Cryonics Cryogenics

cryogenics refers to the branches of physics and engineering that see very low temperatures, how to produce them, and how materials be gestate at those temperatures. Cryogenics is entirely ab come out of the closet temperatures below -150C or 123 K. One of the most fearful applications of cryogenic attending is cryonics where the human body is exposed to cryogenic give-and-take in order to preserve it after death. In the United States of America, on that point argon, circulating(prenominal)ly, two organizations that offer cryogenic treatment for human bodies The Cryonics Institute in Clinton Township, Michigan and Alcor in Scottsdale, Arizona.Once death sets in, the perseverings bodies are continue in chemicals degestural to theoretically protect cellular structure, before cosmos lowered into steel tubes of politic nitrogen, called dewars. Here they will be kept in cold fund at 196C in the commit that or soday in the future they may be brought back to bearing. in tha t respect are currently 147 people in cryogenic suspension, with another 1,000 members signed up for the deep freeze. History of Human CryogenicsIn 1940, lead up biologist Basil Luyet published a work titled bread and butter and Death at Low Temperatures in which he observed that sequence many organisms underwent serious dam boards at very low temperatures. However, in some cases, he reported that he managed to restore normal manoeuvre when organisms were rewarmed after freeze. Luyets work led to a whole new discipline of science called cryobiology. British scientists found that by soaking cells in a solution of glycerol, red blood cells and bull semen could be fixed and then their functions could be completely restored on rewarming.The main discovery is that with human cryogenics, life can, in fact, be come offped and restarted under controlled conditions. In the United States, Robert Ettinger through his book The Prospect of Immortality (1964) promoted the idea that a ps yche frozen after legal death might rationally believe to be resuscitated at some time in the furthermost future when medicine has advanced enough to cure most diseases, rick the aging process, and repair any residual damage caused by freezing (Klein, 2004). This came to be known as Ettingers concept.Many scientists shun the idea of manipulating life and death conditions of the body and hence there has not been much show up in this field since the 1960s. Cryonics is an unproven theory. There are scientific obstacles that, some would say, are insurmountable. One of the success stories in this realm is that of Gregory Fahy and his team. They have succeeded in cryopreserving a rabbit kidney, chase awayd the procedure and successfully re-implanted it without losing the ability to possess the life of the recipient (Fahy, 2006). Challenges in Cryonics Cryonic aspirants may choose to have their entire body stored or only their head frozen.The thinking toilet the latter option is tha t an old soul would not want to numerate back alive in his old body. Cryonics is an expensive option. Alcor currently charges the like of ? 80,000 for the full body option and ? 42,000 for the head only (Cryonics Cryogenics, 2006). The long-term storage of biological materials, including human organs, requires very low temperatures, which typically are achieved with liquid nitrogen (LN2). While LN2 provides suitable ultralow temperatures, general storage environments have been slight than satisfactory and this is an obstacle in cryonics (Lehr, 2006).Another major challenge facing cryonics is that the current technique of full-body preservation with cryoprotectant chemicals causes extensive molecular damage to the body. To successfully loan a patient back to life, cryonics would not only need to reverse this damage, but would also have to cure the original illness the patient died from. Apart from this, the process of cryonics also raises a lot of legal and honest issues such a s How can a legally dead person have a valid contract for cryopreservation? Is euthanasia an option for cryonicists? ar cryonics organizations right in selling an unproven technology? (Best, 2006) Cryopreservation Procedure As soon as a patient dies, the persons thinker cells are the first to die. Hence the first step would be to stop cellular decomposition caused by oxygen deprivation. This is done by engine cooling system the body. For every 10C drop in temperature there is a 50% reduction in metabolic demand which means it takes in two ways as long for damage to occur. The body should be kept exclusively above freezing and then, a mechanical chest compressor is used to temporarily restore circulation before injecting medications to stop the blood clotting.Then, the patients blood is washed out and replaced with a temporary protective fluid. Now, there is a surgical process that begins by opening the chest cavity to allow plastic cannulization tubes to be sewn into the hear t to provide entry and exit points for the cryoprotectant fluid. These tubes are connected to a by-pass machine that circulates the cryopreservation fluid around the body. The process called vitrification involves renew over 60% of the water in the body with, potentially toxic, preservation chemicals.When exposed to cryogenic temperatures of below -120C they react by crook tissue to a glass-like solid. Throughout the procedure the body is kept packed in ice inside a perspex covering. molten nitrogen desiccation is regularly pumped around the body to keep the temperature at -3C. later on the surgery, the body is transferred to an insulated holding chamber for the rapid cool down stage. Liquid nitrogen vapor is pumped inside and probes will monitor the bodys core temperature. The temperature will be dropped rapidly to just above the glass enactment point.The body is then placed in a sleeping-bag and put into a pod which is the permanent storage container where it will be coole d very slowly to liquid nitrogen temperature (Cryonics Cryogenics, 2006). Conclusion It has been mans inherent temper to search for eternity and eternal youth. So, it is no wonder that the science of cryonics has beguile the interests of mankind. Cryonics is a science that is still in the nascent stage. It is a polemic science that is countered by seemingly unanswerable questions.Yet, the fascination for conquering age and death keeps research in cryonics advancing. Bibliography Platt, Charles (2006). Cryonics A Short History The unachievable Dream. http//www. imminst. org/ meeting place/index. php? s=&act=ST&f=61&t=860 Best, Ben (2006). Cryonics The Issues. http//www. benbest. com/cryonics/cryiss. hypertext mark-up language Lehr, A. Valentine (2006). Precision, flexibility critical in long-term, ultra- low-temperature storage of biological materials. Control Considerations for Cryogenic Storage Facilities. HPAC Engineering. August 2006. http//www. hpac.com/member/feature/2006/ 0806/0806_lehr. htm Cryonics, Cryogenics (2006). Death in the deep freeze. http//www. mymultiplesclerosis. co. uk/stranger-than-fiction/cryogenics. html Fahy, M. Gregory (2006). Cryopreservation of Complex Systems The Missing Link in the Regenerative treat Supply Chain. Rejuvenation Research. Jun 2006, Vol. 9, No. 2 279-291. http//www. liebertonline. com/doi/abs/10. 1089/rej. 2006. 9. 279? journalCode=rej= Klein, Bruce (2004). Robert Ettinger, Father of Cryonics. http//www. imminst. org/forum/index. php? act=ST&f=67&t=4112