Monthly Archives: June 2008

Polyethylene glycol and cryonics

Posted on June 30, 2008 by Aschwin de Wolf

The blog Al Fin reports on polyethylene glycol (PEG) as an acute treatment for traumatic brain and spinal cord injury. PEG is hypothesized to confer cytoprotection by sealing damaged cell membranes. As such, PEG would also seem a promising candidate … Continue reading →

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Transforming the death industry

Posted on June 29, 2008 by Aschwin de Wolf

In August 1968, Cryonics Reports (a publication from the Cryonics Society of New York) published an editorial that advocates the re-evaluation of the mortician and the funeral profession to make it a part of long term medical care, i.e. to … Continue reading →

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Cerebral blood flow during and after cardiac arrest

Posted on June 27, 2008 by Chana de Wolf

As discussed in a previous post, perfusion of the brain following long-term (>5 min) ischemia has been shown to be significantly compromised, particularly in subcortical regions. An interesting recent article by Ristagno, et. al in Resuscitation (May 2008) has added … Continue reading →

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Soft nanotechnology

Posted on June 26, 2008 by Chana de Wolf

Ever since humans imagined the ability to deliberately manipulate matter on the atomic scale, they have glimpsed the boundless possibilities of the science of nanotechnology. And for almost as long, they have disputed whether molecular machines should be built using … Continue reading →

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Cerebral ischemia and impairment of circulation

Posted on June 24, 2008 by Chana de Wolf

Cryopreservation of the brain depends on the removal of blood from the brain’s vasculature and its replacement with cryoprotective solutions in order to prevent ice crystal formation (freezing) during cooling (i.e., facilitate vitrification). Ultimately, the success of a good cryoprotectant … Continue reading →

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Radical life extension and information-theoretic death

Posted on June 22, 2008 by Aschwin de Wolf

Immortality as a zero probability of information-theoretic death may not be possible or realistic. A more practical (and less controversial) objective of radical life extension would be to minimize the chance of information-theoretic death. In analogy with Aubrey de Grey’s … Continue reading →

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Will POLST integrate end-of-life care options?

Posted on June 15, 2008 by Chana de Wolf

A recent investigation (PDF) of state statutes and legislation affecting the ability to implement a nation-wide program to standardize medical orders reflecting individual patients’ end-of-life treatment preferences was made publicly available by Oregon Health & Science University. The POLST (Physician … Continue reading →

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HealthHaven interview with Chana de Wolf now online

Posted on June 13, 2008 by Chana de Wolf

Now online is a radio interview with Depressed Metabolism writer Chana de Wolf on cryonics. Some of the issues that are discussed include the use of cryonics for preventing vegetative patients, and the question why cryonics has remained so unpopular … Continue reading →

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The first vitrification agent in cryonics: B2C

Posted on June 11, 2008 by Aschwin de Wolf

In 2001 the Alcor Life Extension Foundation licensed its first vitrification agent from the cryobiology research company 21st Century Medicine (21CM) to be used for its neuropatients. The composition of this agent, called B2C, has now been made public on … Continue reading →

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Chana de Wolf on HealthHaven radio show

Posted on June 10, 2008 by Chana de Wolf

Please join Chana de Wolf as she speaks with Alcor member Larry McElhinney on his daily HealthHaven live webcast this Friday, June 13, 2008, at 12:00 p.m. PST. Chana and Larry will discuss cryonics and the science of life extension, … Continue reading →

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Immortality and cryonics

Posted on June 8, 2008 by Aschwin de Wolf

In “Philosophical Models of Immortality in Science Fiction,” (in: Immortal Engines: Life Extension and Immortality in Science Fiction and Fantasy) John Martin Fischer and Ruth Curl construct a taxonomy for immortality. As can be seen in the figure on the … Continue reading →

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Intranasal administration of medications

Posted on June 7, 2008 by Chana de Wolf

Experiments investigating the effects of medication administration via the nose are becoming increasingly common in scientific literature. Direct olfactory transport to the brain and the consequent lack of systemic side effects make nasal administration of neuroactive drugs a very attractive … Continue reading →

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Wide therapeutic window for melatonin in stroke

Posted on June 5, 2008 by Chana de Wolf

Neuroprotective agents for stroke continue to fail in clinical trials. One important reason is that the therapeutic window for many of those agents is too narrow to confer benefits to acute stroke victims. It would be desirable to have a … Continue reading →

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Albert Einstein’s brain and information-theoretic death

Posted on June 1, 2008 by Greg Jordan

“People like you and I, though mortal of course like everyone else, do not grow old no matter how long we live…[We] never cease to stand like curious children before the great mystery into which we were born.” Albert Einstein … Continue reading →

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