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 Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=1327