Since his original placement in the dewar, hundreds of people have opted to join him in the hope of a second life in the future. In the last half century, the science of cryogenics, or freezing humans to preserve them for reanimation, has had some spectacular failures when inadequately frozen people started to decompose. And then there are the bodies which have been hauled around in trucks packed in dry ice as relatives argue over whether to freeze them for the future or bury them now.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate Robert McIntyre for the first time successfully froze and then revived a mammalian brain, that of a New Zealand white rabbit. Bedford was dying from kidney cancer at the age of 73 in when he made plans to become the first successfully frozen corpse of cryonics pioneer Bob Nelson.
Nelson, a television repairman and president of the Cryonics Society of California, had been inspired by Siberian salamanders which freeze in permafrost for years and then walk away when the ice melts. Norman later transferred his father to Cryo-Care Equipment Corporation, run by wigmaker and real estate investor Ed Hope, in Arizona, where he was submerged in the cryocapsule tank or dewar.
Cutting through the welded metal dewar, the Alcor technicians found Bedford in a pale blue sleeping bag tied to a rack with a nylon rope. They transferred him to a liquid nitrogen bath surrounded by polystyrene foam where they kept him while he was examined. Bedford was then wrapped in a new sleeping bag, immersed in liquid nitrogen, placed in an aluminum pod and into his new, larger dewar. Unmelted ice obscured his genitals, but his lower legs could be seen, crossed with the right foot over the left.
He had frozen another nine by the s, but struggled with the costs, and built a vault at a cemetery outside Los Angeles capable of storing several liquid nitrogen tanks. When the parents of a young girl cryogenically suspended in demanded to inspect their daughter in , they were outraged to find she was decomposing. Cryopreservation may also one day aid in the treatment of common cancer.
Bryant is personally investigating how to cryopreserve platelets, which are used in transfusions for people with cancer. Platelets only last around four or five days, so supplies have to be constantly replenished with donations, resulting in wastage. If Bryant and his team can find a way to cryopreserve platelets, it could one day streamline this process and reduce waste. Originally published by Cosmos as Can human bodies really be cryogenically frozen?
Cosmos is published by The Royal Institution of Australia, a charity dedicated to connecting people with the world of science. Financial contributions, however big or small, help us provide access to trusted science information at a time when the world needs it most. Please support us by making a donation or purchasing a subscription today. She has also signed two of her dogs up for the service: her Chihuahua Tinkerbell and her Yorkshire Terrier Cinderella.
The world renowned EDM DJ has set up a foundation that invests in brain preservation and funds anti-aging technology. His enthusiasm for these fields has meant that he has signed up to be cryopreserved. Ray Kurzweil is an author and futurist with some notable literature on the topic of AI. He is aware of the potential technological advancements that we may experience over the next few decades. He knows that they will change our lives and wants to be around to see them.
Aubrey de Grey is somewhat of a Cryonics and Life Extension celebrity. Another famous name within the Cryonics Industry is Ralph Merkle, a computer scientist.
He made breakthroughs in cryptography, but is now a speaker and researcher in Cryonics. He has been influential in the growth of Alcor and has signed up with them to be cryopreserved when he dies. The co-founder of Paypal has invested heavily in anti-aging and longevity science foundations.
One of which is the Methuselah Foundation, operated by Aubrey de Grey. He believes that we will see huge technological advancements this century and that he could benefit from them by being cryopreserved in the event of his death. Below are a few celebrities who have had rumours circulating about their interest in being cryopreserved once they die. Simon Cowell signed up to be cryopreserved a few years ago. He saw it more as an insurance policy for a potential chance of evading death.
However after ridicule from a comedian, he questioned his support of the concept.
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