Cryonics: A Dead End on the Road to Immortality

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Envision a scene lifted straight from a work of speculative fiction: A person, close to the end of their life, undergoes complete freezing before being placed in storage, with the anticipation of future revival. But might this be feasible? In this selection from “Why We Die: The New Science of Aging and the Quest for Immortality,” (Harper Collins, 2024), which earned a nomination for the acclaimed 2024 Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize, Nobel laureate Venki Ramakrishnan delves into the decades-spanning pursuit of cryonic preservation — where individuals are subjected to freezing at their time of passing, with the prospect of thawing in years to come — and the inherent challenges of an industry stemming from this notion.

For ages, scientists have aspired to possess the capability to freeze biological specimens, allowing for their preservation and subsequent use. However, this process poses complications, considering all living entities are predominantly comprised of water. Upon transitioning into ice, this water expands, frequently leading to the rupture of cells and tissues. This phenomenon is partly why thawed, previously frozen fresh strawberries result in a gooey, unappealing mess.

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Cryopreservation, an entire biological discipline, is centered around the investigation of methodologies for freezing specimens, assuring their post-thaw viability. This field has yielded valuable methods, such as those employed for storing stem cells and other significant specimens in liquid nitrogen. It has successfully devised secure methods for freezing sperm collected from sperm donors, along with human embryos intended for later in vitro fertilization.

Animal embryos are commonly subjected to freezing as a way of conserving particular strains, and even nematode worms, a favorite among biologists, can undergo freezing as larvae before being revived. Cryopreservation is effective for numerous types of cells and tissues. This frequently entails the incorporation of additives like glycerol, facilitating cooling to profoundly low temperatures while preventing water from solidifying into ice — akin to the introduction of antifreeze to a sample. Under these circumstances, water adopts a glassy state instead of crystallizing into ice, a process more appropriately termed vitrification, as opposed to freezing (originating from the Latin term “vitreous” signifying glass). Nevertheless, even scientists often casually refer to it as freezing, describing the specimens as frozen.

Now, let’s discuss cryonics. This is where entire individuals are frozen right after death with the expectation that they’ll be brought back to life later, presumably when a treatment for whatever caused their death has been discovered. This concept has been around for quite some time but gained prominence through the efforts of Robert Ettinger. Ettinger was a college-level physics and math educator from Michigan, who also enjoyed writing science fiction. Ettinger imagined scientists in the future bringing these frozen bodies back to life, not only curing what had afflicted them but making them young again.

In 1976, he established the Cryonics Institute near Detroit, persuading more than 100 individuals to provide $28,000 apiece to have their bodies preserved in liquid nitrogen inside substantial containers. His mother, Rhea, who passed away in 1977, was among the initial individuals to undergo freezing. His two spouses also reside there — though, the degree to which they cherished being in proximity to one another, or even their mother-in-law, for the years or decades ahead remains unclear.

The Alcor Life Extension Foundation situated in Arizona houses over 200 bodies and separated heads, all preserved in anticipation of potential future recovery.

In keeping with this familial closeness, Ettinger was added to their ranks after he passed away in 2011 at the age of 92. Currently, a number of facilities are devoted to cryonics. Alcor Life Extension Foundation, a further notable establishment located in Scottsdale, Arizona, demands approximately $200,000 to cryogenically preserve an entire body. How do these centers operate? In essence, as soon as an individual ceases to live, the blood is extracted and supplanted with antifreeze, after which the body is stored in liquid nitrogen. In theory, for an unlimited duration.

Then there exist the transhumanists with aspirations of altogether surpassing our corporeal existence. Their ambition is to prevent humanity as we perceive it from concluding before a method for securing our intellects and consciousness indefinitely in an alternate form has been determined. In their perspective, intelligence and logical thought could be specific to humanity in this cosmos (or, at minimum, they find no corroboration for extraterrestrial intelligence).

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For them, preserving our consciousnesses and intellects, disseminating them across the cosmos, carries paramount significance. After all, what purpose does the universe serve if devoid of the intelligence to value it? Such transhumanists are satisfied with freezing solely their brains, which occupies less volume, thereby reducing the cost. Furthermore, it might prove swifter to introduce the specialized antifreeze into the brain postmortem, boosting the chances of effective preservation.

The brain represents the origin of recollection, awareness, and logical thought, constituting their primary focus. At some juncture in the distant future, when the associated technologies have reached maturity, the data within the brain will simply undergo downloading onto a computer or related apparatus. This mechanism will then hold the person’s consciousness and recollections, thereby restarting “life.” Such an existence will be unaffected by bodily necessities like sustenance, hydration, oxygen, and a confined temperature range. We will have gone beyond the limits of our physical forms, opening possibilities for voyaging anywhere in the universe.

Elon Musk is recognized for his devotion to transhumanist projects, with active Neuralink initiatives targeted at connecting the human brain with computers.

It comes as no surprise that transhumanists frequently express enthusiasm for space travel, viewing it as the sole means of escaping calamity on our planet. A notable advocate is Elon Musk, an entrepreneur and investor regarded as one of the world’s richest individuals contingent on the year, renowned for articulating his intention to “die on Mars, though preferably not because of impact.” It is presumable that erecting a cryonics center is one of his initial objectives upon arrival on the Red Planet.

On the downside, there’s not even a hint of trustworthy proof that human cryogenics has even the remotest chance of success. Numerous potential issues exist. Minutes, perhaps even hours, might pass from the moment of demise to the instant a technician can inject the body — even supposing the “client” moved to a house right beside a facility for logistical expediency.

Throughout that interval, each cell within the body of the deceased endures stark biochemical mutations stemming from the dearth of oxygen and essential nutrients. For this reason, the status of a cryogenically frozen frame is not identical to that of a living individual. However, cryo proponents argue that preserving the brain’s physical framework is of utmost importance. Provided it is conserved well enough that the interconnections between all the billions of neurons remain discernible, it will be within our capabilities to reconstruct the person’s entire mind.

The charting of all neurons within the brain constitutes an emerging field known as connectomics. Even though tremendous advancement has transpired, scholars are still resolving the intricacies connected to flies and other minute organisms. Moreover, we have yet to attain sufficient know-how for effectively looking after the corpse brain throughout the period of awaiting progress within connectomics.

Only recently, following substantial time, has it turned out to be feasible to conserve the brain of a mouse; it demands the integration of embalming solution as the mouse’s heart persists in beating — a measure that terminates the mouse’s life. Without exception, cryonics firms have not produced evidence substantiating that their processes conserve the human brain so as to allow impending scientists to obtain a comprehensive map of its interneuronal links.

Nevertheless, even with the capability of developing such mapping, it would still be insufficient to emulate a brain. Viewing each neuron as a mere transistor within a computer circuit represents unpardonable simplicity. A considerable part of this writing has underlined the complexity encompassed within cells.

Within each brain cell, there is a perpetually shifting program executing that necessitates the interaction of myriad genes and proteins, wherein its relationship with external cells is forever changing. Charting interconnections among brain cells would amount to significant headway within comprehension, yet it would solely furnish a static depiction. It would not capacitate us to rebuild the frozen brain’s genuine state, let alone anticipate its subsequent thought process. That exercise would be similar to attempting to deduce all characteristics regarding a nation and its populace, in addition to predicting its progress, commencing from a thorough map.

I have spoken with Albert Cardona, a colleague working with me at the MRC (Medical Research Council) Laboratory of Molecular Biology, recognized as a premier authority concerning the connectomics of the fly brain. Albert stresses that the brain’s design, also its intrinsic essence, is molded by its interconnection to other sections within the body, beyond the practical challenges.

Our brain developed in conjunction with the remaining segments of the body, perpetually processing and responding to sensory cues derived from the body. Further, it is not unchangeable: New interconnections manifest daily, subject to trimming throughout nocturnal sleep. Periodic cycles, daily as well as seasonal, encompass neuron growth as well as neuron death. Sadly, there is a lack of robust comprehension as to this ongoing remodeling.

Venki Ramakrishnan is a recipient of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, while also serving as the former President of the Royal Society.

In addition to that, an isolated brain, disentangled from a body, could be radically distinctive. Electrical impulses sent via neuronal interconnections are not the exclusive impetus for the brain’s performance. It also responds to chemicals produced inside the brain and released from elsewhere throughout the body. Its driving force is impacted by hormones originating from organs, incorporating both fundamental requisites (e.g., starvation) as well as intrinsic desires. The pleasures that our brains enjoy are principally rooted in the flesh, encompassing the delights of fine cuisine, mountain climbing, physical training, also sexuality. Additionally, by postponing such freezing of our brains until our age and physical deterioration advances, we are essentially pickling aged and diminished minds, not those finely calibrated instruments synonymous with persons in their mid-twenties. Where lies the rationality in preserving such a brain?

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