X-Message-Number: 6022
Date: Wed, 3 Apr 1996 13:21:41 -0800 (PST)
From: Doug Skrecky <>
Subject: brain freeze-drying as an economical alternative

    Freeze-drying a brain should reduce storage costs quite significantly
 since liquid nitrogen cryostats would no longer be needed for storage. 
 How much would it cost to freeze-dry a brain? Probably not very much as
 the following information shows. 
   In his book "Freeze-Drying Biological Specimens: A Laboratory Manual" 
 Rolland O. Hower from the Smithsonian Institution details his experiences
 in freeze-drying a wide variety of biological specimens. Freeze-drying of
 a formalin fixed 1386 gram human took just 14 days at -30 C. Weight loss
 was 463.2 grams or 79.9 percent. Considering its size the human brain
 seems to be remarkablely quick and easy to freeze-dry. A barred owl
 weighing 1369 grams took 130 days to freeze-dry at -20 C. A tortoise took
 132 days, while an alligator took 9 months at -20 C. The absence of
 either a thick epidermis or bone which can act as vapour barriers may be
 the reason why the human brain was so quick to dry. 


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