Prompt Cast
Cryonics: Storing Bodies for Future Revival
TLDR Cryonics is the practice of storing human bodies at extremely low temperatures in the hopes of reviving them in the future. While cryobiologists are skeptical, cryonic groups believe that advancements in nanotechnology may one day allow for successful reanimation.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Cryonics is the attempt to store human bodies at very low temperatures in order to eventually revive them, and it was first established as a field in 1964 by Robert Edinger.
04:59
Cryonics is the attempt to store human bodies at very low temperatures in order to eventually revive them, and it was first established as a field in 1964 by Robert Edinger.
09:43
Lowering body temperature and gradually reintroducing oxygen can effectively bring a person back from death, similar to how people are resuscitated after heart attacks or being trapped under ice, and cryonics is based on this concept.
14:03
After a person is declared dead, the cryonics team stabilizes the body by getting blood flowing and oxygen, removes water from the cells and replaces it with a cryo-protectant, and then freezes the body to negative 130 degrees Celsius to be stored for up to 10,000 years in a tank.
18:39
After being placed in a container with other bodies, the cryonically preserved individual is stored in a tank at negative 320 degrees Fahrenheit, with liquid nitrogen being added periodically to prevent evaporation, and the head is positioned downwards to protect the brain in case of a leak.
23:14
Cryobiologists are hesitant to endorse cryonics due to its association with pseudoscience, but cryonic groups claim that they are simply preserving bodies until nanotechnology can be used to reanimate them in the future.
27:51
Researchers have been able to reanimate cryopreserved tissue like a rabbit kidney and a nematode worm, leading to the possibility of successful reanimation in the future, but there are legal issues to consider, such as being declared legally dead and needing a new birth certificate upon reanimation.
32:28
Alcor, a cryonics company, has a fund set aside to continue care for cryopreserved bodies in the event of bankruptcy, but in the past, other companies have left bodies to thaw and rot; Alcor also relies heavily on donations and faces ethical concerns and battles to gain mainstream medical support.
36:46
Ted Williams, the famous baseball player, was cryogenically frozen after his death, leading to a legal battle between his children over the fate of his remains.
41:32
There are currently a couple hundred people in the United States who are cryogenically frozen, including possibly Ted Williams.
Categories:
Society & Culture
