Cryonics

CRYONICS
ON WAY TO RAISING THE DEAD?
(NANO TECHNOLOGY)
 Cryonics

CRYONICS
ON WAY TO RAISING THE DEAD?
(NANO TECHNOLOGY)
 Cryonics

Abstract: Cryonics is nothing but an attempt of

raising the dead - making them alive.
Today technology plays
First we preserve the body then by
a vital role in every aspect of life.
using molecular machines based
Increasing standards in technology in
nanotechnology we could revive the
many fields , has taken man today to
patients by repairing damaged cells.
high esteem. But the present available
technologies are unable to interact In this technical paper we
with the atoms, such a minute would like to discuss cryonics, how
particles. Hence Nanotechnology has the process of cryonics goes on and
been developing. Nanotechnology is why nanotechnology is being used
nothing but a technology which uses and description of molecular machines
atoms with a view to creating a which has the capability of repairing
desired product. It has wider damaged cells. Therefore Cryonics is an
applications in all the fields. The area in which most of the work is to be
important application is Cryonics.. done in future .

.
 Cryonics

Introduction: widespread medical practice and

viewed with skepticism by most
Today technology plays a
scientists and doctors today.
vital role in every aspect of life.
Incresing standards in technology in
History:
many fields particularly in medicine,
has taken man today to high esteem. The first mention of
Nanotechnology is a new technology nanotechnology occurred in a talk
that is knocking at the doors.This given by Richard Feynman in 1959,
technology uses atoms with a view to entitled There’s plenty of Room at
creating a desired product. The term the Bottom. Historically cryonics
nanotechnology has been a began in 1962 with the publication of
combination of two terms,”nano”and “ “The prospect of immortality” referred
technology”.The term nano is derived by Robert Ettinger, a founder and the
from a Greek word “nanos” which first president of the cryonics
means “dwarf”. Thus nanotechnology institute. During 1980’s the extent of
is dwarf technology. A nanometer is the damage from freezing process
one billionth of a metre. became much clearer and better
known, when the emphasis of the
Our President A.P.J.Abdul
movement began to shift to the
Kalam being a scientist made a note
capabilities of nanotechnology. Alcor
about this technology that
Life Extension Foundation currently
nanotechnology would give us an
preserves about 70 human bodies and
opportunity, if we take appropriate and
heads in Scottsdale, Arizona and the
timely action to become one of the
cryonics institute has about the same
important technological nations in the
number of cryonic patients in its
world.
Clinton Township, Michigan facility.

The main application of There are no cryonics service

nanotechnology is cryonics. Cryonics provided outside of the U.S.A. also

is nothing but an attempt of raising there are support groups in Europe,

the dead. Cryonics is not a Canada, Australia & U.K.

 Cryonics

Cryonics: scientists among cryonicists. Support for

cryonics is based on controversial
The word "cryonics" is the projections of future technologies and of
practice of freezing a dead body in hopes their ability to enable molecular-level
of someday reviving it. A Cryonics is repair of tissues and organs.
the practice of cooling people
immediately after death to the point Cryonics patient prepares
where molecular physical decay for the future:
completely stops, in the expectation that
scientific and medical procedures How an Alcor patient's body is frozen
currently being developed will be able to and stored until medical technology can
revive them and restore them to good repair the body and revive the patient, or
health later. A patient held in such a grow a new body for the patient.
state is said to be in 'cryonic suspension.
Patient declared legally dead
Cryonics is the practice of
cryopreserving humans and pets (who
On way to Alcor in Arizona,
have recently become legally dead) until
blood circulation is maintained and
the cryopreservation damage can be
patient is injected with medicine to
reversed and the cause of the fatal
minimise problems with frozen tissue.
disease can be cured (including the
Cooling of body begun. (If body needs
disease known as aging). However,
to be flown, blood is replaced with organ
there is a high representation of
preservatives.)
 Cryonics

At Alcor the body is cooled to 5 degrees

Chest opened, blood is replaced with pushing out water to reduce ice
a solution (glycerol, water, other formation. In 2 to 4 hours, 60% or more
chemicals) that enters the tissues, of body water is replaced by glycerol.

Freezing the body Then it's moved to an aluminium pod

and slowly cooled over 5 days in liquid
The patient is placed in cold
nitrogen to -196°C (minus 320°
silicone oil, chilling the body to -79°C.
Fahrenheit), then stored.
 Cryonics
Actual process starts:
After preserving the body for somedays,
they will start the surgery.As a part of it,
they will apply some chemicals like
glycerol and some advanced chemicals
to activate the cells of the body. By
doing so, 0.2% of the cells in the body
Storage vessel
Stainless-steel vats formed into a
large thermos-bottle-like container. Vat
for up to four bodies weighs about a ton;
stands 9 feet tall.
Transtime "recommends" that
people provide a minimum of $150,000
for whole-body suspension. Part of this
will be activated.After that they will
preserve the body for future applications.
The cryonists strongly believe that future
medicines in 21st century will be useful
to rapidly increase those cells that will
help to retrieve the dead person back.
sum pays for the initial costs of the
suspension. The balance is placed in a
trust fund, with the income used to pay
the continued cost of maintaining you in
suspension. Transtime can do
neurosuspensions but does not promote
the option. Transtime also charges a
yearly fee of $96 for membership, with

the price halved to $48 for other family
members.
The Cryonics Institute
Clinton Township, Michigan, charges
$28,000 for a full-body suspension,
along with a one-time payment of
$1,250. The Cryonics Institute does not
do neurosuspension.
Revival process:
Critics have often quipped
that it is easier to revive a corpse than a
cryonically frozen body. Many
cryonicists might actually agree with
this, provided that the "corpse" were
fresh, but they would argue that such a
"corpse" may actually be biologically
alive, under optimal conditions. A
declaration of legal death does not mean
that life has suddenly ended—death is a
gradual process, not a sudden event.
Rather, legal death is a declaration by
medical personnel that there is nothing
more they can do to save the patient. But
if the body is clearly biologically dead,
Cryonics
About 90 people in the United Stated are
already in suspension, with hundreds
more signed on for the service. Probably
in the most famous cryopreserved patient is
Ted WilliamsA cryopreserved person is
sometimes whimsically called a
corpsicle (a portmanteau of "corpse" and
"popsicle"). This term was first used by
science fiction author Larry Niven, who
credits its formulation to Obstacles to
success.
having been sitting at room temperature
for a period of time, or having been
traditionally embalmed, then cryonicists
would hold that such a body is far less
revivable than a cryonically preserved
patient, because any process of
resuscitation will depend on the quality
of the structural and molecular
preservation of the brain.
Financial issues:
Cryopreservation arrangements
can be expensive, currently ranging from
$28,000 at the Cryonics Institute to
$150,000 at Alcor and the American
Cryonics Society.
 Cryonics

The biggest drawback to current permissionant it, especially if they make

vitrification practice is a costs issue. arrangements while still young.
Because the most cost-effective means
of storing a cryopreserved person is in
liquid nitrogen, fracturing of the brain
occurs, a result of thermal stresses that Why only nanotechnology is
develop when cooling from −130°C to used in cryonics ?
−196°C (the temperature of liquid
nitrogen). actually quite affordable for Biological molecules and
the vast majority of those in the systems have a number of attributes
industrialized world who really make that make them highly suitable for
arrangements while still young. nanotechnology applications. Remote
control of DNA has proved that
electronics can interact with biology.
Gap between electronics and biology
Court Rules against Keeping is now closing.

:
The key to cryonics' eventual
success is nanotechnology, manipulating
The Conseil d'Etat ruled
materials on an atomic or molecular
cryonics - stopping physical decay after
scale, according to most techies who are
death in the hope of future revival - is
interested in cryonic suspension.
illegal.
"Current medical science does not have
The court said relatives have two the tools to fix damage that occurs at the
choices over what to do with dead cellular and molecular level, and damage
bodies - burial or cremation. It said to these systems is the cause of vast
relatives can scatter ashes after majority of fatal illnesses.”
cremation, but they have to bury bodies Nanotechnology is the ultimate
in a cemetery or in a tomb on private miniaturization can achieve. A
property after gaining special nanometer is equivalent to the width
of six bonded carbon items. A DNA
 Cryonics

molecule is 2.5nm wide. Cryonics patients may be able to benefit

bascically deals with cells, these cells sooner from simple forms of
are in the order of nanometers. At nanotechnology developed for
present there is no other technology
more main stream medical
which deals with such minute cells.
applications. Damaged caused by
Only nanotechnology can have the
freezing & fracturing is thought to be
ability to deal with cells. Normally
potentially repairable in future using
fatal accidents could be walked away
nanotechnology which will enable
from, thanks to range of safety
manipulation of matter at the
devices possible only with
molecular level.
nanotechnology.

Viruses, prions, parasites and How nanotechnology is

bacteria continue to mutate and used in cryonics?
produce new diseases. Our natural
immune system may, or may not, MOLECULAR MACHINES
handle. In theory, a nano ‘cell could revive patients by repairing
sentinel’ could make our body damaged cells but for making those
immune to any present or future cell repair machines, we first need to
infectious disease. build a molecular assembler.

Fracturing is a special concern It is quite possible to

for new vitrification protocol brought adequately model the behaviour of
online by Alcor for neuro patients. If molecular machines that satisfy two
advanced nanotechnology is available constraints.
for patient recovery, then fracturing
probably causes little information • They are built from parts that

loss. Fracturing commits cryopatient to are so stable that small errors

the need for molecular repair at in the empirical force fields

cryogenic temperature a highly don’t affect the shape or

specialized and advanced form of stability of the parts.

nanotechnology. Whereas unfractured

 Cryonics

• The synthesis of parts is done chemical reactions that must then

by using positionally controlled take place at the tip/work piece
reactions, where the actual interface involved in building an
chemical reactions involve a atomically precise part. For this
relatively small number of higher order ab initio calculations are
atoms. sufficient

Drexler’s assembler can be The methods of computational

built with these constraints. chemistry available today allow us to
model a wide range of molecular
Assembler made using machine’s with an accuracy

current methods : sufficiently in many cases to

determine how well they will work.
The fundamental purpose of an
Computational nano
assembler is to position atoms.
technology includes not only the
Robotic arms are other positioning
tools and techniques required to
devices are basically mechanical
model the proposed molecular
in nature, and will allow us to
machines it must also includes the
position molecular parts during the
tools required to specify such
assembly process. Molecular
machine. Molecular machine
mechanics provides us with an
proposal that would require million
excellent tool for modeling the
or even billions of atoms have been
behaviour of such devices. The
made. The total atom count of an
second requirement is the ability
assembler might be roughly a billion
to make and break bonds at
atoms. while commercially available
specific sites. While molecular
molecular modeling packages
mechanics provides an excellent
provide facilities to specify arbitary
tool for telling us where the tip of
structures it is usually necessary to
the assembler arm is located,
point and click for each atom
current force fields are not
involved. This is obviously
adequate to model the specific
unattractive for a device as complex
 Cryonics

as an assembler with its roughly one FUTURE

billion atoms.
ENHANCEMENTS:
The software required to
1.with the knowledge of cryonics
design and model complex molecular
cryonists are preserving the brains of
machine is either already available or
humans. we know that each person
can be readily develop over the next
alive today was once a single cell,
few years. The molecular compiler
and a complete human being can be
and other molecular CAD tools
grown in the natural state. Thus they
needed for this work can be
believe that genetic programming of
implemented using generally
a single cell on the surface of that
understood techniques and methods
brain begins a process of growth and
from computer science. Using this
development that perhaps appends to
approach it will be possible to
the brain a complete young adult
substantially reduce the development
body.
time for complex molecular
machines, including Drexler’s
assemblers.
 Cryonics
Conclusion:
References:
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the Hauslabjoch'." Universität
Innsbruck. 12 November 2002
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Collegiate Dictionary. 10th ed. 2001.
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Happens To Dead Bodies? 2nd ed.
Tucson: Galen Press, 2001.
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E-mail to the author. 11 November 2002.
1. With the implementation of
Cryonics we can get back the
life.
2. But Cryonics is a area in which
most of the work is to be done in
future and till now mainly the
concept of this area has been
proposed.
3. So the Scientists are not making
long promises for the future of
this Cryonics
5. "Frequently Asked Questions." Alcor
Life Extension Foundation. 12
November 2002
http://www.alcor.org/FAQs/index.htm
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Death." Medical Hypotheses 26 (1988):
77-84.
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Medical Technology. Santa Clara
University. 12 November 2002
http://medialab.scu.edu/btsfall/bts10/Cry
ogenics1.html
 Cryonics

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