X-Message-Number: 21764 From: "Yuriy Pichugin" <> Subject: Re: Article for The Immortalist Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 21:57:34 +0000 I would like to make some critical comments on the recent article from the Cryonet. >Message #21760 >From: "Basie" <> >Subject: Article for The Immortalist (see overview) >Date: Thu, 15 May 2003 17:34:41 -0400 >A PAPER ON THE BIOSTATIC AND ANTI-NEOPLASTIC POTENTIALITIES OF FORMALDEHYDE >By >L.Hartford Van Dyke, Jr. >Since the organic properties of organic chemicals extend across a chemical >series, it follows that >para-formaldehyde and formaldehyde are at least >anaesthetics. But formaldehyde is known to be a >bacteriostatic. So we must >allow that formaldehyde could be at least a biostatic, or what might be > >termed a "strong" or "hard" anaesthetic. Formaldehyde does not use as anaesthetic at all because it is very toxic compound! >This leaves us with the question: Is formaldehyde a biostatic causing >suspended animation, or does it >cause chemically irreversible damage to >living structures, and is it therefore a deadly poison? There is a certain answer: formaldehyde causes chemically irreversible damage to living structures, and is it therefore a deadly poison. It is a wonder for me that the article was written by a man who is a chemist by education as I found out it from Internet. There are many pure speculations in the article. >The chemical formula of formaldehyde is CH2O. Therefore, formaldehyde is a >carbohydrate. >Formaldehyde is the simplest sugar. Formaldehyde is neither a carbohydrate nor the simplest sugar. >A glucose molecule (simple sugar) consists of six formaldehyde molecules. > >Glucose= C6 H12 O6 = (CH2O)6 It is an incorrect speculation only! The author creates his own new structural organic chemistry that is absolutely wrong! It is the same as one says that usual table salt (NaCl) consists of very deleterious chlorine gas (Cl) and very toxic, extreme caustic sodium (Na). >Therefore, we see that formaldehyde is technically a carbohydrate food >source, capable of supplying >energy for cell life under the proper >conditions, and not necessarily a poison. Formaldehyde does not become less toxic from these words. Of course, sometimes even extreme toxic compounds may be used as drugs. A powerful poison, used in an attenuated form, may be as a medicine. However, all of this is beside the point of reversible suspension animation because formaldehyde (as solution, formalin) must be used for embalming a body in doses which are very toxic. >Finally, a transfusion of continuously well oxygenated blood would be >provided to the body. This >oxygen would react with the formaldehyde >(carbohydrate) which is bonded to the brain structure, >and either carbon >dioxide and water and energy would result, or the formaldehyde would be >oxidised >to formic acid. >The infusion of aqueous ammonia before the infusion of oxygenated solutions >or oxygenated blood, >would allow the ammonia to steal the formaldehyde >from the protein (and other) molecules (RNA, >DNA). This would not be >desirable if the oxygen must react with the formaldehyde in close > >proximity with the cell structures in order to restart the brain >function. Who is not familiar with chemistry can easily do believing in these speculations. Formaldehyde which is bonded to the brain structure has very strong covalent bonds which cannot be gently destroyed by oxygen or ammonia! Formaldehyde bonds those biomolecules and bonds with those biomolecules IRREVERSIBLY! > >REVERSIBILITY OF FORMALDEHYDE EMBALMING > >The success of the reversal of the embalming process when an impure >formaldehyde solution is used >would depend upon the degree to which the >formaldehyde dominated over all of the other chemical >components of the >embalming mixture. If the formaldehyde was the most chemically active of >all of >the components of the embalming fluid, then there might be an >effective reversal of the embalming >process. Once again, we cannot return embalming bodies to life by delivering oxygen and ammonia into the cells because none of common chemical compounds cannot destroy the very strong bonds of formaldehyde with the biomolecules without destruction of the biomolecules themselves. > >L.H.Van Dyke, Jr. >15 August 1995. >Message #21761 >From: "Basie" <> >Subject: Ref. Article for The Immortalist >Date: Thu, 15 May 2003 17:44:58 -0400 > > >Note the article may be based on an idea and not evidence. Maybe the author >have scientific proof that the brain's "life" can be suspended with >formaldehyde. > >Jan We cannot return embalming bodies to life by a simple chemical process. However, I don t know can scientists build special nanomachines which can return embalming bodies to life by a gentle and selective destruction of those formaldehyde covalent bonds. Let us ask Dr. Drexler and Dr. Merkle or other nanotechnologists about that. Yuri Pichugin, Ph.D., a chemist by education Director of Research Cryonics Institute www.cryonics.org _________________________________________________________________ Add photos to your messages with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=21764