CRYONICS

ON WAY TO RAISING THE

DEAD?
(NANO TECHNOLOGY)

Abstract: Cryonics is nothing but a attempt of

Today technology plays a vital role in raising the dead - making them alive.
every aspect of life. Increasing First we preserve the body then by
standards in technology in many using molecular machines based
fields , has taken man today to high nanotechnology we could revive the
esteem. But the present available patients by repairing damaged cells.
technologies are unable to interact
with the atoms, such a minute In this technical paper we would like
particles. Hence Nanotechnology has to discuss cryonics, how the process
been developing. Nanotechnology is of cryonics goes on and why
nothing but a technology which uses nanotechnology is being used and
atoms with a view to creating a description of molecular machines
desired product. It has wider which has the capability of repairing
applications in all the fields. The damaged cells. Therefore Cryonics is an
important application is Cryonics.. area in which most of the work is to be
done in future .
 Cryonics

nanotechnology is dwarf technology.

A nanometer is one billionth of a
Index: metre.

Our President A.P.J.Abdul Kalam

1. Introduction
being a scientist made a note about
this technology that nanotechnology
2. History would give us an opportunity, if we
take appropriate and timely action to
3. Cryonics become one of the important
technological nations in the world.
a. Cryonics patient
prepares for the future The main application of nanotechnology
is cryonics. Cryonics is nothing but an
b. Revival process attempt of raising the dead. Cryonics
is not a widespread medical practice
and viewed with skepticism by most
c. Financial issues &Court scientists and doctors today.
4. Why only NanoTechnology is
History:
used in Cryonics?
The first mention of nanotechnology
5. How NanoTechnology is used occurred in a talk given by Richard
in Cryonics? Feynman in 1959, entitled There’s
plenty of Room at the Bottom.
6. Conclusion Historically cryonics began in 1962
with the publication of “The prospect
7. Case Study of immortality” referred by Robert
Ettinger, a founder and the first
president of the cryonics institute.
Introduction: During 1980’s the extent of the
damage from freezing process became
Today technology plays a vital role in much clearer and better known, when
every aspect of life. Increasing the emphasis of the movement began
standards in technology in many to shift to the capabilities of
fields particularly in medicine, has nanotechnology. Alcor Life Extension
taken man today to high esteem. Foundation currently preserves about
Nanotechnology is a new technology 70 human bodies and heads in
that is knocking at the doors. This Scottsdale, Arizona and the cryonics
technology uses atoms with a view to institute has about the same number
creating a desired product. The term of cryonic patients in its Clinton
nanotechnology has been a combination Township, Michigan facility. There are
of two terms, ”nano” and no cryonics service provided outside
“technology”. The term nano is of the U.S.A. also there are support
derived from a Greek word “nanos” groups in Europe, Canada, Australia &
which means “dwarf”. Thus U.K.

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 Cryonics

Cryonics:
The word "cryonics" is the practice of Cryonics patient prepares
freezing a dead body in hopes of for the future:
someday reviving it. A Cryonics is the
practice of cooling people immediately How an Alcor patient's body is frozen
after death to the point where molecular and stored until medical technology can
physical decay completely stops, in the repair the body and revive the patient, or
expectation that scientific and medical grow a new body for the patient.
procedures currently being developed
will be able to revive them and restore
them to good health later. A patient held
Patient declared legally dead
in such a state is said to be in 'cryonic
On way to Alcor in Arizona, blood
suspension. Cryonics is the practice of
circulation is maintained and patient is
cryopreserving humans and pets (who
injected with medicine to minimise
have recently become legally dead) until
problems with frozen tissue. Coolingof
the cryopreservation damage can be
body begun. (If body needs to be flown,
reversed and the cause of the fatal
blood is replaced with organ
disease can be cured (including the
preservatives.)
disease known as aging). However,
there is a high representation of
scientists among cryonicists. Support for
cryonics is based on controversial
projections of future technologies and of
their ability to enable molecular-level
repair of tissues and organs.

At Alcor the body is cooled to 5

degrees

Chest opened, blood is replaced with a Freezing the body

solution (glycerol, water, other
chemicals) that enters the tissues, The patient is placed in cold silicone oil,
pushing out water to reduce ice chilling the body to -79°C. Then it's
formation. In 2 to 4 hours, 60% or more moved to an aluminium pod and slowly
of body water is replaced by glycerol. cooled over 5 days in liquid nitrogen to
-196°C (minus 320° Fahrenheit), then
stored.

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 Cryonics

Storage vessel

Stainless-steel vats formed into a large

thermos-bottle-like container. Vat for up
to four bodies weighs about a ton; stands
9 feet tall.

Transtime "recommends" that

people provide a minimum of $150,000
for whole-body suspension. Part of this
sum pays for the initial costs of the
suspension. The balance is placed in a
trust fund, with the income used to pay
the continued cost of maintaining you in
suspension. Transtime can do
neurosuspensions but does not promote
Actual process starts: the option. Transtime also charges a
yearly fee of $96 for membership, with
the price halved to $48 for other family
members.

The Cryonics Institute in

Clinton Township, Michigan, charges
$28,000 for a full-body suspension,
along with a one-time payment of
$1,250. The Cryonics Institute does not
do neurosuspension.

About 90 people in the United Stated are

already in suspension, with hundreds
more signed on for the service. Probably
After preserving the body for somedays, the most famous cryopreserved patient is
they will start the surgery.As a part of it, Ted Williams. A cryopreserved person is
they will apply some chemicals like sometimes whimsically called a
glycerol and some advanced chemicals corpsicle(a portmanteau of "corpse" and
to activate the cells of the body. By "popsicle"). This term was first used by
doing so, 0.2% of the cells in the body science fiction author Larry Niven who
will be activated.After that they will credits its formation to Obstacles.
preserve the body for future applications.
The cryonists strongly believe that future
medicines in 21st century will be useful
Revival process:
to rapidly increase those cells that will
Critics have often quipped that it is
help to retrieve the dead person back.
easier to revive a corpse than a

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 Cryonics

cryonically frozen body. Many The Conseil d'Etat ruled cryonics -

cryonicists might actually agree with stopping physical decay after death in
this, provided that the "corpse" were the hope of future revival - is illegal.
fresh, but they would argue that such a
"corpse" may actually be biologically The court said relatives have two choices
alive, under optimal conditions. A over what to do with dead bodies - burial
declaration of legal death does not mean or cremation. It said relatives can scatter
that life has suddenly ended—death is a ashes after cremation, but they have to
gradual process, not a sudden event. bury bodies in a cemetery or in a tomb
Rather, legal death is a declaration by on private property after gaining special
medical personnel that there is nothing permissionant it, especially if they make
more they can do to save the patient. But arrangements while still young.
if the body is clearly biologically dead,
having been sitting at room temperature Why only nanotechnology is
for a period of time, or having been
traditionally embalmed, then cryonicists used in cryonics ?
would hold that such a body is far less
revivable than a cryonically preserved Biological molecules and systems
patient, because any process of have a number of attributes that
resuscitation will depend on the quality make them highly suitable for
of the structural and molecular nanotechnology applications. Remote
preservation of the brain. control of DNA has proved that
electronics can interact with biology.
Gap between electronics and biology
Financial Issues: is now closing.
Cryopreservation arrangements can be
expensive, currently ranging from The key to cryonics' eventual success is
$28,000 at the Cryonics Institute to nanotechnology, manipulating materials
$150,000 at Alcor and the American on an atomic or molecular scale,
Cryonics Society. according to most techies who are
interested in cryonic suspension.
The biggest drawback to current "Current medical science does not have
vitrification practice is a costs issue. the tools to fix damage that occurs at the
Because the most cost-effective means cellular and molecular level, and damage
of storing a cryopreserved person is in to these systems is the cause of vast
liquid nitrogen, fracturing of the brain majority of fatal illnesses.”
occurs, a result of thermal stresses that Nanotechnology is the ultimate
develop when cooling from −130°C to miniaturization can achieve. A
−196°C (the temperature of liquid nanometer is equivalent to the width
nitrogen). actually quite affordable for of six bonded carbon items. A DNA
the vast majority of those in the molecule is 2.5nm wide. Cryonics
industrialized world who really make basically deals with cells, these cells
arrangements while still young. are in the order of nanometers. At
present there is no other technology
Court Rules against which deals with such minute cells.
Keeping: Only nanotechnology can have the
ability to deal with cells. Normally

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 Cryonics

fatal accidents could be walked away It is quite possible to adequately

from, thanks to range of safety model the behaviour of molecular
devices possible only with machines that satisfy two constraints.
nanotechnology.
• They are built from parts that
Viruses, prions, parasites and bacteria are so stable that small errors
continue to mutate and produce new in the empirical force fields
diseases. Our natural immune system don’t affect the shape or
may, or may not, handle. In theory, a stability of the parts.
nano ‘cell sentinel’ could make our • The synthesis of parts is done
body immune to any present or by using positionally controlled
future infectious disease. reactions, where the actual
chemical reactions involve a
Fracturing is a special concern for relatively small number of
new vitrification protocol brought atoms.
online by Alcor for neuro patients. If
advanced nanotechnology is available Drexler’s assembler can be built
for patient recovery, then fracturing with these constraints.
probably causes little information
loss. Fracturing commits cryopatient to
the need for molecular repair at
Assembler made using current
cryogenic temperature a highly methods:
specialized and advanced form of
nanotechnology. Whereas unfractured The fundamental purpose of an
patients may be able to benefit assembler is to position atoms.
sooner from simple forms of Robotic arms are other positioning
nanotechnology developed for more devices are basically mechanical in
main stream medical applications. nature, and will allow us to position
Damaged caused by freezing & molecular parts during the assembly
fracturing is thought to be potentially process. Molecular mechanics provides
repairable in future using us with an excellent tool for
nanotechnology which will enable modeling the behavior of such
manipulation of matter at the devices.
molecular level.
The second requirement is the
How nanotechnology is used ability to make and break bonds
at specific sites. While molecular
in cryonics? mechanics provides an excellent
tool for telling us where the tip of
MOLECULAR MACHINES could the assembler arm is located,
revive patients by repairing damaged current force fields are not
cells but for making those cell repair adequate to model the specific
machines, we first need to build a chemical reactions that must then
molecular assembler. take place at the tip/work piece
interface involved in building an
atomically precise part. For this

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 Cryonics

higher order ab initio calculations are FUTURE

sufficient.
ENHANCEMENTS:
The methods of computational
chemistry available today allow us to 1.With the knowledge of cryonics
model a wide range of molecular cryonists are preserving the brains of
machine’s with an accuracy humans.we know that each person
sufficiently in many cases to alive today was once a single
determine how well they will work. cell,and a complete human being can
be grown in the natural state.Thus
Computational nano technology they believe that genetic
includes not only the tools and programming of a single cell on the
techniques required to model the surface of that brain begins a process
proposed molecular machines it must of growth and development that
also includes the tools required to perhaps appends to the brain a
specify such machine. Molecular complete young adult body.
machine proposal that would require
million or even billions of atoms Conclusion:
have been made. The total atom
count of an assembler might be 1. With the implementation of
roughly a billion atoms. while Cryonics we can get back the
commercially available molecular life.
modeling packages provide facilities 2. But Cryonics is a area in which
to specify arbitary structures it is most of the work is to be done in
usually necessary to point and click future and till now mainly the
for each atom involved. This is concept of this area has been
obviously unattractive for a device as proposed.
complex as an assembler with its 3. So the Scientists are not making
roughly one billion atoms. long promises for the future of
this Cryonics
The software required to design and
model complex molecular machine is References:
either already available or can be
readily develop over the next few 1. Platzer, W. "The Iceman - 'Man
years. The molecular compiler and from the Hauslabjoch'." Universität
other molecular CAD tools needed Innsbruck. 12 November 2002
for this work can be implemented http://info.uibk.ac.at/c/c5/c552/Forsc
using generally understood hung/Iceman/iceman-en.html
techniques and methods from
computer science. Using this 2. "Cryonics." Merriam-Webster's
approach it will be possible to Collegiate Dictionary. 10th ed. 2001.
substantially reduce the development
time for complex molecular
machines, including Drexler’s
assemblers.