Depressed Metabolism

Contrary to popular opinion, in cryonics the blood of the patient is replaced with a cryoprotective agent to reduce freezing, or more recently, to eliminate ice formation altogether through vitrification. This procedure requires surgical access to the circulatory system of the patient to wash out the blood and replace it with a cryoprotective agent. But [...]

A PDF file of this article with images is available here.
“Tenderly you stroke a Nettle, and it stings you for your pains. Grasp it like a man of mettle, and it soft as silk remains.” – Old English proverb
Nearly 20 years ago Alan Sinclair successfully undertook to establish a cryonics facility in the UK. The [...]

On a recent trip from California to Oregon we decided to pay a visit to the Howling Acres Wolf Sanctuary in Williams, Oregon. Since we wanted to spend the night in the area as well we also decided to take the opportunity to ‘Camp with the Wolves.’

Upon arrival a volunteer from WWOOF showed us our [...]

The blog Grim Reviews draws attention to a new interview with horror writer Thomas Ligotti, one of the most important writers of bleak fiction since Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft. In this interview, Ligotti talks about his upcoming book The Conspiracy Against the Human Race: A Short Life of Horror. In this book, the [...]

If immortality means a zero chance of death, it is doubtful whether mankind (or any lifeform) will ever achieve this. Nevertheless, advocates for extending the maximum human life span often face arguments that address the negative features of being immortal. It is important to be aware that arguments against immortality do not necessarily apply to [...]

In 1940 the American author Lothrop Stoddard published an account of wartime Nazi Germany called “Into the Darkness.” Although the book is supposed to be an objective account, it is not difficult to note the restraint the author needs to exercise to not be more critical, if not scathing, about many aspects of the Nazi [...]

In 2007, cryobiologist Armand M. Karow passed away. Unlike many contemporary cryobiologists, Karow offered cautious support for the objectives of cryonics. In the mid-1960s, Karow served on the Scientific Advisory Council of the Cryonics Societies of America (CSA). He also published a regular column titled “Scientifically Speaking” in Cryonics Reports, a publication by the Cryonics [...]

In August 2008, Neurobiology of Aging published the interesting observations of den Dunnen, et al. of the post-mortem body of a 115 year old woman, which showed no evidence of atherosclerosis. Her brain was devoid of the amyloid plaques characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease and neural density was on par with healthy persons 60-80 year of [...]

The publisher Liberty Fund has republished Anthony de Jasay’s book “Social Contract, Free Ride: A Study of the Public Goods Problem.” In this book, de Jasay, one of the most original and sharpest political philosophers of our age, offers a critical review of the public goods argument for the state. He argues that a) economists [...]

In an abstract in Cryobiology 55 (2007), 21st Century Medicine researcher Greg Fahy reports on the biological (pharmacological or “cryopharmacological”) effects of vitrification solutions. He identifies four different mechanisms of toxicity:
1. “Specific toxicity,” or the effects of vitrification agents on well-defined biological pathways or sites.
2. Adverse effects on the hydration of biomolecules as a result [...]

Can life exist without water? This is one of the questions that fascinates astrobiologists. The behavior of biomolecules in non-aqueous solutions is also of interest to cryobiologists and cryoenzymologists. Ice formation below zero degrees Celsius can be prevented by high concentrations of cryoprotective agents. But what are the effects of such vitrification agents on proteins?
In [...]

Edge published a new essay by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of the ‘The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable’, called The Fourth Quadrant: A Map of the Limits of Statistics:
If small probability events carry large impacts, and (at the same time) these small [...]

The question of whether cryonics “works” or not is too general and hides the  point that progressive breakthroughs can make the concept more plausible. Human cryopreservation consists of a number of procedures culminating in long term care at cryogenic temperatures. An evidence based approach to cryonics dictates that the limits of procedures that can be [...]

A PDF file of this document is available with images and structural visualization of various sugars.
D(+) lactose monohydrate is the principal sugar in mammalian milks. The monohydrate part is easiest to explain; it simply means that the lactose molecule has one water molecule attached to it. This is important because some chemicals can have a [...]

The Ludwig Von Mises Institute Senior Fellow, David Gordon, recently wrote an article on the legacy of the political philosopher John Rawls. In this piece, he discloses some interesting information about the relationship between John Rawls and Robert Nozick:
“In Anarchy, State, and Utopia, he had praised A Theory of Justice as a great work of [...]

On August 23, Chana and Aschwin de Wolf drafted a blog entry on the phenomenon of partners who are hostile to cryonics. We sent our draft for review to a number of high profile cryonicists and received a message from Mike Darwin telling us that he still had an unpublished article on this topic. Because [...]

On September 6, 2007 we launched the blog Depressed Metabolism for a number of reasons. The most important one was to launch a blog with a strong emphasis on cryonics. Although there are a number of good blogs on aging and life extension, there was not such a blog for cryonics. Another reason was to [...]

The major limiting obstacle to reversible cryopreservation of complex organs is cryoprotectant toxicity. Elimination of ice formation through vitrification requires high concentrations of cryoprotective agents. These high concentrations of cryoprotectants can be toxic to tissues. Over the years, major advances by the cryobiology research company 21st Centrury Medicine have been made to reduce the toxicity [...]

In ‘Who is Against Evolution?’, David Friedman discusses the phenomenon that most people who are against teaching creationism tend to avoid and discourage discussing the human implications of evolution themselves:

People who say they are against teaching the theory of evolution are very likely to be Christian fundamentalists. But people who are against taking seriously the [...]