I notice that I am confused. Kenneth Storey’s credentials are formidable, but the article seems to get the basics of cryonics completely wrong. I suspect that the author, Kevin Miller, may be at fault here, failing to accurately represent Storey’s case. The quotes are sparse, and the science more so. I propose looking elsewhere to confirm/clarify Storey’s skepticism.
A Cryonic Shame from 2009 states that Storey dismisses cryonics on the basis of the temperature being too low and oxygen deprivation killing the cells due to the length of time required for cooling cryonics patients. This suggests that does know (as of 2009, at least) that cryonicists aren’t flash-vitrifying patients. But it doesn’t demonstrate any knowledge of cryoprotectants being used—he suggests that we would use sugar like the wood frogs do.
For one thing, cryonics institutes cool their bodies to temperatures of –80°C, and often subsequently to –200°C. Since no known vertebrate can survive below –20°C, and few below –8°C, this looks like a bad choice. “There isn’t enough sugar in the world” to protect cells at that temperature, Storey says. Moreover, Storey adds that cryonics practitioners “freeze bodies so slowly all the cells would be dead from lack of oxygen long before they freeze”.
This is an odd step backwards from his 2004 article where he demonstrated that he knew cryonics is about vitrification, but suggested an incorrect way to do it. He also strangely does not mention that the ischemic cascade is a long and drawn out process which slows down (as do other chemical reactions) the colder you get.
Not only does he get the biology wrong again (as near as I can tell) but to add insult to injury, this article has no mention of the fact that cryonicists intend to use nanotech, bioengineering, and/or uploading to work around the damage. It starts with the conclusion and fills in the blanks with old news. (The cells being “dead” from lack of oxygen is ludicrous if you go by structural criteria. The onset of ischemic cascade is a different matter.)
The comment directly above this one (lsparrish, “A Cryonic Shane”) appeared downvoted at the time of me posting this comment, though no one offered criticism or an explanation of why.
The above is a heavily edited version of the comment. (The edit was in response to the downvote.) The original version had an apparent logical contradiction towards the beginning and also probably came off a bit more condescending than I intended.
I notice that I am confused. Kenneth Storey’s credentials are formidable, but the article seems to get the basics of cryonics completely wrong. I suspect that the author, Kevin Miller, may be at fault here, failing to accurately represent Storey’s case. The quotes are sparse, and the science more so. I propose looking elsewhere to confirm/clarify Storey’s skepticism.
A Cryonic Shame from 2009 states that Storey dismisses cryonics on the basis of the temperature being too low and oxygen deprivation killing the cells due to the length of time required for cooling cryonics patients. This suggests that does know (as of 2009, at least) that cryonicists aren’t flash-vitrifying patients. But it doesn’t demonstrate any knowledge of cryoprotectants being used—he suggests that we would use sugar like the wood frogs do.
This is an odd step backwards from his 2004 article where he demonstrated that he knew cryonics is about vitrification, but suggested an incorrect way to do it. He also strangely does not mention that the ischemic cascade is a long and drawn out process which slows down (as do other chemical reactions) the colder you get.
Not only does he get the biology wrong again (as near as I can tell) but to add insult to injury, this article has no mention of the fact that cryonicists intend to use nanotech, bioengineering, and/or uploading to work around the damage. It starts with the conclusion and fills in the blanks with old news. (The cells being “dead” from lack of oxygen is ludicrous if you go by structural criteria. The onset of ischemic cascade is a different matter.)
The comment directly above this one (lsparrish, “A Cryonic Shane”) appeared downvoted at the time of me posting this comment, though no one offered criticism or an explanation of why.
The above is a heavily edited version of the comment. (The edit was in response to the downvote.) The original version had an apparent logical contradiction towards the beginning and also probably came off a bit more condescending than I intended.