Can Your Body be Frozen and Then Come Back to Life Again?

Investigate the science of cryobiology and consider the idea of freezing and preserving individuals for possible resurrection in the future. James Bedford devised a scheme to escape execution in 1967. He was the initial subject of cryogenically freezing. This procedure promised to keep his body alive until a hypothetical time when we would be able to treat any disease and, in essence, turn back time. Then, can a person be frozen, kept alive indefinitely, and then unfrozen? Shannon N. Tessier conducted extensive research on the difficulties of human cryopreservation.

The death of James Bedford occurred on January 12, 1967. But he had a scheme to avoid dying. The first person to undergo cryogenically freezing was Bedford. This procedure promised to keep his body alive until a hypothetical time when we would be able to treat any disease and, in essence, turn back time.

Cryonics' ideal scenario is this. The problem is that in order to resuscitate individuals in the future, their present needs to be properly preserved. So, is it now possible to freeze a human, keep them safe for an extended period of time, and then safely defrost them? We need to move away from the theoretical world of cryonics and focus on the scientific discipline of cryobiology in order to comprehend the challenges of human cryopreservation.

It is true that lowering an organism's temperature also lowers its cellular function, and this field of study examines how low temperatures affect diverse living systems. For instance, at -130 degrees Celsius or lower, cellular activity in humans stops altogether. In theory, you could keep a human body indefinitely warm if you could lower it to that temperature. The challenge lies in accomplishing this without harming the body.

Let's attempt to freeze one red blood cell as an illustration. It normally resides in a solution of water and molecules known as chemical solutes, which dissolve under specific circumstances, at a temperature of 37 degrees Celsius. But when it gets below freezing, the water inside and outside the cell freezes into dangerous ice crystals. The chemical solutes can't dissolve in the right amount of water, though.

Additionally, they concentrate more and more when the water freezes, causing a damaging process called osmotic shock. These elements will inevitably cause our red blood cells to disintegrate before they reach -130 degrees. Some cells are not as delicate as others, and many creatures have adapted to withstand harsh environments.

Some fish that can withstand cold weather produce antifreeze proteins to stop ice from forming at temperatures below zero. Frogs that can withstand freezing temperatures use defense mechanisms to remain alive when up to 70% of their body water is frozen solid. The key to human cryopreservation is unlikely to be found in any one organism.

However, by studying these adaptations, researchers have created amazing preservation technologies, some of which are now used in medicine. To further address the ice issue, researchers are continuously working to advance cryopreservation technologies. Many cryobiologists are using the method of vitrification to address this issue.

Cryoprotectant agents (CPAs) are substances that are used in this method to stop ice from forming. Some of them have been derived from natural substances, while others have been created to benefit from the fundamental ideas of cryobiology. However, in actuality, these compounds enable scientists to retain biological systems in a glassy state with low molecular activity and no harmful ice.

Cryonics would benefit from vitrification since it would help preserve organs and other tissues for use in medical treatments. But getting there is exceedingly challenging. In the high concentrations needed for industrial-scale vitrification, CPAs can be hazardous. Even with these substances, preventing the formation of ice necessitates a quick cooling process that reduces temperatures uniformly throughout the substance. When vitrifying a single cell or a little bit of tissue, that is rather simple.

However, it becomes harder to prevent ice formation as the substance becomes more complicated and includes more water. We wouldn't be able to completely utilize complex living material even if we were able to vitrify it. To avoid the development of ice or, worse, fissures, vitrified tissue must also be consistently warmed. Blood arteries, heart valves, and corneas are examples of small structures that researchers have been able to vitrify and partially restore.

However, none of these come close to matching the size and complexity of an entire human individual. What does this mean for Bedford and his fellow frozen classmates if it is now not viable to cryopreserve a person? The unfortunate reality is that the patients of today's cryonic preservation techniques are merely given false hope.