopreserve them,
each would need to be cooled at a different
rate and with a different mixture and
concentration of cryoprotectants,” said Prof
Ken Storey, from Carleton University in
Ottawa, Canada.
“Even if you only wanted to preserve the
brain, it has dozens of different areas, which
would need to be cryopreserved using
different protocols.”
Cryobiologist Dr Dayong Gao from the
University of Washington, Seattle, added:
“Even if you manage to limit the damage
from cryoprotectants, the question remains
of how they would be safely removed.
“The body could easily fracture like glass
during warming due to thermal stress.”
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Via Daily Star UK