X-Message-Number: 1327
From: whscad1!kqb (Kevin Q Brown +1 201 386 7344)
Subject: CRYONICS Science News & OMNI articles

The Oct. 24, 1992 issue of Science News has a cover article
titled "Frozen in Time."  No, it is not about cryonics or any
low-temperature method of preservation.  Instead, it is about
small animals preserved in amber at ambient temperature for
tens of millions of years.  (Should we call that "amberstasis"?)
Apparently, fragments of DNA still remain, enabling comparison
with DNA of modern species.  The article mentions the "Jurassic
Park" scenario, in which dinosaurs get recreated from dinosaur
blood DNA extracted from the stomachs of biting insects stored
in amber.  Of course, nobody is ready to try that yet.

So what does this have to do with cryonics?  Nothing directly,
although it is interesting to discover how much ancient biology
we may be able to recreate from the bits and fragments remaining.
Revival from cryonic suspension likewise will require recreation
of our biology (including memories) from the bits and fragments
remaining after aging and freezing injury.  Maybe the technology
needed for recreating dinosaurs someday will help revive cryonics
patients, too?

-----

The Nov. 1992 issue of OMNI magazine has an article titled
"Visions of the Afterdeath: An exclusive survey on beliefs
about what happens after death."  This survey is part of the
"Death and Dying II Project (DDI), a cross-cultural research
study on people's beliefs, attitudes, and feelings about the
afterdeath."  The topic of this survey reminded me of the
Sept. 1988 Cryonics magazine article "The Day the Earth Stood
Still: Cryonics and the Resurrection of the Mythic Hero" by
Steve Harris.  Even though cryonicists may have little direct
use for the various afterlife (afterdeath) notions of the
rest of the world, it can be useful to find what they think,
and what archetypes they find emotionally compelling.  With
that knowledge, cryonicists can tailor their presentations to
make use of those archetypes rather than be stymied by them.
As Dr. Harris pointed out in his article, "Archetypes do exist,
and they do have power.  We may choose to use that power on
behalf of cryonics, or not."

Of course, since the OMNI article is only a survey, not a
report on the results of a survey, don't rush out to buy it
with the hopes of acquiring a treasure trove of the world's
archetypes on the afterdeath/afterlife.  It would be fun,
however, to find how much cryonicists can skew the results
of the survey by submitting a lot of our undoubtedly unusual
responses to the questions. :-)
				  Kevin Q. Brown
				  
				  

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