A Selection of Opposing Views on Cryonics

Cryopreservation via a cryonics provider, such as Alcor or the Cryonics Institute in the US, is presently the only option available to the billions who will age to death prior to the advent of a comprehensive package of rejuvenation therapies. Sadly, it is not yet a well-developed industry, operating at scale. The technology exists to vitrify people immediately following clinical death, preserving the fine structure of brain tissue if the vitrification process is of sufficiently high quality, but very few people choose to take advantage of this opportunity. Every year, tens of millions go to oblivion rather than chose the better option. Given preservation, there is the chance of restoration to life in a more technologically advanced future. The odds of success are unknown, but any chance is better than the certain oblivion of any other end of life choice. The cost of cryopreservation is small, provided that preparations are made decades in advance, as it can be funded via life insurance. The popular science article noted here presents an array of comments from people for and against cryonics as an endeavor, and captures most of the important divisions. There is the disagreement over whether sufficiently well performed vitrification can preserve the structures that encode the mind, which seems to me to be the case, given the evidence from experiments in nematodes. There is the debate over whether present practices actually constitute sufficiently well performed vitrific...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Healthy Life Extension Community Source Type: blogs