X-Message-Number: 790
From: Charles Platt
Subject: Alcor New York News: May, 1992

[ Charles Platt kindly provided an electronic copy of the May 1992
  Alcor New York News for distribution to this mailing list.
  (The spiffy graphics of his hardcopy version are, of course,
  missing below.)  Although he does not have an email address, the
  article does list other contact information.  Note: The Alcor New York
  News is not the same as the Alcor New York Minutes which, to date,
  exist only in hardcopy form. - KQB ]


NEWS FROM ALCOR NEW YORK

(Online version of hardcopy newsletter)

May 1992

APRIL MEETING DRAWS AN ENTHUSIASTIC CROWD

     Dr. Ralph Merkle of Xerox Palo Alto Research Center
spent a total of five hours with us on Sunday April 26th. He
participated in our business meeting, he gave a fascinating,
lively talk illustrated with slides and animated computer
graphics, and he answered questions, one-on-one, during the
informal socializing that followed.
     Dr. Merkle is one of the world's leading experts on
nanotechnology--the new science of molecular engineering which
promises to revolutionize our lives within the next few
decades. He has worked with Eric Drexler (who invented
nanotechnology) and now spends a lot of his time creating
simulations that show how atoms could be assembled to form
components in submicroscopic machines. Such "nanomachines"
could be programmed to build everything from furniture to
rocketships; not to mention new drugs, foods, and human
organs. Nanomachines could also replicate themselves, and
they could be injected into the human bloodstream to remove
fatty deposits, defend against infection, and repair damaged
cells.
     Dr. Merkle emphasized the applications for cryonics. If
tissue damage is caused by being frozen, nanotechnology
offers the only real hope for making repairs one cell at a
time. Using color slides showing ice formation in various
samples of frozen tissue, Dr. Merkle emphasized that cell
repair is not just a possibility, but will be feasible with a
high degree of certainty. His own personal guess is that
there will be a 90 percent chance of resuscitation.
     His presentation was not only informative, but fun. We
can't think of any other event that would have been more
worthwhile and more exciting, in the whole of New York City,
on that Sunday afternoon. Where else could you get the chance
to meet an expert in a field of technology that promises to
make us all immortal? If you missed this meeting, you missed
something really special.
     Saul Kent, of the Life Extension Foundation, was also
with us. He talked briefly about Alcor's plans to enlarge the
scope of its research, and he brought us up to date on other
news from California.
     Thanks to everyone who helped to make this one of the
most interesting meetings we have ever had.

     HISTORIC VIDEO WILL BE SHOWN AT OUR NEXT MEETING

     The May meeting of the New York chapter of Alcor will be
at 2 P.M. on Sunday May 17th at the usual location: 72nd
Street Studios, 131 West 72nd Street, in Manhattan. Take the
1, 2, 3, or 9 train to 72nd Street and Broadway; or take the
C train to 72nd Street at Central Park West.
     We won't have any special speakers this time around--but
we will have a rare tape on loan from Curtis Henderson,
showing him using an actual cryopreservation capsule two
decades ago. Step by step, you'll see the methods that were
used at that time for installing the patient in the capsule,
raising it, and filling it with liquid nitrogen.
     If you haven't ever come to one of our meetings, this
one is ideal. It will be smaller and more personal than our
April event, giving you ample opportunity to get to know us
and ask all your questions about cryonics.
     If you're a suspension member, your life may be in our
hands one day--and we'd like to get acquainted with you before
that ever happens. If you're not a suspension member, we can
help you deal with any problems you may have about signing
up.
     There's no admission charge. So, don't keep putting it
off! Come and join us!  [ For additional information, send email
to Brenda Peters at  - KQB ]

     NO MORE POSTCARDS!

     In the past, we've announced upcoming monthly meetings
on postcards mailed to all Alcor members in the New York
area. We won't be doing this anymore; instead, the meetings
will be listed here in the newsletter. So--check your
newsletter, and keep your newsletter, to find out what's
happening. It will be the only notification that you will
receive.

     CRYONIC RESEARCH: THE WORMS THAT TURNED

     Gerry Arthus, our New York Coordinator, has announced
preliminary results of an experiment which was designed to
investigate whether memories will survive cryonic suspension.
     For his experiment, Gerry used Caenorhabditis elegans, a
nematode (tiny worm) that's one of the simplest living
creatures. It has a complete nervous system, however, and can
be "trained" in a rudimentary way. Worms that are raised in a
warm environment will "remember" it and will prefer it if
they are given the choice. Conversely, worms that were raised
in a cooler area will tend to prefer that environment.
     Gerry placed a small number of worms in a cryoprotective
solution and froze them to -80 degrees Celsius for two hours.
After he revived the worms, the ones that survived the
experience still "remembered" their former environmental
preferences. So far as we know, this is the world's first
experiment designed to verify that memory is chemically
encoded and will survive the freezing process.
     The sample that Gerry used is too small to prove
anything conclusively. Soon, however, Gerry hopes to repeat
the experiment with a larger sample. He also intends to
devise tests to eliminate the possibility that the worms
changed physiologically to adapt themselves to warmer or
cooler environments.
     We're excited by Gerry's work, which was done on a tiny
budget but was rigorous and professional in its execution.
Gerry believes that there are many other simple experiments
which could be done, with a minimal investment, to verify the
feasibility of cryonics and help us to refine our methods of
cryopreservation.
     Will some of these experiments be conducted at
Riverside, if the staff there has time between fighting
lawsuits and debating whether to move to Arizona? We hope so!

     NEW YORK NEWSLETTER GOES ONLINE

     Thanks to our treasurer, Kevin Brown, the complete text
of this newsletter is now available via Internet and other
networks (such as Compuserve) that can link with Internet. If
you want to access the text using a computer modem, contact
Kevin at his email address:  Specify your
own email address, and Kevin will send the newsletter to you.
     Anyone who wants to make this text available on other
networks is welcome to do so. If necessary, we can supply it
as a plain ASCII file on MS-DOS or on Macintosh disks. Call
Charles Platt at (212) 535 3643 for more information.

     MEDIA NEWS (OR LACK OF IT)

     Will the Omni contest (discussed in previous
newsletters) become a reality? A signed contract has been
issued for text to be written by Charles Platt, giving a
general introduction to cryonics and the rules of the
contest. Omni has not yet made a formal agreement with Alcor,
however. We will let you know as soon as there is definite
news.

     THE ARIZONA DEBATE

     As many of you already know, Alcor has outgrown its
current facility in Riverside and has been debating whether
to move to a new location. Dave Pizer, one of the directors
of Alcor, is a native of Phoenix, Arizona, and owns a
business located there. He feels that Phoenix would be an
ideal location for Alcor because real estate is cheaper, the
risk of earthquakes is substantially less than at Riverside,
local government agencies may be more tolerant of cryonics,
and there is more room to grow.
     Dave found a building in Phoenix which he felt was
ideal. The move was discussed at the April Alcor board
meeting, with Dave and Alcor's president, Carlos Mondragon,
strongly in favor. Others, however, were not convinced that
it was a good idea. The greatest concentration of Alcor
members is in Southern California; they might not feel very
happy about being abandoned by their local facility. There
are unresolved questions about the legality and the logistics
of transporting patients in cryonic suspension across state
lines. Local government officials in Phoenix have not
actually been asked about their outlook on cryonics. Moving
to a different state will inevitably cost money. And more
money would have to be raised by a group of investors who
would buy the new building and then rent it to Alcor.
     The debate was heated at times, and became abusive in
email, afterward. Meanwhile, unexpectedly, the building that
Dave Pizer had selected as "ideal" was purchased by other
people and is no longer available.
     Dave Pizer has now come up with a new building (also in
Phoenix), which he feels is even more ideal. However, many
questions about the move are still unresolved. All we can say
right now is that the debate about relocating probably won't
be settled in the very near future.
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