X-Message-Number: 23290 Date: Tue, 20 Jan 2004 23:04:11 -0500 (EST) From: Charles Platt <> Subject: cat brains I've been having an interesting but inconclusive discussion with a friend regarding the remarkable experiment by Isamu Suda in the 1960s. Suda perfused isolated cat brains with a cryoprotectant, stored the brains at a low temperature, and then rewarmed them after varying intervals. He reperfused them with cat blood and detected electrical activity which looked similar to EEGs which were taken before the cats were initially sacrificed. The electrical activity did not last very long, but was indisputably measured, providing probably the best-ever proof that neurons can resume functioning spontaneously, in a seemingly organized way, after a period of cryopreservation. An initial account of the experiment was published in October 1966 in Nature, which also published a follow-up. The question is this: If you were trying to sell cryonics to a *wide range* of potential signups, would you include an account of Suda's experiment with cat brains? On one hand, it provides rare and valuable experimental evidence to convince scientists; but on the other hand, it could disturb hardcore cat lovers and animal rights activists. The follow-up question is: If you would include a description of the experiment, how graphic and detailed should it be? On one hand, if you don't include much detail, some people will find it hard to believe; but if you describe it graphically, other people might find the whole thing ghoulish. Please feel free to email me directly if you have an opinion on this. --Charles Platt Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=23290