Neil deGrasse Tyson on Cryonics

bekkerd

Question:

What are your thoughts on cryogenic preservation and the idea of medically treating aging?

His response:

A marvelous way to just convince people to give you money. Offer to freeze them for later. I'd have more confidence if we had previously managed to pull this off with other mammals. Until then I see it as a waste of money. I'd rather enjoy the money, and then be buried, offering my body back to the flora and fauna of which I have dined my whole life.

Link

Question:

What are your thoughts on cryogenic preservation and the idea of medically treating aging?

His response:

A marvelous way to just convince people to give you money. Offer to freeze them for later. I'd have more confidence if we had previously managed to pull this off with other mammals. Until then I see it as a waste of money. I'd rather enjoy the money, and then be buried, offering my body back to the flora and fauna of which I have dined my whole life.

Link

Can you elaborate on the damage that is occurring, even with cryoprotectants?

Why/how would low temps in a cryoprotectant denature proteins?

If you have time I would really like to see the detailed posts, perhaps even in a new thread. I am also a bioengineer/biophysicist but I have little knowledge of neuroscience.

I'll eventually organize my thoughts in something worthy of a post. Until then, this has already gone into way more detail than I intended. Thus, briefly:

The damage that is occurring - distortion of membranes, denaturation of proteins (very likely), disruption of signalling pathways. Just changing the exact localization of Ca microdomains within a synapse can wreak havoc, replacing the liquid completely? Not going to work.

I don't necessarily think that low temps have anything to do with denaturation. Replacing the solvent, however, would do it almost unav... (read more)

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Neil deGrasse Tyson on Cryonics

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Neil deGrasse Tyson on Cryonics

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