X-Message-Number: 17449 Date: Mon, 03 Sep 2001 22:02:29 -0700 From: Mike Perry <> Subject: Plastination and Other Chemo Alternatives Several recent postings have dealt with plastination, which might be a lower-cost alternative to cryonics. Other such options involve some form of chemical preservation of the brain, and some form of ambient temperature storage, whether above or below freezing (water ice temperature). One possibility, for instance, would be chemo plus burial in permafrost. I have to say, in apparent contradiction to what some have expressed, that I think these are *good* ideas to investigate and consider, and regret that more effort has not been spent in this direction. All you really need is the brain in some inferable form to bring back the person, if a reasonable nanotechnology can be developed. So a good chemopreservation should be adequate, and would obviate certain problems with cryonics, such as the requirement for continuous, high-cost maintenance. Of course, we don't know well enough how good any of our chemical methods may be for such a purpose. But there are uncertainties with cryonics too, and no proof that *all* presently available chemo techniques must fail, or even that all are inferior to cryopreservation, when it comes to saving what is important. Research should both improve the techniques, whether chemo or cryo, and provide more evidence of efficacy. This is not to deny that there could be difficult decisions and tradeoffs. Research funds are scarce, especially when it comes to a bid for immortality, whatever your preferred methods. But I would like to see *some* serious research devoted to alternatives to low-temperature storage, again with the goal of reanimation. As for the problem some keep bringing up that "our friends of the future" may not be that friendly, and may have no interest in bringing us back to life, I feel strongly that the opposite will be the case, at least for *some* persons of the future. It should not take very many to carry out the task, assuming some reasonable level of automation, which should also reduce costs. If I am around then myself, I will be one such person, and I intend to make a concerted effort to see that people who chose preservation wanting to return will get their wish. Meanwhile I will try to influence others to adopt this thinking. The Society for Venturism (www.venturist.org) is an organization devoted to this very ideal--if you are interested, contact us. Mike Perry Director, Society for Venturism Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=17449