X-Message-Number: 6627
From:  (Brian Wowk)
Newsgroups: sci.cryonics
Subject: Re: An Idea for cryogenics.
Date: 27 Jul 96 02:30:42 GMT
Message-ID: <>
References: <4t80kr$>

In <4t80kr$>  (Grommit) writes:

>From what I do know about cryogenics, what kill's the person is the ice 

>crystals bursting cells(correct?). At higher pressures(humans can stand pretty

>high pressures if they are pressurized slowly, rigth?) ice crystals don't form
>until a lower temperature. So why don't they pressurize the subject to be 
>frozen and then lower them to a temperature low enough to preserve them but
>form ice.

	Very perceptive.  This suggestion is made by newcomers only about
once a year, or so-- not quite frequent enough to justify including in
the cryonics FAQ.  

	The short answer is that the pressures required are prohibitive
from an engineering standpoint, and fatal from a biological standpoint
(killing by protein denaturation instead of freezing).  Current
approaches such as vitrification seek to avoid ice formation chemically 
instead of barometrically.

  ***************************************************************************
  Brian Wowk          CryoCare Foundation               1-800-TOP-CARE
  President           Human Cryopreservation Services   
     http://www.cryocare.org/cryocare/
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------


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