Recent Highlights from FutureNews -- the Cryonics Society Newsletter
Cryonics In Dubai
One of the richest and fastest-growing areas in the world wants to know more about cryonics.
Dubai UAE - November 1, 2007
Xpress — Dubai in the United Arab Emirates is the fastest-growing city on earth and a favorite spot of the super-rich, spending vast sums on construction and bidding to become a global maritime power, according to Adam Nicolson of the Guardian.
And among its influential residents' many interests? Cryonics.
Xpress, Dubai's leading popular daily news publication, recently interviewed Cryonics Society secretary David Pascal and Cryonics Institute President Ben Best to learn more about cryonics and the promise it holds for extending human life. The interview, currently online, can be read here.
Cryonics has sometimes been criticized -- wrongly -- for being a practice affordable only by the very rich. In fact, cryopreservation is often funded by life insurance policies, allowing those who are interested to fund suspensions with monthly payments low enough to make it comparable to Cable.
But the support of wealthy individuals has been a crucial factor in the growth and survival of the cryonics movement. If the Dubai article is any indicator of growing interest from such sectors, it may be a promising sign itself.
Paris Cool
Paris Hilton -- cryonics activist?
Arizona - October 18, 2007
A number of news sources ranging from the Arizona Republic to the blogosphere have reported that actress and media celebrity Paris Hilton has become a cryonics supporter and investor.
As BANG Showbiz reports, "Paris Hilton wants to be frozen with her beloved pets when she dies. The hotel heiress is keen to live forever and has invested a large sum of money in the world's biggest suspended animation cemetery, Cryonics Institute."
The story is incorrect, both in its characterization of the Cryonics Institute and regarding Miss Hilton. It is apparently a media hoax. Unofficial sources have informed the Cryonics Society that reports of the actress' commitment have no basis in reality.
Cryonics Institute membership policy includes a privacy clause which prevents the Institute from either confirming or denying whether a given individual is a member of the Institute, so direct disconfirmation from the Cryonics Institute has not been forthcoming. However, the Cryonics Institute is a not-for-profit organization, it welcomes donations, and as such not open to private commerical investment.
It is possible that the rumors may reach and interest Miss Hilton in cryonics, and her membership in or support of any cryonics organization would certainly be welcome. But all available evidence at the moment suggests that that has not happened at this time.
"Is It Safe for a Biologist to Support Cryonics Publicly?"
It's not only safe, it may well be a plus, according to celebrated gerontologist and cryonics advocate Dr. Aubrey de Grey.
Scottsdale - October 9, 2007
Arizona — Dr. Aubrey de Grey is a distinguished biomedical gerontologist at the Department of Genetics at the University of Cambridge.
The author of many books and papers, most recently Ending Aging: The Rejuvenation Breakthroughs That Could Reverse Human Aging in Our Lifetime, Dr. de Grey four years ago made public his intention to be cryopreserved with the Alcor Life Extension Foundation.
At the 7th Alcor Conference in Scottsdale, Arizona, Dr. de Grey discussed the reasons for his decision to make his support for cryonics public knowledge, and the consequences, in a presentation entitled, “Is It Safe for a Biologist to Support Cryonics Publicly?”
Is it safe? It may well be an intelligent move, according to Dr. de Grey, who concluded his presentation by saying, "I made the right decision four years ago to go public with my cryonics membership. I have had remarkably little difficulty in maintaining the credibility that I’ve had and hardly ever been criticized on that basis."
"As time goes forward over the next few years, more and more people will find themselves, like me, in the position where it becomes, if anything, actually expedient to support cryonics publicly, relative to condemning it for reasons that don’t make biological sense."
Until a more formal presentation of Dr. de Grey's remarks appear, an online transcript and mp3 of the Alcor Conference presentation have been made available on the blog, Accelerating Future.
"Cryonics is the key word inspiring the dream of eternal life"
Germany, October 5, 2007
BERLIN (AFP) — "Cryonics is the key word inspiring the dream of eternal life," said Germany's Zeughaus Museum in a statement about its recent exhibition of preserved human specimens.
The Zeughaus exhibition, in the southwestern city of Mannheim, is entitled "Mummies -- The Dream of Eternal Life" and present 70 preserved specimens that have been naturally and artificially mummified, from Egypt and Asia, to the Americas, the Pacific Islands and Europe.
The highlights of the exhibit are the 'Windeby Girl', a young girl found in a peat bog in northern Germany in the 1950s, and a 3,000-year-old pet dog preserved complete with fur.
But in a step that shows the increasing popular interest in and scientific acceptance of cryonics, the exhibition is also taking a forward-looking glance at methods with which the body could be preserved in the future with advanced freezing techniques.
For more information on the show, visit Google News.
Salman Rushdie On The Eloquence Of Cryonics
London, September 13, 2007
The continuing awareness of cryonics in the public imagination has been confirmed again in a review in the New Statesman by author Salman Rushdie of a public gallery exhibition of works by the celebrated photographer Taryn Simon.
Observes Rushdie, "her images easily hold their own, even when accompanied by the most astonishing information. The smoky, white-on-white portrait of the degree-zero cryogenic preservation pod in which the bodies of the mother and wife of the cryonics pioneer Robert Ettinger lie frozen," he adds, speaks "...so eloquently of our fear of death and our dreams of immortality that few words are necessary."
For more information and a larger view of the gallery image, titled "Cryopreservation Unit", visit www.tarynsimon.com.
Advances In Human Cryopreservation
Florida, October 28, 2006
Suspended Animation Announces May 2007 Meeting To Discuss Cryonics-Related Scientific Advances
Suspended Animation will host a conference at the end of May 2007 to present important new information about cryonics research and development, and services. Under the broad title "Advances in Human Cryopreservation," the organization will present entirely new presentations and progress reports from of sources including 21st Century Medicine, Critical Care Research, Suspended Animation, the Alcor Foundation, the Cryonics Institute, and the American Cryonics Society.
The conferrence will provide information about perhaps the most ambitious research plan yet attempted in the history of cryobiology, describing the first stage of an effort to achieve reversible whole-body vitrification without the need for cell repair via nanotechnology.
The meeting will also offer tours of the Suspended Animation facility, and a close-up introduction to SA and its services and efforts. SA's three directors and staff of seven employees will be available to meet and speak with those attending.
Cryonics On Google and YouTube
Cyberspace, October 25, 2006
Print information about cryonics has been available online since the early days of the net, but supporters, journalists and now independent artists are turning to digital video to spread the word.
Below are some of the recent offerings you can find by searching 'cryonics' on Google Video and YouTube. Click the arrow in the center to load the video, and the small arrow in the lower left hand to begin the video.
Cameron Reilly on Cryonics (G'Day World Video):
Unperson Industries Cryonics Video:
KrioRus - Cryonics In Russia:
The Chilling by QA Productions:
Aubrey de Grey on Good Morning (GMTV):
Cryonics on Futurama:
There are also more technical in-depth discussions on video on suspended animation by vitrification by Dr. Brian Wowk and on cybernetic life extension by Dr. Ben Goetzel at the Second Annual Geoethical Nanotechnology Workshop.
Whole Families Signing Up For Cryonics: A New Trend
Mesa, AZ, July 3, 2006
An article by journalist Shanna Hogan in the East Valley Tribune reports a growing social trend: entire families signing up for cryonics.
"More people are taking it seriously as a means of protection for their entire families," said Tanya Jones, chief operating officer for Alcor, the largest cryonics provider in the United States. Jones noted that this is a recent trend in cryonics, which, she said, had previously drawn its membership mostly from young, educated single males.
Cryonics is by no means limited to the young, or to whole families. Cryonics patients have ranged from children to a 99-year-old man who passed away old age. Each remain under long-term monitoring and care until a revival process can be perfected and cures for the physical ailments that led to their suspension are found.
Hogan quotes the Alcor official as saying that medical advances such as cloning and stem cell research are making the possibility of cryonics more feasible for many. "Science fiction is becoming science fact on a daily basis," she said.
Is cost an obstacle, for families or individuals? Not necessarily, according to Rudi Hoffman, a certified financial planner in Florida who has helped with the financial arrangement for cryonics members at both Alcor and the Cryonics Institute, another major cryonics services provider, headquartered in Michigan.
"The cost of cryonics are normally handled through life insurance," says Hoffman. "The actual monthly investment to that insurance can be less than a daily cup of coffee at Starbucks."
Hoffman explained that most his clients are not wealthy. Roughly three-fourths have incomes of $50,000 a year or less, he noted. Individuals in average health who fund their cryonic suspensions through life insurance can find insurance programs that allow them to pay premiums of as little as $28 a month or less.
"It's a small price to pay for even a chance at immortality," said Hoffman, adding, that through life insurance, "they can fund the entire family suspension."
New medical developments are coming at rapid, even radical, speeds. Americans are using alternative medicines and cutting-edge breakthroughs at an ever-accelerated pace.
Will cryonics suspension arrangements for the whole family be the next big social trend? At least one major daily is reporting on the possibility. Read the whole story here online.
Finnish Research Study Supports Cryopreservation
HELSINKI, Finland, June 20, 2006
University of Helsinki researcher Anatoli Bogdan has announced that his research suggests cryopreservation may not only be possible, but may have taken a major step forward to becoming a reality.
Bogdan announced the discovery of a form of low-density amorphous ice produced by slowly supercooling diluted aqueous droplets. The ice metamorphoses into a highly viscous substance resembling glass and not water.
"That HVW is not a new form of water (meaning normal and glassy water are thermodynamically connected) may have some interesting practical implications in cryobiology, medicine, and cryonics," observed Bogdan. "It may seem fantastic, but the fact that in aqueous solution, [the] water component can be slowly supercooled to the glassy state and warmed back without crystallization implies that, in principle, if a suitable cryoprotectant is created, cells in plants and living matter could withstand a large supercooling and survive."
"Damage of the cells occurs due to the extra-cellular and intra-cellular ice formation which leads to dehydration and separation into the ice and concentrated unfrozen solution. If we could, by slow cooling/warming, supercool and then warm the cells without the crystallization of water then the cells would be undamaged."
Bogdan's study is slated to appear in the Journal of Physical Chemistry in July. More information can be found online in a breaking article released by the American Chemical Society, in a United Press International piece on the subject, and on the Discovery Channel web site, where Discovery Reports hails the new development in a feature article.
Cryonics Society Wins Government Approval
U.S. Government Grants Non-Profit Status To The Cryonics Society.
Tax-Deductible Contributions Can Now Be Accepted.
May 12, 2006 --
The Cryonics Society (http://www.CryonicsSociety.org) has been incorporated as a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization. The Cryonics Society is the only organization in the world today dedicated solely to the promotion and advancement of the emerging technology of cryonics.
Following an assessment of the organization by the United States government, the Cryonics Society was officially granted charitable status and can now receive tax-deductible contributions from supporters.
Cryonics Society leaders welcomed the government decision. They called it another example of a growing trend toward popular acceptance of the science of applying extreme low temperature technology to one day extend human life.
"We believe we're at the start of a new era in cryonics" said founder and President Nick Pavlica, citing a recent public statement of support signed by sixty doctors, scientists, and researchers in nanotechnology, nanomedicine, cryobiology, and other new medical technologies. The statement called for the acceptance of cryonics as a legitimate field of study and for more cryonics research.
"Cryonics used to be seen as science fiction," said Pavlica. "Now it's becoming science fact. People want to learn more about it. We're here to help."
Pavlica pointed out that recent research experiments have broken new ground in eliminating freezing damage in cryogenic conditions. Whole organs have been removed, stored at extreme low temperatures, then restored and used successfully in transplants.
"That used to be impossible." said Pavlica. "Now it's reality. Cryonics is like that too. It's just over the horizon. And when it arrives, it could save a lot of lives. Provided we can break the cycle of unthinking criticism and build more public support.
"That's the job of the Cryonics Society," he added.
The Cryonics Society was founded and led by publisher and mass marketing specialist Nick Pavlica, retired former international attorney Bruce Waugh, and author and marketing consultant David Pascal. The Society performs no cooling procedures itself. Nor does it maintain patients. The Cryonics Society devotes itself solely to educating, informing and assisting the public. It aims at fostering what it believes will be a growing groundswell of popular and financial support for the emerging new technology.
The Cryonics Society has already drawn attention for taking new initiatives to change public perceptions of the controversial practice. Last year it sent the first series of direct-mail mass mailings in history to the general public to gather greater support for cryonics.
The Society has also been in the forefront of using new information technologies such as podcasting, the internet, and online social networking. The organization has made efforts to garner support from major media firms, and has been cited positively in magazines and news articles.
The organization takes pains to distinguish itself from cryonics service providers, however.
"We definitely provide a service," said Society secretary David Pascal. "But not medical services. People need to better understand how cryonics can benefit them and society. They need information. We provide it in the form of educational material. We also provide it by supplying journalists with unbiased up-to-date information. We want to build a new and more accurate picture of cryonics and its possibilities in the minds of people and the research establishment.
"We want to expand people's options. To give them new opportunities for life, instead of just the certainty of death from diseases like cancer, diabetes, and AIDS. That means supporting technologies and efforts that extend life. That's what the Cryonics Society is here to do. And now, if people help the Society with a donation or by becoming a supporter, it's tax-deductible.
"We're on the verge of a new technology that could add more years to people's lives than anyone ever thought possible. All we need to make it happen is enough people working together to support it."
Further Information:
For additional information on this or other cryonics-related news items, contact David Pascal at the Cryonics Society's offices at 585-473-3321, or email us directly or via the web site at http://www.CryonicsSociety.org.
Free literature and ebooks about cryonics are available to the public at the Cryonics Society web site. Free subscriptions to FutureNews, the Cryonics Society electronic newsletter, are available there as well.
About the Cryonics Society:
The Cryonics Society, a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization, is the only registered nonprofit organization in the world dedicated solely to educating and informing the public about the emerging medical technology of cryonics, to working with and assisting existing media to ensure fair and accurate news coverage, and to helping raise funds for public education and legitimate research and development.
Cryonics is the science of using extreme low temperature to preserve and restore life. Since its conception, cryonics has had to struggle with negative and inaccurate perceptions. The goal of the Cryonics Society is to reverse this trend and accelerate the acceptance and development of what potentially may be the greatest life-saving technology ever conceived.
Contact:
David Pascal, Secretary
The Cryonics Society, Inc.
585 - 473 - 3321
http://www.CryonicsSociety.org
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3/17/2006
Letter From An American Soldier In Iraq To The Cryonics Institute
“To whom it may concern,
“I am writing this letter in preparation for my departure from a combat deployment with the United States Army. Upon said departure from Iraq, I will have been in country for approximately 12 months and away from home for 18. This should occur within the next 6 months.
“I realize that Cryonics is "the preservation of legally dead humans or pets at very low temperature (below -200ºF, -130ºC) in the hope that future science can restore them to life, youth and health," but I would like to make a special request. It involves the transport of a living being. My expectations of home are so vivid, and my excitement so immense, that I would ask you to show your "support for the troops" by using me in an experiment…”
Comments continue on an Open Letter to the Cryonics Institute, published in blog format by an American Lieutenant in Iraq.
Read one of the most moving letters from U.S. troops stationed in the conflict by clicking here…
3/10/2006
Suspended Animation Research Promises New Solutions In Cancer Treatment
In 2005, scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center for the first time successfully induced a state of reversible metabolic hibernation in mice. The triumph was the first demonstration of hibernation on demand ever produced in a mammal. Results were so promising that human trials are now scheduled within five years.
Could the development of such hibernation technologies produce a shorter-term form of suspended animation, amounting to a cryonics without extreme low temperatures? Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center argue that the new technology could lead to entirely new ways to approach the treatment of serious illnesses, including cancer. Read more at the Center’s web site…
2/20/2006
Cryonics Suspension Facilities Go Worldwide - And More Are Planned
Sibirskiy Mamont (Siberian Mammoth Inc.) claims to provide neurosuspension-only treatment and storage facilities in the city of Voronezh, near Moscow, according to a report by Eworldwire, the London-based news service.
Sibirskiy Mamont is also constructing a permafrost freezing complex in Siberia. Reports say it hopes to provide full-body freezing in permafrost and attract Western cryonics clients.
The Deputy Chairman of Sibirskiy Mamont, Aleksey Duhopelnikov, has recently made arrangements with a London audio books firm that is reportedly a leading U.K. online audiobook publisher.
Little information about Siberskiy Mamont is yet available on the English-speaking internet. The Cryonics Society is looking further into more information about the organization. Questions regarding the audio publication may be directed to Ruslan G Fedorovsky at 44 1494 431119.
1/25/2006
The Ultimate Investment: The Wall Street Journal On Cryonics
“We can’t anticipate the science of the future,” observes Scott Swain, attorney to multimillionaire resort and casino founder Don Laughlin.
Laughlin is one of an increasing number of wealthy individuals leaving money in future trusts for the day they return from cryonic suspension, a legal and financial development making made front page news on the January 21, 2006 edition of the Wall Street Journal.
Laughlin, who is no stranger to calculating winning odds, observes, “I figure I have a better than even chance of coming back.”
The Wall Street Journal article details how wealthy American and foreign businessmen are pioneering new legal and financial arrangements, by creating so-called personal revival trusts geared to let them reclaim their wealth hundreds of years into the future.
Such arrangements are “more widespread” than A. Christopher Sega “originally thought,” says Sega, who’s created three revival trusts in the last year. Sega is a trusts and estates attorney at Venable LLP in Washington, and an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University.
Attorneys and professors aren’t the only ones climbing on the cryonics bandwagon. Kenneth Weiss, co-founder of RSA Security, plans to be cryopreserved and is working with a Swiss bank to preserve his wealth right along with him.
Weiss, whose company created the SecurID computer-user-authentication card, retired in 1996 with RSA stock valued in the tens of millions of dollars. “People who are really taking this thing seriously have no need for notoriety,” says Weiss. But he adds that several billionaires he knows have similar plans.
In Arizona, multimillionaire and veteran cryonics advocate supporter David Pizer is making similar arrangements. But even if his trust money is somehow lost or mismanaged during his time in stasis, he’ll be content just to return to life.
To Pizer, being alive means the chance to work hard and create new successful ventures.
Says the multimillionaire cryonics advocate, “I made it the first time from nothing, and I could do it again.”
Pizer and his wife Trudi were also featured on the ABC News program Good Morning America in an episode focusing on cryonics. (See below.)
The smart money and the wise bets are increasingly being placed on cryonics.
Read the Wall Street Journal article and learn more about the men making them.
1/25/2006
Good Morning American Cryonics Supporters
David Pizer’s crusade for cryonics hasn’t stopped with just the Wall Street Journal. The ABC News program Good Morning America features David and his wife in a special televised episode feature focusing on cryonics.
“I want to be with her forever,” says Pizer of his wife Trudi, and explains why he thinks he’s found a way to do it. You can see the video feature online by clicking here.
1/3/2006
Centuries Of Life
“How's this for an offer you can't refuse: how would you like to live say, 400 or 500 years, or even more and all of them in perfect health?”
That’s the way 60 Minutes correspondent Morley Safer begins a CBS article about the coming revolution in longevity. Safer discusses the prospect with Cambridge geneticist Aubrey de Vere, one of a growing number of scientists supporting cryonics, who believes that soon we may be able to recondition ourselves for the first steps towards a normal lifetime that spans centuries.
De Grey believes an “indefinite extension of longevity” is not only possible but coming closer every day.
“Average life spans would be in the region of 1,000 years,” says de Grey. “Seriously.”
Read the CBS news article here.
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