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Immortality - Humans have always been captivated by the idea of eternal life. We are mortal beings, and the knowledge of our inevitable end can be a difficult truth to embrace.
© Shutterstock
1 / 30 Fotos
Cheating death
- In the hopes of beating death, cryogenic freezing was one method a few scientists started to dabble with in the '60s. It promised that scientists would be able to stop the dying process. When a cure for whatever ailment that caused the death was found, bodies would be defrosted back to life.
© Getty Images
2 / 30 Fotos
Cryogenics becomes popular
- In 1962, scientist Robert Ettinger published the book 'The Prospect of Immortality,' which popularized the idea of freezing human bodies to extend their lives. He is now considered the "father of cryogenics."
© Getty Images
3 / 30 Fotos
Close family
- Although controversial and disputed by other scientists, the method has already been used. Ettinger reportedly had his mother, his first wife, and his second wife cryogenically frozen and stored in vats at his Cryonics Institute.
© Shutterstock
4 / 30 Fotos
Not guaranteed
- It's still considered a huge gamble. There's no certainty about when one would wake up. Some say 50 years, others say hundreds. The plan is to keep people frozen until a cure for the cause of death, or aging in general, is discovered.
© Shutterstock
5 / 30 Fotos
Risks - The technique's practical viability has been questioned, especially since cryoprotectants like glycerol are used in the process. These substances are highly toxic, and it's uncertain how they will affect cells during the thawing process.
© Shutterstock
6 / 30 Fotos
Risks
- Without these toxic protective agents, however, it's impossible to freeze the body. When cells freeze, they form large ice crystals that destroy cell walls.
© Getty Images
7 / 30 Fotos
Ethical questions
- The method was also always surrounded by ethical questions, not just about life and death but also about the responsibilities of cryonics providers and the rights of cryopreserved individuals.
© Shutterstock
8 / 30 Fotos
Tricky brain
- One of the main concerns raised by critics of cryogenics is the brain. Since it's composed of millions of neural pathways, it's difficult to imagine that the freezing process wouldn't damage these delicate connections.
© Shutterstock
9 / 30 Fotos
Dangerous
- Critics of cryogenics argue that even if the body could be revived, the level of brain damage would make life hardly worth living.
© Shutterstock
10 / 30 Fotos
Still a possibility
- However, a recent poll of 300 neuroscientists revealed that 40% of them believe it's possible to one day resurrect memories from preserved brain structures, and perhaps even fully emulate a brain.
© Getty Images
11 / 30 Fotos
Scientists bet on it
- Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston, a neuroscientist from Monash University in Australia and the instigator of the poll, believes that technology has advanced enough to make brain preservation worth considering. He would choose cryopreservation if he knew he was dying and had the chance.
© Shutterstock
12 / 30 Fotos
Not retroactive
- However, he said, this doesn't mean we'll be able to chat with the dozens of people who have already undergone cryopreservation.
© Getty Images
13 / 30 Fotos
Brain damage
- Zeleznikow-Johnston argues that most previous techniques, like those used in the 1960s, would have destroyed brain structures. Only recently have we developed methods capable of preserving connectivity patterns.
© Getty Images
14 / 30 Fotos
Taking it slow
- Even though there are apparently viable methods available, the scientific community remains cautious about the process.
© Shutterstock
15 / 30 Fotos
Still taboo?
- Zeleznikow-Johnston is under the impression that "many colleagues consider ideas like brain preservation, structural encoding of memory, and even mind-uploading plausible, but they don't want to discuss them publicly."
© Shutterstock
16 / 30 Fotos
Memory storage
- Part of the argument, he said, concerns how memories are stored. Do they exist solely in the connectivity patterns of neurons, or is more information required—perhaps at the atomic level, hormonal, or electrical?
© Shutterstock
17 / 30 Fotos
Complex structure
- There seems to be a growing consensus among neuroscientists that the brain's structural properties are crucial for storing information, according to Zeleznikow-Johnston, who also wrote 'The Future Loves You: How and Why to Abolish Death.'
© Shutterstock
18 / 30 Fotos
How to preserve memories?
- In particular, he cites deep hypothermic circulatory arrest, a technique that involves cooling patients before surgery to protect the brain.
© Getty Images
19 / 30 Fotos
How to preserve memories?
- This stops electrical activity in the brain, but memories reportedly remain intact.
© Shutterstock
20 / 30 Fotos
Keeping your ID
- "There's strong evidence that preserving a person's brain would preserve their key personal identity," said Zeleznikow-Johnston.
© Shutterstock
21 / 30 Fotos
More complex
- Professor Timothy O'Leary from the University of Cambridge, a polled neuroscientist, acknowledges the potential of detailed brain mapping but cautions that it doesn't guarantee functional revival. He argues that this limitation applies to any complex physical system, not just the brain.
© Getty Images
22 / 30 Fotos
Already done
- This reality is closer than we might think. The brain of Li Zehou, one of China's most renowned modern philosophers, has been preserved in a leading US cryonics facility since his death in 2021.
© Getty Images
23 / 30 Fotos
Passing it on
- The philosopher expressed his desire to preserve his brain as early as 2010, telling the domestic media outlet Southern Weekly that he hoped it could be studied for clues about Chinese culture.
© Shutterstock
24 / 30 Fotos
Facilities
- Li's biographer, Ma Quanlin, said the late professor's brain was frozen at the Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Arizona after his death.
© Getty Images
25 / 30 Fotos
How much does it cost?
- According to the center's website, whole-body cryopreservation costs U$220,000, while brain cryopreservation costs $80,000.
© Shutterstock
26 / 30 Fotos
Misplaced memories
- O'Leary highlights the complexity of capturing detailed neural patterns that form memories, arguing they require a functioning nervous system and potentially a physical body to manifest. Measurement errors could result in partial or inaccessible memory storage.
© Shutterstock
27 / 30 Fotos
A "future you" problem
- To illustrate this idea, The Times compares it to waking up after a century only to discover that a measurement error has prevented you from accessing your life savings because the "revived you" forgot your PIN.
© Shutterstock
28 / 30 Fotos
Next steps
- As scientists continue to explore the possibilities of brain and body preservation, discussions about regulation are also ongoing. An international conference on human cryopreservation, or biostasis, was held in Madrid in November 2022 to discuss a regulatory framework for future procedures. Sources: (The Times) (Sixth Tone) (Alcor Life Extension Foundation) See also: Peculiar ways to become immortal
© Getty Images
29 / 30 Fotos
© Getty Images
0 / 30 Fotos
Immortality - Humans have always been captivated by the idea of eternal life. We are mortal beings, and the knowledge of our inevitable end can be a difficult truth to embrace.
© Shutterstock
1 / 30 Fotos
Cheating death
- In the hopes of beating death, cryogenic freezing was one method a few scientists started to dabble with in the '60s. It promised that scientists would be able to stop the dying process. When a cure for whatever ailment that caused the death was found, bodies would be defrosted back to life.
© Getty Images
2 / 30 Fotos
Cryogenics becomes popular
- In 1962, scientist Robert Ettinger published the book 'The Prospect of Immortality,' which popularized the idea of freezing human bodies to extend their lives. He is now considered the "father of cryogenics."
© Getty Images
3 / 30 Fotos
Close family
- Although controversial and disputed by other scientists, the method has already been used. Ettinger reportedly had his mother, his first wife, and his second wife cryogenically frozen and stored in vats at his Cryonics Institute.
© Shutterstock
4 / 30 Fotos
Not guaranteed
- It's still considered a huge gamble. There's no certainty about when one would wake up. Some say 50 years, others say hundreds. The plan is to keep people frozen until a cure for the cause of death, or aging in general, is discovered.
© Shutterstock
5 / 30 Fotos
Risks - The technique's practical viability has been questioned, especially since cryoprotectants like glycerol are used in the process. These substances are highly toxic, and it's uncertain how they will affect cells during the thawing process.
© Shutterstock
6 / 30 Fotos
Risks
- Without these toxic protective agents, however, it's impossible to freeze the body. When cells freeze, they form large ice crystals that destroy cell walls.
© Getty Images
7 / 30 Fotos
Ethical questions
- The method was also always surrounded by ethical questions, not just about life and death but also about the responsibilities of cryonics providers and the rights of cryopreserved individuals.
© Shutterstock
8 / 30 Fotos
Tricky brain
- One of the main concerns raised by critics of cryogenics is the brain. Since it's composed of millions of neural pathways, it's difficult to imagine that the freezing process wouldn't damage these delicate connections.
© Shutterstock
9 / 30 Fotos
Dangerous
- Critics of cryogenics argue that even if the body could be revived, the level of brain damage would make life hardly worth living.
© Shutterstock
10 / 30 Fotos
Still a possibility
- However, a recent poll of 300 neuroscientists revealed that 40% of them believe it's possible to one day resurrect memories from preserved brain structures, and perhaps even fully emulate a brain.
© Getty Images
11 / 30 Fotos
Scientists bet on it
- Ariel Zeleznikow-Johnston, a neuroscientist from Monash University in Australia and the instigator of the poll, believes that technology has advanced enough to make brain preservation worth considering. He would choose cryopreservation if he knew he was dying and had the chance.
© Shutterstock
12 / 30 Fotos
Not retroactive
- However, he said, this doesn't mean we'll be able to chat with the dozens of people who have already undergone cryopreservation.
© Getty Images
13 / 30 Fotos
Brain damage
- Zeleznikow-Johnston argues that most previous techniques, like those used in the 1960s, would have destroyed brain structures. Only recently have we developed methods capable of preserving connectivity patterns.
© Getty Images
14 / 30 Fotos
Taking it slow
- Even though there are apparently viable methods available, the scientific community remains cautious about the process.
© Shutterstock
15 / 30 Fotos
Still taboo?
- Zeleznikow-Johnston is under the impression that "many colleagues consider ideas like brain preservation, structural encoding of memory, and even mind-uploading plausible, but they don't want to discuss them publicly."
© Shutterstock
16 / 30 Fotos
Memory storage
- Part of the argument, he said, concerns how memories are stored. Do they exist solely in the connectivity patterns of neurons, or is more information required—perhaps at the atomic level, hormonal, or electrical?
© Shutterstock
17 / 30 Fotos
Complex structure
- There seems to be a growing consensus among neuroscientists that the brain's structural properties are crucial for storing information, according to Zeleznikow-Johnston, who also wrote 'The Future Loves You: How and Why to Abolish Death.'
© Shutterstock
18 / 30 Fotos
How to preserve memories?
- In particular, he cites deep hypothermic circulatory arrest, a technique that involves cooling patients before surgery to protect the brain.
© Getty Images
19 / 30 Fotos
How to preserve memories?
- This stops electrical activity in the brain, but memories reportedly remain intact.
© Shutterstock
20 / 30 Fotos
Keeping your ID
- "There's strong evidence that preserving a person's brain would preserve their key personal identity," said Zeleznikow-Johnston.
© Shutterstock
21 / 30 Fotos
More complex
- Professor Timothy O'Leary from the University of Cambridge, a polled neuroscientist, acknowledges the potential of detailed brain mapping but cautions that it doesn't guarantee functional revival. He argues that this limitation applies to any complex physical system, not just the brain.
© Getty Images
22 / 30 Fotos
Already done
- This reality is closer than we might think. The brain of Li Zehou, one of China's most renowned modern philosophers, has been preserved in a leading US cryonics facility since his death in 2021.
© Getty Images
23 / 30 Fotos
Passing it on
- The philosopher expressed his desire to preserve his brain as early as 2010, telling the domestic media outlet Southern Weekly that he hoped it could be studied for clues about Chinese culture.
© Shutterstock
24 / 30 Fotos
Facilities
- Li's biographer, Ma Quanlin, said the late professor's brain was frozen at the Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Arizona after his death.
© Getty Images
25 / 30 Fotos
How much does it cost?
- According to the center's website, whole-body cryopreservation costs U$220,000, while brain cryopreservation costs $80,000.
© Shutterstock
26 / 30 Fotos
Misplaced memories
- O'Leary highlights the complexity of capturing detailed neural patterns that form memories, arguing they require a functioning nervous system and potentially a physical body to manifest. Measurement errors could result in partial or inaccessible memory storage.
© Shutterstock
27 / 30 Fotos
A "future you" problem
- To illustrate this idea, The Times compares it to waking up after a century only to discover that a measurement error has prevented you from accessing your life savings because the "revived you" forgot your PIN.
© Shutterstock
28 / 30 Fotos
Next steps
- As scientists continue to explore the possibilities of brain and body preservation, discussions about regulation are also ongoing. An international conference on human cryopreservation, or biostasis, was held in Madrid in November 2022 to discuss a regulatory framework for future procedures. Sources: (The Times) (Sixth Tone) (Alcor Life Extension Foundation) See also: Peculiar ways to become immortal
© Getty Images
29 / 30 Fotos
Could freezing your brain be beneficial? Here's what scientists think
Freezing and reviving the human mind may soon be possible
© Getty Images
For centuries, humans have dreamed of defying death. Now, thanks to advancements in science and technology, that dream may be closer to reality than ever before. A growing number of scientists believe that cryonics, the practice of preserving bodies at extremely low temperatures with the hope of future revival, may hold the key to extending life indefinitely.
But what about the mind? Can we truly preserve consciousness and memories? According to a survey of neuroscientists, it's not impossible.
Intrigued? Click through this gallery to discover what scientists say about this mind-bending possibility.
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