X-Message-Number: 7630 Date: Mon, 3 Feb 1997 09:20:49 -0700 (MST) From: Fred Chamberlain <> Subject: Visser Demonstration Responding to Charles Platt's Report on the 2/2/97 Visser Demonstration: As an attendee able to devote his full attention to documenting what went on at the ACT Festival, Charles Platt (with a lap-top computer as a side-kick) had an opportunity to write up events as they occurred. With our own presentations and duties to manage the conference, we were less able to take care of this with the same degree of promptness. Even now (immediately after the weekend), our first priorities are to clean up the labs and put them (as well as the administrative areas) back into working condition. Our first concern at this time is making sure that we are ready for three pending cryotransports (suspensions... one urgent and two others less so). In view of this, we would not have been able to report on the conference to the CryoNet readers as rapidly. We thank Charles for reporting on the activities so promptly. The ACT Festival provided a very cooperative and congenial environment for scientists from Alcor, BioTime, Cryonics Institute, Immortalist Society, 21CM, CryoSpan and BioPreservation to meet, talk informally, and interact throughout the weekend as well as during the evaluation the demonstration of Olga Visser's work. Inaccuracies in the objective portion of Charles Platt's report seemed to be primarily of a minor kind, although I am sure there will be some counterpoint. To comment on his general conclusions, and correct one small error: >Bearing all this in mind, and also bearing in mind the severe >freezing damage that I witnessed, I have to conclude that I >found absolutely no evidence in favor of Ms. Visser's >cryoprotectant. It's still possible, of course, that we were >just unlucky today, and valid results may have been obtained >previously. We at Alcor are equally disappointed that evidence was not produced which promised a useful application. For the past six months, we have been attempting to eliminate obstacles which appeared to stand in the way of a successful demonstration, and had narrowed the range of possibilities to a very few, the most likely of which was thought to be breakdown products (toxic) which develop during storage, after final production/refinement by the manufacturer and distributer. >PS. In her rat-heart experiments today (Sunday) Ms. Visser >used a supply of cryoprotectant that she brought with her >from South Africa. A supply of the Vissers' cryoprotectant was brought to Alcor last September, from Africa, but none on the current trip. That supply had thus been exposed to six months' storage since the seal on the original bottle was opened, and it is not considered to represent the same quality as if it had been received directly from the distributer. After a fresh supply of the Vissers' cryoprotectant is obtained from the Vissers' source in South Africa, we will repeat the experiment using it, and report the results, positive or negative, on CryoNet. If at that point, an encouraging result is obtained, we will attempt to reach a point where a reliable demonstration can be produced in a high percentage of the attempts. Otherwise, we may have to conclude that this approach lacks sufficient promise to warrant further effort at this time. Fred Chamberlain, President () Alcor Life Extension Foundation Non-profit cryonic suspension services since 1972. 7895 E. Acoma Dr., Suite 110, Scottsdale AZ 85260-6916 Phone (602) 922-9013 (800) 367-2228 FAX (602) 922-9027 for general requests http://www.alcor.org ************************************************************ * For most human beings, * * Physical obliteration comes in three basic "flavors", * * Earth, Water and Fire * * (Burial on land, at sea, and cremation). * * Critics of cryonics would add a fourth flavor, "Ice"! * * * * But the final answer will not soon be known, * * And by the time it is fully determined, * * The critics will no longer be "in the audience"! * * * * Contact ALCOR - "" * * or dial 602-922-9013, fax 602-922-9027 * ************************************************************ Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=7630