a non-profit organization · 2017-02-08 · december 2013 • volume 34:12 a non-profit...

December 2013 • Volume 34:12

A Non-Profit Organization

Interview with Joshua MitteldorfAboutProgrammedAgingPage 8

Social Benefits of Rejuvenation BiotechnologiesPage 5

Though She Isn’t Really Ill, There’s a Little Yellow Pill…1

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ISSN 1054-4305

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of a Good CryopreservationYou have your cryonics funding and contracts in place but have you considered other steps you can take to prevent problems down the road?

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ü Keep Alcor up-to-date about personal and medical changes.

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www.alcor.org Cryonics / December 2013 3

December 2013 • Volume 34:12


Interview with

Joshua

Mitteldorf

About

Programmed

Aging

Page 8

Social Benefits of Rejuvenation

Biotechnologies

Page 5

Though She Isn’t Really Ill,

There’s a Little Yellow Pill…

Page 11

$9.95

ISSN 1054-4305


CONTENTS6 CEO Update

14 FOR THE RECORD Carrying On: The Aftermath and Legacy of Early New York Cryonics

Themid-1970swereadifficulttimeforcryonics,particularlyinNewYorkwhichhadfiguredsoprominentlyintheearlydays.Herewetakealookateventsstartinginthistimeof trial.Mostof theimportantplayersinNewYorkcryonicswentelsewhere.IntheendCryonicsemergedstrongerthaneverfromthelessonslearned.

21 Lessons learned from Cryonics: A Sociology of Death and Bereavement

CryonicseditorAschwindeWolf alsorevisitsArleneSheskin’sCryonics: A Sociology of Death and Bereavement toseewhathasbeenlearned,andwhatstillcanbelearned,fromtheearlydaysof cryonics.

23 That ’70s Transhumanism Book Review of Cosmic Trigger,

Volume I: Final Secret of the Illuminati

29 Membership Statistics Howmanymembers,associate

members,andpatientsdoesAlcorhaveandwheredotheylive?

30 Tech News Wereadthenewstouncoverthemost

promisingandexcitingdevelopmentsinscienceandtechnology.

COVER STORY: PAGE 8

5 QUOD INCEPIMUS CONFICIEMUS Social Benefits of Rejuvenation Biotechnologies Attempts to defend the beneficial consequences of conquering

aging are often dismissed as opportunistic arguments to defend selfish desires for “immortality.” What if we approach the issue the other way round and demonstrate that both morality and prosperity require the elimination of aging?

11 COOLER MINDS PREVAIL Though She Isn’t Really Ill, There’s a Little Yellow Pill… Can human enhancement be as simple as taking a pill? This

month’s installment of Cooler Minds Prevail explores the ethics of cosmetic pyschopharmacology and the drugs available today that may hold potential for enhancement of cognition, mood, and pro-social behaviors.

Interview with Joshua Mitteldorf About Programmed AgingTo most people and researchers, aging is a process of “wear and tear.” According to Joshua Mitteldorf this perspective on aging should be replaced by the view that aging is programmed. In this interview he answers questions about what such a perspective implies about human evolution, how such an aging program is executed, and what kinds of anti-aging strategies are available to upset the aging program.

Cover Photo: Joshua Mitteldorf speaking at the 2012 Alcor conference.© Alcor

4 Cryonics / December 2013 www.alcor.org


Editorial BoardSaulKent

RalphC.Merkle,Ph.D.R.MichaelPerry,Ph.D.

EditorAschwindeWolf

Contributing WritersAschwindeWolfChanadeWolfMaxMore,Ph.D.MikePerry,Ph.D.

MarkPlus

Copyright2013byAlcorLifeExtensionFoundation

Allrightsreserved.Reproduction,inwholeorpart,without

permissionisprohibited.

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Gifts have played a fundamental role in the cryonicsmovement since its earliest days. Dr. James Bedford, amanwhoseextraordinaryvision ledhim tobecome the

firstpersontobecryopreserved,andthefirsttomakeabequesttoacryonicsorganization,exemplifiedthedeterminationof theearlypioneersof cryonics.Weinviteyoutofollowinhisfootsteps,andjointheJamesBedfordSociety.The James Bedford Society recognizes those who make a

bequestof anysizetotheAlcorLifeExtensionFoundation.If youhavealreadyprovidedagift

forAlcorinyourestate,pleasesendacopyof yourrelevantdocumentstoAlcor’sFinanceDirector,BonnieMagee.If you’dliketolearnmoreaboutsettingupabequest,sendanemail

[email protected].

The James Bedford Society

2013 Annual Giving Program

Alcorprovidesawidearrayof servicesforyouthemember,andthegeneralpublic.Weinformandeducate,weprotectandpreserve,andwestrivetoremainattheforefrontof cryonicstechnology.

Sinceitsfounding,Alcorhasreliedonmembersupporttomaintainitsmissionand attract newmembers.Your support, regardless of size, can provide a betterfutureforallcryonicists.Please act now.

SUGGESTED GIVING LEVELS

$20FRIEND

$60JuNIoRSuPPoRTER

$120SuSTAININgSuPPoRTER

$500ADVoCATESuPPoRTER

$1,000LEADINgSuPPoRTER

$2,500VISIoNARYSuPPoRTER

$5,000SILVERSuPPoRTER

$10,000goLDSuPPoRTER

$25,000TITANIuMSuPPoRTER

$50,000VANguARDSuPPoRTER

Weencourageeverymembertodonate.Evenif youcanonlyafford$5rightnow,youwillmakeasignificantcontributiontoAlcor’sfuture.Donationsmaybemadevia theDonationsbuttonon theAlcorwebsiteorby

contacting Alcor’s Finance Director, Bonnie Magee, at [email protected]. Yourdonationmaybemadeasalumpsumordividedintoeasymonthlypayments.


When advocates of radical lifeextension discuss the socialbenefits of humans having

muchlongerlifespansitisoftenafootnoteto a personal desire to prolong life. As aconsequence, cynicism from critics isoften encountered. It hard to countersuchskepticismeffectivelybecausepeoplemay believe you are just trying to makean essentially selfish desire look sociallydesirable.Thereisanalternative.Wecanapproach

the topic from the other direction whenwe ask what kind of lifespans would bedesirable if we wanted to increase socialwelfareandreducehumansuffering.Let’slookatanumberof issues.There is a large literature about coping

withthedeathof lovedones,relatives,andfriends. While many people find supportfrom such self-help books, most peoplewouldagreethatnoamountof anticipationor coping can eliminate the suffering anddevastationthatfollowsthedeathof alovedone.Isthereanupside?Iamnotawareof any seriouswriter pontificating about thepositive aspects about a person dear toyou dying or suffering from aging-related

disabilities.Asocietyinwhichhumanshavecontrol over the aging process would bedesirablebecauseitwouldeliminateoneof themaincausesof deathandthesufferingitbringsforsurvivors.Itisnotuncommontohearpeoplebeing

accusedof notcaringabouttheeffectsof their actions on future generations. Thiscomplaint is particularly prominent indiscussionsabouttheenvironmentandtheuseof natural resources. If humanswerenotborn todieonapredictableschedulethiswholedynamicwouldchangebecausethedistinctionbetweencurrentandfuturegenerations would cease to exist. If weshiftedfocusfromshorter to longer-termsatisfactions involving our place and rolein an enduring “family”of associates,weshould not want humans to replace eachotherbuttocoexistintimeandspace.Agediscriminationinvolvesdiscrimination

of individuals on the basis of theirage. In most instances, however, thisdiscrimination concerns biological age andits effects on appearance, physical health,andmentalskills.Biologicalageisnothardtoobserveandcanusuallybeinferredfromchronologicalage.If wepreferthatpeople

arenottreateddifferentlybecauseof theirdateof birthwe shouldwant to live in asocietywhererejuvenationbiotechnologiessever the link between chronological ageandbiologicalage.What about economicwelfare?Ageless

peoplewouldbeabletoremainproductiveandgenerous,medicalcostsassociatedwiththe debilitating health and mental effectsof biological agingwouldbe substantiallyreduced,andhighlytalentedpeoplewouldnotceasetoexist.Reasoning backwards from what

moralityandwelfarewould“dictate”abouthumanlifespansisnotjustatalkingpointindiscussionsabout thebio-ethicsof lifeextension.one can imagine the rise of asocialmovementthatseekstoeducatethegeneralpublicaboutthesocialbenefitsof biological control over the aging process.Suchasocialmovementwouldnotbeinthebusiness of making excuses for eccentricindividual desires but would recommendthatthereductionof suffering,sustainablegrowth,andmorevirtuousconductwouldrequire that humans do not have a fixedexpirationdate.

Quod incepimus conficiemus

SOCIAL BENEFITS OF REJUVENATION BIOTECHNOLOGIES By Aschwin de Wolf

Photo: Cryo-Care Equipment Corporation at 2340 E. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ.Dr. Bedford’s “home” in 1970 or 1971.


on November 1, Alcor tookinto our care A-2694, our(confidential) 118th patient.

A-2694 was signed up just in time andlaterthanoptimal,withsign-uppaperworkbeing completed just four days beforebeing pronounced, financing beingconfirmedonthedayof legaldeath.Thiscase was also complicated by the patientbeinglocatedintheCzechRepublicwhere,we were initially and inaccurately told,we would not be able to carry out ourprocedures. A further complication—themassive St. Jude storm—prevented usfrom deploying equipment and suppliesfromEngland to the Czech Republic forfield cryoprotection. See the Alcor newsblogformoreinformation.our 119th patient, A-2030, arrived

shortly after noon on Friday, November22. Remarkably, later on the very sameafternoon,wereceivedemergencymessagesabout two possible additional cases. onemessageconcernedanindividualwhohadbeeninterestedincryonicsbutwhohadnotmadearrangements.Theotherconcernedavery recently signed-upmember.As I amwritingthisthedayafterfirstcontact,itistooearlytoreportfurther.We also had a possible postmortem

case fromAsia, but that didn’twork out.Inaddition,wediscussedapossiblecharitycaseforanex-member,buthedecidednottopursueit.

NEW ADVISORWe are delighted to announce the latestaddition to Alcor’s advisors, KeeganMacintosh. Youmay know him from hismonthly column in Cryonics and/or hisAlcor-40talk.

NEW “ALCOR CRYONICS” YOUTUBE CHANNELAsacorepartof avigorousdrivetovastlyimprove Alcor’s social media presence, Ihave create aYouTube channel.Here youwill find videos of Alcor-40 talks, links toother Alcor- and cryonics-relevant videos,andagrowingseriesof shortFAQvideosdealing with common misconceptions,questions, and objections. Iwill be addingmore new FAQ videos over the comingmonths.Letmeknowif youhaveseenotherYouTube videos supportive of Alcor orcryonics,andwewilladdthemtotherosterof related videos: http://www.youtube.com/channel/uCuh9FLcWu8k5k5W_ofWQMZA/videos

UNDERFUNDING BILLINGAllmemberswhosefundingisbelowcurrentminimums shouldbynowhave received abillforunderfunding(uF)dues.Theinitialbilling is for the last fourmonthsof 2013(since the planwas formally adopted) andthe rate is only one third of the eventualamount(whichwillbeequalto1%of yourunderfundingperyear).It’sremarkablehowmanymembersseemtobeunawareof theirinadequate level of funding despite ourmanylettersandarticlesonthesubject.Wehope that the implementationof thisplanwillfinallyraiseawarenessof thisproblemonanindividuallevel.Evenmemberswhoarewealthyhavenot, inmanycases,raisedtheirfundingtocurrentminimums.Ithanktheconsiderablenumberof you

whohaveraisedyourfundinglevelssincewestartedfocusingonasolutiontotheproblemin 2011. The total level of underfundinghas declined considerably, reducing thethreat to Alcor’s future financial security

whenmembersarecryopreservedandcostsincurred. We urge those of you who areworkingtosetupwealthpreservationtruststofirstensurethatyouarefullyfunded.

PRIORITIESThesehavenotchangedagreatdeal sincelastyear.of courseIwillcontinuetoworkcloselytocoordinatewithSA.Iwillmakeamuchgreatereffortatfundraising,bothfortheMembershipDuesReductionFundand,when it is in final form, the EndowmentFund. other fundraising areas includeresearch and the PCT. Another focus istofindways to reducecosts formembers,includinghelpingtheHardshipCommittee,and examining CMS waiver possibilities,alternative fundingoptions, and lower-costoptions, and perhaps carefully designedlifetimememberships.I will be pushing to reignite growth,

partly through a social media project toboost interestand inquiries leading tonewmembers. I will encourage more research(andbettercommunicationof theresearchwedo),andworkongettingmorefeedbackonthequalityof cases,especiallybydoingCTs on neuros, conducting biopsies, andmaking use of end tidal C02 monitoring.Itwillbeamajorconcern tohelpeducatemembersandencouragethemtobetterplanfor inflation.Thiswill include revising thecostinformationonthewebsite.

MEDIAWehavetoturndownquiteafewrequestsfor interviewsof filmingbecause the levelof mediainterest isoftentoohighforouravailable time (or because the opportunityseemsnotworththeinvestmentof effort).We’ve enjoyed some recent and very

CEO UpdateBy Max More


positivepieces of video coverage.oneof these was a NoVA web special on Alcorandcryonics.TheNoVAteamhadfilmedat Alcor originally for a broadcast showtitled“MakingThingsColder” (whichalsofeaturedresearchat21stCenturyMedicine)butwedidn’tmakethecutduetoexcessivematerial. However, the footage was usedforawebspecialwhichyoucanviewhere:http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tech/cryonics.htmlThe other highly positive video was a

follow-up by germany’s galileo TV on a1999visittoAlcor.Their2013updatehadanimpressivequalityof filmingandgaveagood impression of Alcor. The producersaidthatthegermanversionwasseenby1.8million.We’rehopingtomakethis(strippedof thegermanvoiceover)availableonline.other media includes a story, “Who

wants to live forever?Maybe you can” onMSNInnovation,october15;aninterviewfor The Longevity Show, and one for aDutchpublication.IalsogaveatalkattheVenturist conference in Laughlin, NV onimprovementsatAlcor.

TV and film interest in cryonics: I read anearly outline for a television series whichapparentlyisbeinggreenlitforapilot.Thepremise is interesting and promising fromour perspective. Rather than simply usingcryonics as a tool for getting someoneinto the future, it is a central focus. Eachepisodewillfollowsomeonewhohasbeensuccessfullyrevivedfromcryopreservation.If the show continues to be developed, Imaybeabletocontinuetohavesomeinput.I alsohave a script for aproposedmovie,writtenbyanAlcormemberandestablisheddirector.

SOCIAL MEDIAI am also working on a comprehensive,integrated social media plan (“operationEducate and Motivate.”) We know thatgeneral advertising is both expensive andinefficient.Anintegratedsocialmediaeffortcan cost very little yet have substantialeffects in attracting and holding interest.ThegoalistogreatlyenhanceAlcor’sonlinepresence,generatingmoreawareness—andmore favorable awareness—and convertthat into new members (at least initiallyat the Associate level) through changesto thewebsite andbetter useof theblog,YouTube,Facebook,Reddit, newly-createdinfographics,andperhapsPinterestandoneortwootherssuchasInstagram.

We have had good gains in AssociateMembership, with quite a few additionsfrom a special offer made to viewers of a YouTube video of me giving a tour of Alcor, posted on SingularityWeblog. Thisreceivedover36,000views.Afteraskingthevideo’seditor,NikolaDanylov,toaddanotethat viewers could receive a freeAssociateMembership, we have received somethinglike a dozen requests. (These were fromprobablythelast5,000views.)

Converting interest into membership: I havegivenmany talks andmedia interviews. Ithas been difficult to convert the resultingattention and interest into new members.one obstacle is that so many potentialmembers find the cost too high. There issome observable effect in that we do getinquiries resulting from the talks.And theeffectisnotusuallygoingtobeimmediate—thepersonmayhave to think about it forquite a while, and perhaps receive furthercommunications about cryonics beforetakingaction.But I want to do more to get people

started on the path to membership, usingthe relatively easy step of AssociateMembership, offered for free for a year.Rather than simply mentioning the freememberships, I could take distinguished-looking cards to talks andhand themout.Those cards would have not only a uRLbutabarcodethattakesyoudirectlytotheAMsignuppage,orperhapstoamicrositewithcoreinformationalongwiththesignupform.

ALTERNATIVE FUNDING METHODSAn interesting and intriguing conversationwith a member has motivated me topush harder for us to investigate and findrelatively low-risk ways to allow membersto use alternative funding methods fortheir cryopreservation. This conversationhighlighted ways to reduce the risk anddifficulty of accepting assets such as realestate—for instance, turning transferredproperty over to a property managementcompany;andusingarealestaterecordationsystemandtitlechecksothatnoonecanputinaclaimaheadof Alcor.Asimpleescrowaccountwouldbe similar toprepayingbutthemembermaintainsownership.Anothermechanismforgreatlyreducing

the risks to Alcor of accepting assetsmay be for the member to give Alcor apromissorynotebackedbyadeedof trust.PayonDeath(PoD)account—alsocalled

TransferonDeath(ToD)enablesfundstobypasstheprobateprocessandbedrawnonimmediatelybyAlcor,onpresentingadeathcertificate.Noexecutorisinvolvedandthetransfer can be made irrevocable. I havemade inquiries to our bank about PoD/ToDmechanismsandforwhichkindsof accounts we can use them. These wouldnotbesufficientontheirown,sincewealsoneedtoknowif thereareanyfundsintheaccounts.Thiswillrequiresomethinglikeacollateralassignment.

CONTRIBUTIONS WANTED!The end of the year is a traditional timeforindividualswithresourcestocontributefundingtoworthycauses,butanytimeisagood time for Alcor-related contributions.If youwouldliketosupportAlcor(andgivelesstothetaxman),wecouldbenefitfromcontributionstothese:

Membership Dues Reduction Fund: Asexplained in theoctober issueof Cryonics,thisfundisdesignedtoallowustoreducemembershipduesover a10-yearperiod inorder to improve members retention andto acceleratemembership growth, creatinga virtuous cycle of economies of scale inwhich we continuously reduce the costof dues, grow faster, and improveAlcor’sfinances.

Endowment Fund: Alcor operationscan draw on the Endowment Fund at amaximumrateof 2%peryear.Contributionsto this fund therefore provide long-term,sustainablesupporttotheorganization.Thelargertheincomefromthisfundgrows,thelessweneedtorelyonmembershipdues.

Research Fund: Not only is researchimportant for improving the quality of our procedures and hastening the daywhenpatientscanberepairedandrevived,spendingonresearchhelpsprotectourtax-exemptstatus.

Hardship Fund: It is crucial that Alcortake action to address the multi-milliondollar problem of members with below-minimum funding. At the same time, werecognizethatsomememberstrulystruggleto meet the costs of membership, lifeinsurance payments, and additional duesforunderfunding.Althoughwehaveseededthe Hardship Fund with $20,000 fromAlcor’sreservefund(andtheLifeExtensionFoundation has contributed additionalfunds),wewelcomecontributionsthatallowus to help distressed members who lackotheroptions.


1. Can you briefly describe your view that aging is programmed?

From the perspective of theory,programmed aging is completelyunexpected.EvenwhatIcallthe“leftwing”of evolutionary theorywould not predictthattheindividualwouldevolvetosacrificehimself for thegroup so reliably.But theempiricalevidenceisoverwhelming.

Thegeneticbasisforagingisveryold,andhasbeenconservedforabillionyears,fromthesimplestone-celledeukaryotesupthroughmammalsandhumans.of course,therearelotsof genesthathavethiskindof longlegacy,buttheyareallpartof thecore processes essential to life. Evidently,evolution has treated aging as a coreprocess,essentialtolife.

• Life span is extended not bymaking it easier for the body butby putting challenges in the body’sway: Starvation, physical exertion(generatingfreeradicals!),extremesof heatandcold,evensometoxinsextendlife span.You have to think that thebodyisnotdoingitsbesttolivealongtimewhenithasplentyof food,andiscomfortableandunstressed.

• It’s surprisingly easy to creategenetically modified organisms(worms,flies,mice…)thatlivelongerthan the same animals found in thewild. This is almost always done notby giving them some new gene theydidn’t have, but by knocking out agenethatnatureputthere.TherecordforlifeextensioninC. Elegans worms comes fromRobertShmookler-Reis’s

lab. They knocked out both copiesof a gene that is essential for energygeneration in the worms, and theylived ten times as long. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17996009

• There are two ancient mechanismsof programmeddeath inprotozoans,called apoptosis and cellular senescence. Yeast cells will initiate apoptosiswhen theydetect that thecell colonyis starving. They literally dismembertheirowncell,breakitdownandturnit into food for neighboring cells.Cellular senescence is a mechanismwheresomeprotozoans(e.g.paramecia)count how many times they havereproduced themselves and, if they have not shared genes withneighboring paramecia, they languishanddie.Bothcellularsenescenceandapoptosisarepartof thecellcycleinourownbodies,andbothmechanismscontributetohumanaging.

2. What are the major differences of opinion between advocates of programmed aging?

We have different ideas of theevolutionary significance of aging. Forexample,most advocatesof programmedaging think that aging evolved for thepurpose of promoting populationturnover,sothatthecommunitycanevolvemore rapidly. Ihavepromoted the theorythat the community benefits from agingbecausedeathisspreadoutandpredictable,avoidingextinctions.If itweren’tforaging,everyone would be dying at the sametime,during a famine, for example,or an

epidemic.Thepopulationwouldbemuchmorevolatile,andpronetoextinction.

3. Does a belief in programmed aging necessarily imply group selection in evolution?

Yes.Therecanbenoindividualbenefitfrom aging. Aging is by definition anindividual’slossof fitnessovertime.

4. Empirical examples of programmed aging can often be restated as examples of wear and tear and vice versa. What kind of evidence in humans would you say would provide unambiguous support for the hypothesis that aging is programmed?

As we get older, the body’s repairand maintenance machinery slows down.Damage accumulates. This looks just like“wearandtear”butitisprogrammedinthe

Interview with Joshua MitteldorfThe following interview with Joshua Mitteldorf is the third in a series of interviews with prominent scientists in the field of aging.

“Life span is extended not by making it easier for the body

but by putting challenges in the body’s way: Starvation, physical

exertion (generating free radicals!), extremes of heat and cold, even some toxins extend life span.”


sensethatthebodycouldrepairthedamagebut doesn’t. For example, the antioxidantsCoQ10 and glutathione decline with age.ourbodiesjustmakelessof them.

But there are other ways in whichhuman aging is an active process thatdoesn’t look at all like “wear and tear.”For example, inflammation is turnedagainstthebody’sowncells.Inflammationis an essential defense mechanism, usedto destroy damaged cells and invadingmicrobes.Aswegetolder,theinflammationmechanismisco-optedinaprocessof self-destruction. Inflammation contributes toallthemajordiseasesof oldage.

Thetwomechanismsof programmedcelldeaththatImentionedabovealsoareactive mechanisms of self-destruction.Apoptosis is programmed cell death, andit destroys our muscle cells, creating theweakness and muscle atrophy that weassociatewitholdage.Apoptosisdestroyshealthynerve cells inourbrains, and thisleads to dementia. Cellular senescence is another name for telomere shortening.Stem cells are constantly creating newblood cells and skin cells for us, becausethese are short-lived and turn over everyfewdays.Butwithage,thetelomeresinthestemcellsgetshort,andthestemcellscannolongerdotheirjob.Telomereattritioniscompletelyavoidable,if thebodywantedtoavoidit—allittakesittheenzymetelomerase whichisavailableintheDNAof everycell,butitisheldback,causingthestemcellstobecomesenescent.Senescentcellsarenotonly failing topull theirweight—theyarealsotoxictosurroundingtissue.

5. Is it possible that aging is programmed but that the body does not consult an “aging clock” to make us age?

That’sadeepquestion,andIthinkthejury is still out. Is there a central clock—maybethehypothalamusdeepinthebrain—or is the aging processwidely distributedthrough cells, as for example all the stemcells that are individually counting theirreplicationswiththeirtelomeres?

6. Can we make the human body believe that it is still young?

Wewhobelieveinprogrammedagingtend to be optimistic about rejuvenationtherapies. We think that the body isperfectly capable of restoring a youthfulstate, andneedsonly theproper signalingtorestoreitself toayouthfulstate.Twoof themostpromisingexamplesof thatare

• Telomerase activators aremedicines or supplements wecan take that stimulate our cellstore-growtheirtelomeres.Thereis early, preliminary evidence of dramatic rejuvenation in micegiven telomerase therapy. (Thecatch is that these mice weregenetically engineered to sufferfromshort telomeres in thefirstplace.) http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v469/n7328/full/nature09603.html

• There may be hormones andother chemicals that circulate inourblood that tell thebodyhowold it is. old people’s blood hastoo much of some things andtoo littleof others. If we restorea youthful profile to chemicalsignalsintheblood,itmaybethatthebody respondsby restoring ayouthful state. Harold Katcherhasbeenaprominentadvocateof tryingthisprocedure.http://www.programmed-aging.org/theory-3/Katcher_heterochronic_plasma_exchange.pdf

7. If we are supposed to age, does it not follow that a lot of things that are known to be “healthy” will not do much to slow aging?

That’s exactly right. We’ve beenfocusedfor50yearsontheevilsof modernlife—the toxinsand the radiationand thestress.We’reobsessedwiththeinsultsthatWestern technology has imposed on ourbodies. Sowewant to eat organic foods,lowerouranxietylevels,avoidfishthathasmercuryandwaterwithfluorine.Theseareallgoodthingstodo,andmayimproveourhealth. But they have nothing to dowithlifeextension.

If our life spans are programmedinto our genes, we’ll have to disrupt that

program in order to live longer.We can’tdoitbypamperingorprotectingourselves.

8. Is it possible that aging is a combination of an evolved program and wear and tear? In other words, would you expect any progressive physiological deterioration if the aging program is halted?

Takealookattheanswerto#4.Someof thewaysinwhichagingisprogrammedinvolve slowing down the repairmechanisms,sothatdamageisallowedtoaccumulate.

9. Not many people are interested in radical life extension or cryonics. Is it possible that our psychology has co-evolved to embrace aging, too?

Freud certainly thought so. Towardtheendof hislife,hestartedwritingabouta “death drive” in addition to the better-known drives for sex, for power, etc.which he proposed. Many older peoplesufferfromchronicpain,andtheycannolongerdothethingsthatgavethemjoyandexhilarationwhentheywereyoung.Deathstartstolooknotsobad.

It’s also true that we live our livesknowing that death is inevitable. Socialpsychologists speak of the phenomenonof cognitive dissonancewhich tends tomakea virtue of necessity. If I’m going to dieand there’s nothingmuch I cando aboutit,thenmaybedeathisn’tsuchabadthing.This kind of thinking is wired into ourbrains.

“We who believe in programmed aging tend to be optimistic about rejuvenation therapies. We think that the body is perfectly capable of restoring a youthful state, and needs only the proper signaling to restore itself to a youthful state.”


In the face of this, the broad LifeExtension Movement offers a radicalnew possibility. Suppose we don’t haveto loseourphysical faculties. Supposeweretain our capacity for joy and passionand exhilaration, and we’re free from

physical pain. Suppose that our mindsremain flexible and open to new modesof thinking.Theworldisrapidlychanging,in some ways that are pregnant withexcitementandpromise,andinotherwaysthatthreatenfreedomanddemocracyandnatural biodiversity and all that we holddear. What an adventure is in store forthoseof us that live toparticipate in thisepic global struggle! This is some of thepromise that life extension holds out forthoseof uswhoseeandembraceit.

10. Which life extension strategies that exist today hold the most promise?

I’mputtingmybetsontwofields.

• Telomerase therapies are veryclosetoofferingatherapythatIthinkwill be rejuvenating.Thereare herbal products already onthemarket thatmodestly extendtelomere length. Sierra SciencesisaReno,NVcompanywiththeknow-how to create dramaticallymore effective telomeraseactivatorsinjustafewyears’time,and theyare tragically stalled forlackof venturecapital.

• Epigeneticsisthescienceof whichgenes get expressed where andwhen. As we age, some genesare turnedon andothers turned

off, and both these contributeto aging. gene expression iscontrolled,inpart,bytheprocessof methylation. Little bumps areaddedtothechromosomethatactas “Do Not Disturb” signs anddeterminewhichgenesareturnedoff.Justlastweek,SteveHorvathof uCLApublishedaspectacularpaper claiming to have decodedthis pattern of methylation sothathecandeterminetheageof acellsamplewith97%accuracy.Itmaybe thata fewyearsdowntheroad,wecanre-programourmethylation and patterns to amoreyouthfulstate.

My belief is that telomere length andmethylation are two of the body’s primaryagingclocks, and thataswe learnhowtoresettheseclocks,wewillbeabletorestoreouryouth.

11. Can you tell us about the book that you are working on?

I’ve written and rewritten a bookhttp://Suicidegenes.org about all thethemes you ask about in this interview.I’ve been frustrated by several academicpublishers that have been enthusiasticabout publishing my book, and some of the reviews have been glowing.But threepublishershavegottencoldfeetwhentheyencountered the vehement objections of

evolutionarytheoristsinthefieldwhosaythat programmed aging is wrong, wrong,wrong, and that the press will embarrassitself bypublishingmybook.

Iamnowexploringpublicationoutsideof university presses, and have promisedmyreadersthatthebookwillcomeoutin2014,self-publishedif needbe.

Josh Mitteldorf studies evolutionary theory of aging using computer simulations. Mitteldorf has taught a weekly yoga class for thirty years. He is an advocate for vigorous self care, including exercise, meditation and caloric restriction. After earning a PhD in astrophysicists, Mitteldorf moved to evolutionary biology as a primary field in 1996. He has taught at Harvard, Berkeley, Bryn Mawr, LaSalle and Temple University. He is presently affiliated with MIT as a visiting scholar.

“If our life spans are programmed into our genes,

we’ll have to disrupt that program in order to live longer.

We can’t do it by pampering or protecting ourselves.”


COOLER MINDS PREVAIL

THOUGH SHE ISN’T REALLY ILL, THERE’S A LITTLE YELLOW PILL…By Chana de Wolf

Humanshavebeeningestingmind-and mood-altering substancesfor millennia, but it has only

rather recently become possible to beginto elucidate drug mechanisms of actionandtousethisinformation,alongwithourburgeoning knowledge of neuroscience,todesigndrugsintendedtohaveaspecificeffect. And though most people thinkof pharmaceuticals as “medicine,” it hasbecome increasingly popular to discussthe possibilities for the use of drugs inenhancement, or improvement of “humanform or functioning beyond what isnecessarytosustainorrestoregoodhealth”(E.T.Juengst;inParens,1998,p29).Some (transhumansits) believe that

enhancementmaynotonlybepossible,butthat itmay even be amoral duty.others(bioconservatives) fear that enhancementmay cause us to lose sight of what itmeans to be human altogether. It is notthe intention of this article to advocateenhancement or to denounce it. Instead,let’s review some of the drugs (and/orclassesof drugs)thathavebeenidentifiedas the most promisingly cognitive- ormood-enhancing. Many of the drugs wewill cover can be read about in furtherdepth in Botox for the brain: enhancement of cognition, mood and pro-social behavior and blunting of unwanted memories (Jongh, R., etal.,Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 32(2008):760-776).of most importance in considering

potentially cognitive enhancer drugs isto keep inmind that, to date, no “magic

bullets”appear toexist.That is, thereareno drugs exhibiting such specificity asto have only the primary, desired effect.Indeed, a general principle of trade-offs(particularly in the form of side effects)appears to exist when it comes to drugadministration for any purpose, whethertreatmentorenhancement.Suchfactsmayconstitute barriers to the practical use of pharmacologicalenhancersandshouldbetaken into consideration when discussingtheethicsof enhancement.Some currently available cognitive

enhancers include donepezil, modafinil,dopamine agonists, guanfacine, andmethylphenidate. There are also effortsunderway to develop memory-enhancingdrugs, and we will discuss a few of themechanisms by which they are proposedto act. Besides cognitive enhancement,the enhancement of mood and pro-social behavior in normal individuals areother types of enhancement thatmay beaffected pharmacologically, most usuallybyantidepressantsoroxytocin.Let’sbrieflycovertheevidencefortheefficacyof eachof these in enhancing cognition and/ormoodbeforeembarkingonamoregeneraldiscussion of the general principles of enhancementandethicalconcerns.oneof themostwidelycitedcognitive

enhancement drugs is donepezil (Aricept®), an acetylcholinesteraseinhibitor.In2002,Yesavageetal.reportedthe improved retention of training inhealthy pilots tested in a flight simulator.In this study, after training in a flight

simulator, half of the 18 subjects took 5mgof donepezilfor30daysandtheotherhalf were given a placebo. The subjectsreturned to the lab to perform two testflightsonday30.Thedonepezilgroupwasfoundtoperformsimilarlytotheinitialtestflight, while placebo group performancedeclined. These results were interpretedasan improvement in theability to retainapracticedskill. Instead it seemspossiblethat the better performance of thedonepezil group could have been due toimproved attention or working memoryduringthetestflightsonday30.Another experiment by gron et al.

(2005) looked at the effects of donepezil(5 mg/day for 30 days) on performanceof healthy male subjects on a varietyof neuropsychological tests probingattention, executive function, visual andverbal short-term and working memory,semantic memory, and verbal andvisual episodic memory. They reporteda selective enhancement of episodicmemoryperformance, and suggested thatthe improved performance in Yesavageet al.’s study is not due to enhancedvisual attention, but to increased episodicmemoryperformance.ultimately, there isscarceevidencethat

donepezil improves retention of training.Better designed experiments need to beconducted before we can come to anyfirmconclusionsregardingitsefficacyasacognitive-enhancing.The wake-promoting agent modafinil

(Provigil®) is another currently available


drug that is purported to have cognitiveenhancing effects. Provigil® is indicatedfor the treatment of excessive daytimesleepiness and is often prescribed tothose with narcolepsy, obstructive sleepapnea, and shift work sleep disorder. Itsmechanisms of action are unclear, butit is supposed that modafinil increaseshypothalamic histamine release, therebypromoting wakefulness by indirectactivation of the histaminergic system.However, some suggest that modafinilworks by inhibitinggABA release in thecerebralcortex.In normal, healthy subjects, modafinil

(100-200 mg) appears to be an effectivecountermeasure for sleep loss. Inseveral studies, it sustained alertness andperformanceof sleep-deprivedsubjects(upto54.5hours)andhasalsobeenfoundtoimprovesubjectiveattentionandalertness,spatialplanning,stopsignalreactiontime,digit-span and visual pattern recognitionmemory. However, at least one study(Randall et al., 2003) reported “increasedpsychological anxiety and aggressivemood”andfailedtofindaneffectonmorecomplexformsof memory,suggestingthatmodafinil enhances performance only inveryspecific,simpletasks.

The dopamine agonists d-amphetamine, bromocriptine, andpergolidehaveallbeenshowntoimprovecognitioninhealthyvolunteers,specificallyworking memory and executive function.Historically, amphetamines have beenusedby themilitary duringWorldWar IIandtheKoreanWar,andmorerecentlyasa treatment for ADHD (Adderall®). Butusagestatisticssuggestthatitiscommonlyused for enhancementbynormal,healthypeople—particularlycollegestudents.Interestingly,theeffectof dopaminergic

augmentationappears tohavean invertedu-relationship between endogenousdopamine levels and working memoryperformance.Severalstudieshaveprovidedevidence for this by demonstratingthat individuals with a low working-memory capacity benefit from greaterimprovements after taking a dopaminereceptoragonist,whilehigh-spansubjectseitherdonotbenefitatallorshowadeclineinperformance.

Guanfacine (Intuniv®) is an α2adrenoceptor agonist, also indicatedfor treatment of ADHD symptoms inchildren,butbyincreasingnorepinephrine

levels in the brain. In healthy subjects,guanfacine has been shown to improvevisuospatial memory (Jakala et al., 1999a,Jakala et al., 1999b), but the beneficialeffects were accompanied by sedativeandhypotensive effects (i.e., side effects).otherstudieshavefailedtoreplicatethesecognitive enhancing effects, perhaps dueto differences in dosages and/or subjectselection.

Methylphenidate (Ritalin®) is awell-known stimulant that works byblocking the reuptake of dopamine andnorepinephrine. Inhealthysubjects, ithasbeen found to enhance spatial working-memory performance. Interestingly, aswith dopamine agonists, an invertedu-relationshipwasseen,withsubjectswithlower baseline working memory capacityshowing the greatest improvement aftermethylphenidateadministration.Future targets for enhancing cognition

are generally focused on enhancingplasticity by targeting glutamate receptors(responsiblefortheinductionof long-termpotentiation)orbyincreasingCREB(knownto strengthen synapses). Drugs targetingAMPAreceptors,NMDAreceptors,ortheexpressionof CREBhaveallshownsomepromiseincognitiveenhancementinanimalstudies, but little to no experiments havebeencarriedouttodetermineeffectivenessinnormal,healthyhumans.Beyondcognitiveenhancement,thereis

alsothepotentialforenhancementof moodand pro-social behavior. Antidepressantsare the first drugs that come to mindwhen discussing the pharmacologicalmanipulation of mood, includingselective serotonin reuptake inhibitors(SSRIs).used for the treatmentof mooddisorders such as depression, SSRIs arenot indicatedfornormalpeopleof stablemood.However,somestudieshaveshownthat administration of SSRIs to healthyvolunteers resulted in a general decreaseof negative affect (such as sadness andanxiety)andanincreaseinsocialaffiliationin a cooperative task. Such decreases innegative affect also appeared to induce apositive bias in information processing,resulting in decreased perception of fearandangerfromfacialexpressioncues.Another potential use for

pharmacological agents in otherwisehealthy humans would be to bluntunwanted memories by preventing theirconsolidation.Thismaybeaccomplishedby

post-training disruption of noradrenergictransmission(aswithβ-adrenergicreceptorantagonist propranolol). Propranololhas been shown to impair the long-termmemory of emotionally arousing stories(but not emotionally neutral stories) byblocking the enhancing effect of arousalon memory (Cahill et al., 1994). In aparticularly interesting study making useof patients admitted to the emergencydepartment,post-traumaadministrationof propranololreducedphysiologicresponsesduring mental imagery of the event 3monthslater(Pitmanetal.,2002).Furtherinvestigationshavesupportedthememory-bluntingeffectsof propranolol,possiblybyblocking the reconsolidationof traumaticmemories.

GENERAL PRINCIPLESReviewing these drugs and their effectsleads us to some general principles of cognitive and mood enhancement. Thefirst is thatmany drugs have an invertedu-shaped dose-response curve, wherelowdoses improveandhighdoses impairperformance.Thisispotentiallyproblematicforthepracticaluseof cognitionenhancersin healthy individuals, especially whendosesthataremosteffectiveinfacilitatingonebehavior simultaneously exert null ordetrimentaleffectsonotherbehaviors.Second,adrug’seffectcanbe“baseline-

dependent,” where low-performingindividuals experience greater benefitfrom the drug while higher-performingindividualsdonotseesuchbenefits(whichmightsimplyreflectaceilingeffect),ormay,infact,seeadeteriorationinperformance(which points to an inverted u-model).In thecaseof an invertedu-model, low-performingindividualsarefoundontheupslope of the invertedu and thus benefitfrom the drug, while high-performingindividualsarelocatednearthepeakof theinvertedualreadyand,ineffect,experiencean “overdose” of neurotransmitter thatleadstoadeclineinperformance.Trade-offsexistintherealmof cognitive

enhancing drugs as well. As mentioned,unwanted “side effects” are oftenexperienced with drug administration,rangingfrommildphysiologicalsymptomssuchassweatingtomoreconcerningissueslike increased agitation, anxiety, and/ordepression.Morespecifictrade-offsmaycomeinthe

formof impairmentof onecognitiveability


attheexpenseof improvinganother.Someexamplesof thisincludetheenhancementof long-term memory but deteriorationof workingmemorywiththeuseof drugsthat activate the cAMP/protein kinase A(PKA) signaling pathway. Another trade-off couldoccurbetweenthestabilityversustheflexibilityof long-termmemory,as inthe case of certain cannabinoid receptorantagonistswhichappear to lead tomorerobust long-term memories, but whichalsodisrupttheabilityof newinformationto modify those memories. Similarly, atrade-off may exist between stability andflexibilityof workingmemory.obviously,pharmacological manipulations thatincreasecognitivestabilityatthecostof adecreasedcapacitytoflexiblyalterbehaviorare potentially problematic in that onegenerallydoesnotwishtohavedifficultyinrespondingappropriatelytochange.Lastly,thereisatrade-off involvingthe

relationshipbetweencognitionandmood.Many mood-enhancing drugs, such asalcohol and even antidepressants, impaircognitive functioning to varying degrees.Cognition-enhancingdrugsmayalsoimpairemotional functions. Because cognitionand emotion are intricately regulatedthrough interconnected brain pathways,inducing change in one area may haveeffects in the other.Muchmore researchremainstobeperformedtoelucidatetheseinteractions before we can come to anyfirmconclusions.

ETHICAL CONCERNSAgain, though it is not the place of thisarticletoadvocateordenouncetheuseof drugs forhumanenhancement,obviouslythere are considerable ethical concernswhen discussing the administration of drugs tootherwisehealthyhumanbeings.Firstandforemost,safetyisof paramountimportance. The risks and side-effects,including physical and psychologicaldependence,aswellaslong-termeffectsof druguseshouldbeconsideredandweighedheavilyagainstanypotentialbenefits.Societal pressure to take cognitive

enhancingdrugsisanotherethicalconcern,especially in light of the fact that manymay not actually produce benefits to thedegree desired or expected. In the samevein,theuseof enhancersmaygivesomea competitive advantage, thus leading toconcerns regarding fairness and equality(aswe already see in the caseof physical

performance-enhancing drugs such assteroids).Additionally,itmaybenecessary,but very difficult, to make a distinctionbetweenenhancementandtherapyinordertodefinethepropergoalsof medicine,todeterminehealth-carecostreimbursement,andto“discriminatebetweenmorallyrightand morally problematic or suspiciousinterventions”(Parens,1998).of particularimportancewillbedetermininghowtodealwith drugs that are already used off-labelforenhancement.Shouldtheybeprovidedby physicians under certain conditions?orshouldtheyberegulatedintheprivatecommercialdomain?There is an interesting argument that

using enhancers might change one’sauthentic identity—that enhancing moodorbehaviorwillleadtoapersonalitythatisnotreallyone’sown(i.e.,inauthenticity),orevendehumanization—whileothersarguethatsuchdrugscanhelpusersto“becomewhothereallyare,” therebystrengtheningtheir identity and authenticity. Lastly,according to the President’s Council onBioethics, enhancement may “threatenour sense of human dignity and what isnaturallyhuman”(ThePresident’sCouncil,2003).AccordingtotheCouncil,“theuseof memorybluntersismorallyproblematicbecause itmight cause a lossof empathyif wewouldhabitually‘erase’ournegativeexperiences, and because it would violatea duty to remember and to bear witnessof crimes and atrocities.” on the otherhand, many people believe that we aremorallyboundtotranscendhumans’basicbiologicallimitsandtocontrolthehumancondition.Buteventheymustask:whatisthemeaning of trust and relationships if weareabletomanipulatethem?These are all questions without easy

answers.Itmaybesometimeyetbeforetheethicalconsiderationsof humancognitiveandmood enhancement really come to ahead,giventheapparentlylimitedbenefitsof currentlyavailabledrugs.Butweshouldnot avoid dealing with these issues inthe meantime; for there will come a daywhen significant enhancement, whethervia drugs or technologicalmeans, will bepossibleandavailable.Andthoughvariousfactions may disagree about the moralityof enhancement,onethingisforsure:wehaveamoralobligationtobepreparedtohandletheconsequencesof enhancement,bothpositiveandnegative.

REFERENCES

Cahill,L.,Prins,B.,Weber,M.,Mcgaugh,J.L.,1994.Beta-adrenergicactivationandmemoryforemotionalevents.Nature371,702-704.

gron,g.,Kirstein,M.,Thielscher,A.,Riepe,M.W.,Spitzer,M.,2005.Cholinergicenhancementof episodicmemoryinhealthyyoungadults.Psycholpharmacology182,170-179.

Jakala,P.,Sirvio,J.,Riekkinen,M.,Koivisto,E.,Kejonen,K.,Vanhanen,M.,RiekkinenJr.,P.,1999a.guanfacineandclonidine,alpha2-agonists,improvepairedassociateslearning,butnotdelayedmatchingtosample,inhumans.Neuropsychopharmacology,20,119-130.

Jakala,P.,Riekkinen,M.,Sirvio,J.,Koivisto,E.,Kejonen,K.,Vanhanen,M.,RiekkinenJr.,P.,1999b.guanfacine,butnotclonidine,improvesplanningandworkingmemoryperformanceinhumans.Neuropsychopharmacology20,460-470.

Parens,E.,1998.IsBetterAlwaysgood?TheEnhancementProject.In:Parens,E.(Ed.),EnhancingHumanTraits:EthicalandSocialImplications.georgetownuniversityPress,Washington,D.C.pp.1-28.

Pitman,R.K.,Sanders,K.M.,Zusman,R.M.,Healy,A.R.,Cheema,F.,Lasko,N.B.,Cahill,L.,orr,S.P.,2002.Pilotstudyof secondarypreventionof posttraumaticstressdisorderwithpropranolol.BiologicalPsychiatry51,189-192.

Randall,D.C.Shneerson,J.M.,Plaha,K.K.,File,S.E.,2003.Modafinilaffectsmood,butnotcognitivefunction,inhealthyyoungvolunteers.HumanPsychopharmacology18,163-173.

ThePresident’sCouncilonBioethics.BeyondTherapy.BiotechnologyandthePursuitof Happiness(2003).www.bioethics.gov/reports/beyondtherapy/

Yesaveage,J.A.,Mumenthaler,M.S.,Taylor,J.L,Frieman,L.,o’Hara,R.,Sheikh,J.,Tinklenberg,J.,Whitehouse,P.J.,2002.Donepezilandflightsimulatorperformance:effectsonretentionof complexskills.Neurology59,123-125.


By the mid-1970s, cryonics inimportant ways had become awasteland. Early hopes had not

been realized. Cryonics had not becomea widespread practice, but only thepreoccupation of a few hardy individualswho doggedly, sometimes grimlypersisted. of the roughly two dozencryopreservationsthathadoccurred,mosthadbeenterminatedorsoonwouldbe.InNew York especially the once promisingactivity had all but ground to a halt.Funding had run short and patients hadbeen handed back to relatives who wereunableorunwillingtomaintainthem.Herewetakealookateventsinthistimeof trial.Mostof theimportantplayersinNewYorkcryonics went elsewhere, and New Yorkwouldnotrecoveritsformerpreeminence,though its activity never entirely ceasedandtherestillarecryonicistsinNewYork.Meanwhile cryonics as a whole was abletoweatherthehardshipsandemergewithnewvigorbythe1980s.As a disclaimer: much of this often

disenchanting history was not well-reported in contemporary sources suchasnewslettersbuthasbeen reconstructedfrom later recollections,notablybyCurtisHendersonandMikeDarwin(forbothof whomthereareextensivesourcesonline).Curtis especially has an entertaining styleand I’ve generously borrowed from himhereaselsewhereinthisseriesoncryonicsinNewYork.Nobodyisperfect,asthesayinggoes; inaccuracies and incompleteness inwhatfollows,fromwhateversource,maybe

remediedover timewith further research.Asusual,materialinsquarebrackets[]hasbeenaddededitoriallybyme.

TRANS TIME COMES OF AGEBy early 1974, all but one or two of theCryonics Sociey of New York’s patientshad been returned to relatives and takenaway. (Clara Dostal would not be burieduntil late in the year.) Curtis Hendersonwho still headedCSNYwas relieved, butthen was confronted with another case.“FrankRiley”was frozenbyhis sonwiththe assistance of Mike Darwin and anassociate,andRileyJr.nowneededaplaceto store his father. CSNY was relativelyclose,butnowmoribund.AlsoclosebywasNickDeBlasio’sfacilityattheMt.HolinessCemeteryinButler,NewJersey,whichhadbeensetupwiththehelpof RobertNelsonof the Cryonics Society of Californiaalong the lines of CSC’s main facility inChatsworth.Mike,withseriousmisgivingsabout the DeBlasio facility (well-foundedas we shall see), strongly recommendedagainstthatchoicetoo,andinsteadfavoredarecentcryonicsstartup,TransTime,Inc.nearBerkeley,California.TransTimewasfoundedin1972andheadedbyArtQuaife,whom a reluctant CurtisHenderson nowcontactedwhenpressedbyRileyJr.1“…Iwastotallyout,finallyclearof those

bodies.IhadarealgooddealworkingforBellandHowell.IsaidI’mnevergoingtostorebodies again,but this guy [Riley Jr.]kept insisting, and he has a roll of $100bills.MeanwhileI’msobroke,I’mburning

the old wooden boat in the fireplaceto keep the housewarm. So, I go to thephoneandIcallArtQuaife,whosayshehasafreezingfacilityintheBayArea,TransTime.Inthemeantime,thisDostalwoman[daughter of Clara who was frozen andstillbeingmaintainedbyCurtis]stillowesme $1,500 for dry ice, and her [mother’sunusedcryogenic]tankislyinginafieldinthecemetery.Shewantedtobeanactress.That’swhyshewentalongwiththefreezingof her mother, because she thought shewasgoingtogetontelevision.So,IcalledArtQuaife, I said I got aman herewhoneedsaplacetostorehisfather,whohe’sjustfrozeninMaryland,andhedoesn’tcarewhat itcosts.So therewasa longsilence,and thenArt says,hedon’thavenothing.Allhehasisahousethathangsoff thecliff andtilts,andyouwalkinthedoorandyoufeellikeyou’refallingstraighttoAlcatraz.”In earlier yearsCSNYhad enjoyed the

patronageof twovolunteerassistantsandbudding young researchers, Paul Segalland Harold Waitz, respectively Directorof Biological Research and Director of Engineering Research at Life ExtensionResearchLaboratoryinLindenhurst,LongIsland.2Thiswasasmall,garagelaboratoryset upwith thehelpof a friend and alsolife-extension enthusiast, Bruce Cohen.3 Previously,whileatNewYorkuniversityasastudent,Paulhadattemptedtocompletehisdoctoralworkwithexperimentsaimedat increasing the life-span of laboratoryanimals through dietary restriction.Frustrated by the lack of interest and

FOR THE RECORD

CARRYING ON: THE AFTERMATH AND LEGACY OF EARLY NEW YORk CRYONICSBy R. Michael Perry


support for his project, he relocated totheuniversityof Pittsburgh,only tofindsimilar obstacles which prompted him toreturn toNYu. But he could not do hisexperiments on campus but only in hisgaragelab.Therehefoundhecouldgreatlyslowthegrowthof rodentsbydeprivationof theessentialaminoenzymetryptophanbut even so “themicewere eating betterthan I was.” In 1971 Paul relocated tothe university of California, Berkeley tocompletehisdoctoraldissertation,luredbythepromiseof “areal laboratorytoworkininsteadof agarage,”andothersupport,under the noted aging researcher PaolaTimiras.Paulwasexcitedaboutthemove.“Berkeleyturnedouttobetheanswerto

mydreams.Dr.Timirashadakeeninterestinagingresearch.Like[herdoctoraladvisorHans]Selye[,thefounderof stresstheorywho had alsomade several contributionsto aging theory,] she [was] a bold, well-informed, insightful investigator with astrongbackgroundinboththeoreticalandmedical physiology.Whilemost scientistswouldrunforcoverwhenItoldthemwhatIwas interested in, she just smiled.overtheyearsshe[wouldbe]of invaluablehelptome, defendingme from the attacksof colleagueslessenamoredof mygoalswhilegently directing my efforts toward theachievable.She[had]anuncannysenseof whatcanorcannotbedone.Andshe[was]almostalwaysright.”4

Paul was joined in Berkeley by HarryWaitz and eventually Bruce Cohen, allbecoming active in Trans Time. Paulmeanwhile conducted experiments underDr.Timiris’s careful guidance, completinghis Ph.D. in physiology in 1977. (Waitzwould finish his doctorate in biophysicsandmedical physics, also atuCBerkeley,in1983.)InSegall’sexperimentsmicewereindeedmade to live (and also reproduce)longer through tryptophan deprivation,though the longest-lived were fromgroups with a high mortality rate due tothe extreme deprivation, and tryptophandeprivation does not look promising forapplicationtohumans.5CurtisHendersonhad a somewhat different, more earthyimpressionof themovetoBerkeley.“…Paul[Segall]andHarry[Waitz]had

been asked to leave [their residence at]StonyBrook[NewYork]becauseallkindsof exoticchemicals,namelydrugs,hadbeenfoundinthetrunkof Harry’scar.SohimandPaulgotintotheirVolkswagenminivan

andwentoutwestandsetupsomethingtheycalled Fort Addison,in Berkeley, which[,justasbefore inNewYork], was a housefull of girls. They allmanaged to get onwelfare. Paul keptinvitingmeout there,he said he couldarrangeforDianeandme to get on welfareand live there. ButDiane took one lookat Fort Addison andallthegirls,anddecidedthatthatwasnotgoingtobe.Thatwasalittlelater,whenwefinallygotoutthere.” Back to theRileys: the son continued

to press Curtis for a “residence” for hisfrozen father, which would require astoragecapsuleaswell.“SoI said toArt, ‘thisguy’sgotplenty

of money,whydon’tyourentafacility,youneedatruckwithahydraulic lift’—Igavehim a whole list of things to get. And Isaid,nowI’mgoingafter that tank. I gotafriendof mine[JohnBull]andwerentedatruckwithahydrauliclift.Andtheguyisgoingalongwiththis.There’safeelingof unrealitybecauseeveryplacehewent[was]withthesecreditcardsand$100bills,andwe’dbeenstarving,andnowwe’rerentingtrucks, and a private plane—he was likeHoward Hughes. So we went to [New]Jersey [toobtain theunusedcapsulefromtheDostal relatives],andhewasgoing togive [Mrs.] Dostal[’s daughter] $5,000 incash for that tank.He’s counting out themoney, andof course, Iwasthere for the $1,500 she stillowedmeforthedryice. “Thenhe said hewanted

me to come with him toCalifornia. I was working ina record factory andDiane’ssaying to me, ‘You lose thisjob over cryonics and I’mleaving you.’ Women wereconstantly telling me thingslike this—like, ‘if wegetoutof this alive you’re nevergoing to seeme again.’ So Itoldtheguy,mywifeandmyyoungest kid have to cometo California with us. Andhe says, don’t worry about a

thing,he’dpayforeverything.Hegot thebody,hegotthetank,bribedsomebodyatKennedytogetitonaplaneorsomething,Idon’tknow.“WegottoBerkeley,toPaulSegalland

his commune, and this guy gave him thecreditcardstogooutandbuyfoodandsoon.You have no idea how unreal all thiswas.Wegotallthestuff together,madeacart with wheels to move the tank—andthat’s how Trans Time got created. Andsometimes,whenIseeArtQuaifewritingabouthowsingle-handedly,fromoneroom,hestartedTransTime,I feel—well…PaulandHarryprovidedall the labor,andthisguy was feeding them fromMcDonald’s.Theyrentedaplace;theytookthetankinthere.”Foralittlesubsequenthistory:PaulSegall

andHaroldWaitzwerelongactiveinTransTime. Segall directed a well-publicizedseries of experiments with hamsters todemonstrate recovery of function inmammals after cardiac arrest and partial

The building that housed the first Trans Time, Inc. facility in Emeryville, CA. Photo by Mike Darwin. Photo Credit: CH6.

Interior of the Trans Time, Inc. facility in Berkeley California in 1981. The dewar wrapped in black plastic at the right of the photo above contained the patient Mr. Riley. Photo by Mike Darwin. Photo Credit: CH6.


freezing. In 1986the companygained furtherpublicity withSegall’sdog,Miles,who was cooledto near the icepoint and thenrevived.Miles andhis owner wereshownonthePhilDonahue Show,and cryonics waswidely advertisedand debated. In1990 Segall andassociates formedthe biotechcompanyBioTimewhich produced

the widely-used blood-replacementproductHextend. In 2000 Segall withDr.Timiras formed the Center for Researchand Education on Aging (CREA) at uCBerkeley.PaulSegalldeanimatedin2003andwas cryopreserved at Trans Time. HaroldWaitz continues to work for BioTime.Bruce Cohen after working with BioTimegravitated toward Alcor and for manyyearsnowhaslivednearthatorganization’sheadquarters in Scottsdale, where hefrequently attendsmeetings and has givenmuchvolunteerassistanceoncasesand,asalocksmith,withthesecuritysystem.6

THE MELTDOWN IN NEW JERSEYMr.Riley’sson,withhisreadycash,helpedtoactivateonecryonicsorganization(Trans

Time, California) when another (CSNY,NewYork)wasmoribundandunsuitable.His mother was also frozen by TransTime a few years later, then an accidentclaimed him and, not having providedarrangements or funding for himself, hewasnotcryopreserved.Fundingeventuallyran low for his parents and they wereconverted toneuropreservation.PresentlytheircryopreservationscontinueatAlcor.Less fortunate were two other cases,

who, like the patients at Robert Nelson’sfacility in Chatsworth, were thawed andlost. Nicholas DeBlasio had his wifeAnn frozen at CSNY when she died of cancer in January 1969; later he becamedissatisfiedwiththestoragearrangements.In September 1971, using funds from amalpractice suit involving the death of his wife andwith the help of Nelson heconstructed a small, underground facilityat the Mt. Holiness Cemetery in Butler,New Jersey. In it he placed the upright“ForeverFlask”holdingAnn.Latein1972asecondpatientwasadded,thisonefrozenbyNelson inCalifornia.For several yearsthings went well but finally the capsulefailed and the now-decomposing patientswere removed and buried. Actually it isclearthatatleastoneandlikelytwofailuresoccurred before the final abandonment.TheMarch1979Immortalist,newsletterof the Michigan-based Cryonics Association(CA,affiliatedwiththeCryonicsInstitute)reports:“Mrs. DeBlasio was frozen [actually,

encapsulatedatliquidnitrogentemperatureafter being previously frozen to dry icetemperature] inAugustof 1969byCryo-SpanCorporationandkept fora timeonthe premises of a Long Island cemetery;later she was moved to the New Jerseyfacility of Cryonic Interment Inc., anunderground room in a cemetery similarto the Cryonic Interment facility [inChatsworth,] near Los Angeles. [CryonicIntermentwasasisterorganizationtotheCryonicsSocietyof CaliforniaaswasCryo-Span to CSNY. These for-profit, sisterorganizations handled the actual detailsof patient cooldowns and storage for themembership,nonprofitorganizations theyserviced.] Since then, Mr. DeBlasio hastakenoverthefacilityonaprivatebasis.“An accident caused a vacuum leak in

August of 1978, resulting in considerabledifficulty and expense to ship the unit torepairfacilities;thiswasdonewiththehelp

The first two Trans Time patients (1974, including Mr. Riley) immediately prior to the dewar being hoisted into an upright position for cooldown to liquid nitrogen temperature. Photo by Jim Yount. Photo Credit: CH6.

From left: Paul Segal, Harold Waitz, both about 1979; Photo credit: Mike Darwin, private communication, 23 Mar. 2011.

Paola Timiras; photo credit: http://crea.

berkeley.edu/paola_s_timiras_profile.shtml,

accessed 15 Nov. 2013.


of John Bull, a long-time cryonicist andpresentCAmember.“The storage room measures 8 x 16

feet andhasoneMVE [MinnesotaValleyEngineering] unit; Mr. DeBlasio says itcouldholdfive,andhewouldshareitwithotherswhowouldsharetheexpense.“Theexpensesarenotyetentirelyclear,

but we have asked Mr. DeBlasio, andwill put him in touch with anyone whoexpressesinterest.”8

Itappearsnoonehadsuchaninterest,orinanycasenothingcameof it.Itappearsthatthe“accident”precededthegruesome

incident reported by Curtis Hendersonbelow, since he is not mentioned. Thatfailure must have happened soon after,about May the following year, if whatseems to be one confirming source isunderstood correctly.9 In any case thecapsule was failing and attempted repairswere inadequate.Curtis remembered it asfollows.“I hadn’t heard from John Bull or

DeBlasioforacoupleof years.onedayIgetaphonecall,andtheytellmetheyneedme.Well,relationshadn’tbeengood.Iwasalwaysouttheretakingtherisks.Thistime,Ithought,it’sgoingtobedifferent.“They told me the tank holding

DeBlasioand[theotherpatient]isleaking,andcanIgetoutthereandhelpthem?SoI went out to Mount Holiness cemetery,andthereitwas.Nelson’sideahadbeentobuyanumberof cemeteryplotsandbuilda concrete vault underground. So nowthe bodies are buried in a cemetery andit’ssupposedlyall legal.ThisoneinJerseywasreallynothingbutaconcretewellwithawooden hatch over it. And itwas half-fullof groundwater,rainwater,whatever.Theyhadabigback-hoepulling the tankoutof theground,withvaporhissingoutallovertheplace.Itlookedliketheywerelaunchingamissile.Whathadgonewrongwas, instead of topping up the tankwithnitrogen themselves, they contractedwithadeliveryservicefromgeneralDynamics.“Now,evenif youkeepatankinavery

dryroom,watervaporformslikearindof icearoundthe topof the tank.But thesepeopleknewnothingaboutliquidnitrogen,nothing about cryogenics. They didn’tknow that youhad togentlywork the lidoff,forfearof puttingaholeinthevacuumjacket.I’msurethedeliverymangotthere,andthetankwascoveredwithice,andhegave it agoodswiftkick toknock the lidoff,andheputaholeinthevacuumjacket.SothethinggoeslikeMountVesuvius.…“Anyhow, they hauled it up, and Bull

has thisbig truck.Hewas in thevendingmachinebusiness.Sowegotitinthebackof his truck, and the thing is roaring; thevapor isboilingoff.Wepulloutonto thehighway, and he says, suppose the copsstopus.AndI’vegotagrinonme,andIsay,‘It’sallyours,John.’“So we got this mess to John’s house

up here in Medford in this truck and Istill didn’t realize it wasn’t [Clara] Dostalin the tank with DeBlasio’s wife. [Mrs.Dostal,whohadbeenfrozenbyCSNYinDecember1972,hadbythenbeenreturnedto her relatives who, unknown to Curtis,had her buried rather than transferred toanotherfacility.]ItwassomewomanfromCaliforniawhoNelsonfroze.Lateron,hersonwastheonewhopaidMikeDarwintocomehereandgiveheradecentfuneral.Atthat time,Mikewas desperate for a tank,butthatwaslateron[inJuly1980].“Firstof all,Bullwantstopullintomy

house,butmywife [Diane]camerunningout and she’s going to call the policeimmediately if we attempt to get thosebodiesoutof thetankthere.So,wewentto Bull’s house. Meantime, they’d built agiant dry-ice box and theywere going toputbothbodiesinit.Nowthere’sthejobof gettingthebodiesoutof thetank.Thiswasimpossible.Theyhadthawedout,beenrefrozenandwerefrozeninplace.Sothentheygotthebrightideatheyweregoingtomeltthembyputtingagardenhoseinthere.Thatturnedthewholeinsideintosolidice.Imean,itwaslikeThe Three Stooges.Anyway,Itoldthem,there’snothingtodobutletitmelt.Andwehad towaitabout twodaysfor ittodothat inthetruckoutsideJohnBull’s house, not far from here. [Curtis’sresidenceat9HolmesCourt,Sayville,L.I.]“The stretcher wouldn’t come out,

nothing would come out. So I got thewrenches and crawled into this tank.DeBlasio’swifewas inprettygoodshape,but the other woman, whoever she was,

Miles and Segall at the Trans Time laboratory, Oakland, CA, about 1987.7 Photo credit: Peter Menzel.

Bruce Cohen at Alcor, 2012 (photo by Mike Perry)


was nothing but a puddle at the bottomof thetank.So,wefinallygot`emoutandput `em in the dry-ice box.Afterwards, Iwent upstairs to the bathtub and I had apintof vodka. Idrank thepintof vodkaandIsoakedforadayupthere,andIcouldstillsmellit.AndDianeburnedmyclothes.Anyway,Bull sent the tank tobe repairedby some place in Jersey. DeBlasio wascheap;hewouldn’tsendthetanktoMVEtogetitproperlyfixed.”Thisevidentcarelessness led to further

horrificconsequences.“I didn’t hear from them for a while.

Another year went by. I get a call fromMikeDarwin,andhetellsmethethinghasmelteddownagain.Theyhadfixeditandputitallbackinthere.Mikesaysit’smelteddownandhe’smadethisdealtocomeandgetthetank,andDeBlasio’sagreedtohavehiswifeburied.…[Theotherpatienttoowould be buried.] Mike came and I methim in a motel, we went out to MountHoliness, and he had contacted a funeralparlor in Brentwood. It looked just likethe Addams Family mansion. And here’sgomez, and the woman with the longblackdress.AndImeanhisnamereally was Gomez! [Victor gomez, who would laterassist with other cases in the area underhappier circumstances.] Anyway, Mikeput the tank behind the funeral parlor ina Ryder rental truck, and we said there’snothingyoucando,yougot towait till itmelts,nomatterhowbaditstinks.Anditstank,believeme.Itoldthemtherewasno

wayIwasgoingbackinoneof themtankswiththembodiesinthereinthatcondition.Noway!SothistimeMikewentinandgotthebodiesout.Andhegothistank.[Mikewouldsellthetank,whichhisIndianapolis-basedorganizationSoma, Inc. received inreturnforservicesrendered,toTransTime.Hewouldusetheproceedsformovinghisorganizationanditssisterorganization,theInstitute for Advanced Biological Studiesor IABS, to California, where he soonwouldbecomeAlcor’spresident.10]Hewasstaying over at my house [with anotherSomaofficial,JoeAllen,whoassistedwiththeoperation]whilehewasdoingallthis.”Further details of the 1980 cleanup

are given in a report in the March 1981Cryonics byMikeDarwin, where he notesthatabreathingapparatuswithanoutsideoxygen supplywasnecessary to enter thetank.11 The heroic efforts of Mike andothers at least averted a public scandalsuch as accompanied a similar meltdownatNelson’sfacility inChatsworth.Iquotethe last,painful, eloquentparagraph fromMike’sarticle:“I cannot know what motivated the

freezing of these two people in the firstplace. I presume they were loved andneeded.Ifinditdifficulttounderstandhowtheycouldhavebeen,withtime,handledsocarelessly.Perhaps there isa lessonforusthereabouthumannature, love,needandthe passage of time. For the hundredthtimeitmustbesaidandsaidyetagainthatwecannotrelyonfriendsorrelatives,notevenonloving,caringrelatives,tomaintainusinsuspension.Thepassageof time,onewayoranother,mayrobusevenof those.The agonizing thing for me about thismost recent loss is that it represents thefirsttimetomyknowledgethattwopeoplehavethawedoutandlosttheirchancesnotbecauseof lackof money,butbecauseof lack of sense.” (As terrible and tragic asthisfailurewas,itisimportanttonotethatit was caused basically by poor judgmentor “lackof sense” rather than anywillfulmalfeasanceorcriminalintent.)

SAUL kENT, CRYONICS SUCCESS STORYAlong with Curtis Henderson, no onewas so important to New York cryonicsas SaulKent. AsCSNYwound down itsoperations, Saul shifted his focus andeventually, location, becoming arguablythemost influentialcryonicistof all time.

From1975to1980helivedinWoodstock,about100milesnorthof NewYorkCity.Duringthistimeandoneithersideof ithewrote three books:Future Sex (1974),The Life Extension Revolution (1983), and Your Personal Life Extension Program (1985).12 In1980 he relocated toHollywood, Florida,whereheteamedupwithStevenRuddeltopublishAntiaging News.13At thispointKentwanted todomore

thanjustpublishbutRuddelwasreluctantandKentlackedfundingtoproceedonhisown. In the area, however, was anotherlife-extension enthusiast, Bill Faloon, alicensedmorticianwhothenworkedwiththeNeptuneSocietytoarrangecremationsand scattering of one’s ashes at sea.Inspired by hopes to actually try to dosomethingaboutaging,Faloon,againsttheadvice of others, quit his job and joinedwith Kent to found the Life ExtensionFoundation, which would specialize indietarysupplementstopromotehealthandlongevity. Contrary to some expectationstheenterpriseflourishedandprofitshavebeen used over the years to both fundresearch and assist operations related tocryonics,aswellasmoreconventionallifeextension. (one reason for the successwasacquisitionof amailinglistfromDirkPearsonandSandyShaw,whoauthoreda1982bestsellingbook,Life Extension.14)InparticularAlcorhasbenefitedgreatlyfromLEF’s financial contributions, along withresearch enterprises such as 21stCenturyMedicine and the cryonics-assistanceorganization, Suspended Animation, Inc.Hereitisnotpossibletoadequatelycovereven a small part of Saul Kent’s efforts,

Ann DeBlasio’s dewar being hoisted out of the vault in Mt. Holiness Cemetery in Butler, New Jersey, in July 1980. The two decomposed and refrozen bodies inside were thawed one last time then removed and buried and the capsule was cleaned

out and sent to Trans Time. From left: John Bull, Nick DeBlasio and the two cemetery

workers who operated the backhoe. Photo by Mike Darwin.Photo Credit: CH6.

Mike Darwin preparing to remove the bodies from the MVE dewar in July 1980.

Photo by Joe Allen. Photo credit: CH6


including controversies, but I mentiononeinitiative,theTimeshipProject,whichappropriatelyenoughinvolvessomeoneinNewYork.15The brainchild of Saul Kent and Bill

Faloon, the yet-to-be finished TimeshipProject is to be “the world’s firstcomprehensive facility devoted to lifeextensionresearchandcryopreservation.”Selected for the work was StephenValentine, a renowned New York Cityarchitect. Valentine first met Kent at a1990 cryonics gathering in New York.The first concept for a Timeship facilitywas completed in 1997, then the workwas placed on hold until 2000, whena cryopreservation protocol usingvitrificationwas developed and,with thisoptimisticprospect,thetimeseemedrightto press ahead. Since then a site for themain structure has been selected (nearComfort, Texas), land has been acquired(in2007),andnowextensiverenovations,upgrades are being done at the propertyas the master plan is being prepared.Valentineofferssomethoughts:“My goal was to integrate a bold

symbolicvisionwithoptimalfunctionality.I wanted to make this facility and itsproperty the epitome of beauty andcarefuldesign.Timeshipwillbeascientificmecca for life extension research. ourplans include thecryopreservationof theDNA of both humans and endangeredanimal species. We will serve as a majorresearch center for the cryopreservationof organs for transplantation, includingbioengineered organs for which there iscurrently no realmethodof storage, andof course, thousands of human patientswho wish to travel to the future. The

facilitymakes use of sacred geometry toinclude symbolic themesof birth and re-birthasdemonstratedthroughouthistory.I believe that anyone encountering thisbuildingshouldexperiencetheseconceptsviscerally.Thebuildingwillenclose700,000square feet, someof itunderground,andwillcostanestimated$375million.Muchthought and planning has gone into itssecuritybothfromnaturalandman-madethreats. The property will also include aplaceforgueststostaywhentheyvisit,aswellasconferencefacilities.Therewillalsobelandwithintheresearchparkforotherbiotechcompanies.”16

FURTHER HIGHLIGHTS AND CLOSING17

Curtis Henderson for decades lived at hismodest residence in Sayville, Long Island.Hiscommitmenttocryonicsneverwavered,thoughhenolongerdidfreezingsorspenta lot of time over organizational matters.Though his finances were meager, fora time atAlcor in the 1980s he enjoyed aspecial, free arrangement due to his pastcontributions, courtesy of then-presidentMikeDarwin.Inthe1990stherewasasplitinAlcorandanotherorganization,CryoCarewasformed.Someof thepeoplewhohadbeenimportantinearlyNewYorkcryonics,amongthemSaulKent,MikeDarwin,andCurtisHenderson, now affiliatedwith thisorganization. A few years later the splithealed and most of the “secessionists”rejoined Alcor. Curtis Henderson insteadjoined the Cryonics Institute (mainly forfinancial reasons) though maintainingfriendlyrelationswithAlcorpersonnelandvisitingus fromtimeto time.onJune25,2009,atage82,hebecameCI’s95thpatient.18 IrememberCurtishadanambitiontowriteabookonhisearlycryonicsexperiencesandwantedmetohelp,whichIwashappytodo.Eventsoutpacedus,butI’veoftenthoughtthat the book can still be written, whenreanimationtechnologypermits…. As for the New York area, a close

studyof newslettersandothersourceswillshowmodest but definite cryonics activitycoveringthetimegapfromthe1970suptonow.Thereisnottimeorspacetoreportindetailhere,butInoteaveryfewhighlights.ANewYorkCitychapterof theMichigan-

based Cryonics Association, CANYC, wasformed and thefirstmeeting held on July22,1979,chairedbyandheldat thehomeof ArthurMcCombs,onMadisonAve.The

Immortalist,newsletterof theMichigangroup(stillinpublicationandnowtitledLong Life)notes“ahighproportionof NewYorkareacryonicists [were] in attendance, includingsuchhonoredveteransasCurtisHenderson,Nicholas DeBlasio, Saul Kent and JohnBull.”19 (Arthurwould later joinAlcor andwas prominent in the organization aroundthetimeof thecrisisthatdevelopedwhenDora,themotherof SaulKent,wasfrozenin 1987. A coroner’s attempt to autopsythis patient was thwarted by court action,and she remains cryopreserved.) MeetingsintheNewYorkareacontinued;atoneof themStephenValentinewas introduced totheTimeshipconceptasnoted.Iremember

Curtis Henderson in 1992 with the CC-101, the first capsule made for human cryogenic storage though never used as such, manufactured by Cryo-Care

Equipment Corp. in Phoenix, Arizona in 1965. (This organization was different from the California-based CryoCare that existed in the 1990s.) In the back yard of Curtis’s

home at 9 Holmes Court in Sayville, LI, NY. Photo by Charles Platt. Photo Credit: CH6.

The young Saul Kent with mother Dora. (Photo credit: Saul Kent)

Ed Kuhrt with wife Anne


SOURCES:

Abbreviations as indicated are used in note references.

BB1. Ben Best, “A History of Cryonics,” http://www.benbest.com/cryonics/history.html, accessed 21 Nov. 2013.

BB2. Ben Best, “Paul Segall Deanimated,” http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/dsp.cgi?msg=22073, accessed 21 Nov. 2013.

BC. Bruce Cohen, private communication, 24 Oct. 2013.

BT1 (BioTime staff). : http://yahoo.brand.edgar-online.com/EFX_dll/EDGARpro.dll?FetchFilingHtmlSection1?SectionID=371562-201499-203843&SessionID=677k6vigikEAKw7 accessed 15 Nov. 2013.

BT2. (BioTime date of incorporation, etc.). .: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=83805&p=irol-faq_pf accessed 16 Nov. 2013.

CC. CryoCare Report.

CH6. “Thus Spake Curtis Henderson, Part 6,” interview of Curtis Henderson by Charles Platt, annotated by Mike Darwin, http://chronopause.com/chronopause.com/index.php/2011/02/12/thus-spake-curtis-henderson-part-6-2/index.html, accessed 21 Nov. 2013.

CM. Cryonics, 1980 issue editor unattributed, 1997 issue edited by Brian Shock.

CP. Charles Platt, “The Unexpected Death of Paul Segall,” Alcor News #13, July 1, 2003, http://www.alcor.org/Library/html/alcornews013.html, accessed 21 Nov. 2013.

CR. Cryonics Reports, Saul Kent, ed.

IM. The Immortalist, Mae Junod, ed.

LL. Long Life (formerly The Immortalist), John Bull, ed.

MB (Miles the beagle; Segall and Waitz). http://www.people.com/people/article/0, ,20096106,00.html, accessed 21 Nov. 2013.

MD. Michael Darwin, “Don’t Talk, Do Tell,” http://chronopause.com/chronopause.com/index.php/2011/02/24/dont-ask-but-do-tell/index.html, accessed 22 Nov. 2013.

PS. Paul Segall, Ph. D., with Carol Kahn, Living Longer, Growing Younger: Remarkable Breakthroughs in Life Extension, New York: Times Books, 1989.

PT (Paola Timiris). http://crea.berkeley.edu/paola_s_timiras_profile.shtml, accessed 21 Nov. 2013.

TP1 (Timeship Project). http://www.theguardian.com/education/2004/jan/23/research.highereducation, accessed 12 Dec. 2013.

TP2 (Timeship Project). : http://hplusmagazine.com/2013/10/09/cryonics-and-immortality-visionary-an-interview-withstephenvalentine-of-timeship/, accessed 12 Dec. 2013.

REFERENCES AND NOTES

1. Backgroundoncryonicspatientseitherof CSNYordealtwithbyCurtisHendersonwillbefoundinpreviousFor The RecordcolumnsonNewYorkcryonics,particularlyCryonicsAug.2013,18-22.SeeMDforMikeDarwin’srecountingof hiseffortstopersuadeMr.Riley,Jr.,tohavehisfatherstoredbyTransTime.Quotationsof CurtisHendersoninthepresentarticlearefromCH6.

2. CRSep.1968,171;oct.1968,186.

3. BC.

4. PS,22-23.

5. BC;BT;PS24-28.

6. BB2,BC,BT1,BT2,CP,MB,PT,personalrecollections.

7. PeterMenzel,privatecommunication26Nov.2013;seealsoimagesM885/0007andM885/0018,

http://www.sciencephoto.com/search?subtype=keywords&media_type=images&matchtype=exact&searchstring=segall,accessed18Nov.2013.

8. “FromNicholasDeBlasio…,”IMMar.1979,2.

9. “MVECapsuleFailures,”IMMay1979,5.The“secondMVEfailure”appearstobethesamecapsuleasthefirst(note8)thoughthearticledoesnotsayso.ButIamnotawareof anyotherfailureof anuprightcryonicscapsuleatthistime—RMP.

10. InadditiontoCH6see“IABSandSomaMovingtoLosAngeles,”CMMar.1981,1.

11. MichaelDarwin,“AQuestionof Time,”CMMar.1981,4-6.

12. Thesetitles,withmoreinformation,maybefoundatamazon.com.

13. Much of the information in this and thefollowingparagraphcomesfromSaulKent,privatecommunication,oct.26,2013.

14. BB1

15. TP1,TP2(twoparagraphsthatfollow).

16. TP2;StephenValentine,privatecommunication,5Dec.2013.

17. Muchof whatfollowsisbasedonpersonalknowledgewithadditionscoveredinnumberedreferences—RMP.

18. BenBest,“TheCryonicsInstitute’s95thPatient,”LLSep.-oct.2009,17-21.

19. “NewYork:ThePhoenixFliesAgain,”IMAug.1979,1.

20. CharlesPlatt,“CryoCare’sSecondPatient,”CCApr.1996,8-10.

21. LindaChamberlain,“CryoTransportCaseReport:EdwardW.Kuhrt,PatientA-1110,”CM2Q1997,27-36.

Curtis trying to reactivate CSNY in the1990sandsomethingof thesortoccurred,though only as a discussion group, whichappearstohavebeenshortlived.As forcryonicscases in theNewYork

area,afewnotableonescanbementioned.In1996HenriettaPopperwascryopreservedbyCryoCare.ForthiscasethemorticianVictorgomezperformedheroically,workingaftermidnight to expedite shipping the patientto California for storage with minimum

delay.20(PoppereventuallybecameanAlcorpatient.)In1997EdKuhrt,aformerCSNYmember who joined Alcor in the 1980s,wascryopreserved.21ThentherewasCurtisHendersonwhonowrestsatCIasnoted.In summary, the history of cryonics in

New York, particularly in its early phases,formsanessentialcomponentof thelargerhistory of themovement.often the earlyattempts to cryopreserve people endedbadlybutthelessonstaughtbythesebitter

experiences,alongwithsimilaroccurrenceselsewhere, led to a stronger, more robustcryonics effort that has a greater chanceof completing its mission. Some of theearly players are still active. others wereunfortunately lost, or dropped out. Butothersarenowcryopreserved,andwecareforthemwithaneyetowardfuturemedicineandanattitudeof wait-and-see.


Arlene Sheskin’s Cryonics: A Sociology of Death and Bereavement was published in 1979, 15 years

after the publication of RobertEttinger’sThe Prospect of Immortality but before theconsolidation and growth of the majorcryonicsorganizations.Asaconsequence,this study focusses on a relatively smallsample of people in a field that was stillstrugglingtocreateasoundinfrastructureto do cryopreservations. While the focusof the book is to examine the world of cryonics, and how it affects the peopleinvolvedinit(orrelativesof cryopreservedpeople), what I am most interested in iswhatwecanlearnaboutthesustainabilityof cryonicsorganizations.Amoredetailedreview of the book with an emphasison the history of cryonics in New Yorkwas published by Mike Perry in Cryonics magazine,November2013.A central theme that comes up

frequentlyinA Sociology isthatitisdifficultto keep a cryonics organization runningwithouthavingpatientstocarefor.Atthesame time, the organizations featured inthebookarenotyetequippedtoconductprofessionalcryopreservationsorhavethefinancial resources to provide secure andlong-termmaintenance.Asaconsequence,maintenance of cryopreserved patientsoften involves periodic requests formoney from relatives to keep the patientin cryopreservation. Because cryonicsorganizations did not have a goodunderstanding of what it would cost tokeep patients cryopreserved for long-term care it was not possible for theseorganizationstoprovidereliableestimates,necessitatinggoingbacktotherelativesforadditional funding. This often producedresentmentamongrelativesandreinforced

the impression that cryonicists wereonly in it for themoney.This perceptionof profiteering was a major source of frustrationforthepeopleinvolvedwhohadoftensacrificedalotof theirowntimeandmoney without noticeable progress. onecouldarguethatthe“Chatsworthscandal”in 1979, when 9 cryonics patients werediscovered to be thawed in Chatsworth,California, prompted cryonicists to insiston much sounder financial controls andrequirementsandthisstartedamuchmorerobusteraforcryonics.Themovement away from the pay-as-

you-go system cannot be overestimatedinthehistoryof cryonics.oneinterestingquestion is whether the practice of “grandfathering” that was honoredby Alcor until quite recently was stilla remnant of the old area. After all, if many patients do not upgrade their lifeinsurance policies to reflect existing (orfuture) costs, an organization can stillfind itself in a situation where expenseswill exceed income and the maintenanceof patients will become problematic.As I write this, there is still no broadconsensusonhowtoadequatelydealwithcryopreservation costs and inflation andwhat to communicate to members. If anythingisclearfromSheskin’sbook(andrecentAlcormember feedback), it is thatmembersdonot likeunexpectedchangesandincreasesinduesandcryopreservationminimums.one solution to this is to letcryopreservation minimums rise on anannual(orbiannual)basis.Thisallowsthecryonics organization to respond to costincreases ina transparentandpredictablemannerwhilealsoallowingthemembertoanticipateandplanforthefuturecostsof cryonics.

Requiringsoundfinancialfundingfrommembers is necessary for a sustainablecryonicsorganizationbutisnotsufficient.Alsoimportantisownershipof thebuildingwhere the patients are being cared for.There are multiple accounts in Sheskin’sbookwherecryonicsorganizationofficialsfoundthemselvesforcedoutof buildingsandinconflictwithlandlordsoverhavingpatients on their premises. Even if money was available to keep patients incryopreservation, keeping them in rentedfacilities (ranging from warehouses tomortuaries)presentedformidablelogisticalandfinancialchallenges,sometimesendinginburialof thepatientortransfertoanother(poorlyrun)organization.Nodoubtmostof the people involved in the early daysrecognized the importance of facilityownershipbutraisingthemoneytoacquireabuildingwasnot a trivial thing. In fact,onecouldarguethatthelackof fundingtopurchaseabuildingfordewarmaintenanceisoneof themajorreasonswhytherearenotmorecryonicsorganizations right now.

Lessons Learned from CRYONICS: A Sociology of Death and Bereavement

By Aschwin de Wolf


It also draws attention to the importanceof not giving up on a cryonics facilityonce acquired, even if the organizationitself isdysfunctional.Todaytherearestilllocations in the uS where patients canbe legally stored but the organizations orcompaniesoccupyingthesepremiseshavestopped accepting newmembers or havemovedtootherkindsof business,sothistopicisstillquiterelevant.one pseudonymous individual in

Sheskin’s book, identifiable as CurtisHenderson,putsitthisway:

“Cryonics is not something a whole bunch of people can do. We put out the newsletter—a propaganda sheet—and got involved in the actual freezing of bodies. There’s only a limited number of people who can participate, there just wasn’t that much going on.” (p. 57)

Thissituationchangedsomewhatinthe1980sand1990swhenAlcorhadenoughmembers to organize local meetings andorganizetrainingsessions,butthefactthatcryonics organizations are held togetherby only a small group of committedindividuals remains a cause for concern.Strangelyenough,thetendencyof cryonicsorganizationssuchasAlcortorelymoreonstaff members and medical professionalshas again left most members with littleto do besides paying dues and readingthe organization’s magazine. I think thisis a potential problem for sustaining aviable organization and the transfer of knowledge that isnecessary tomaintainahigh levelof care.If thecurrent trendtoreduce member involvement in cryonicsprocedurespersists,cryonicsorganizationswillneedtothinkhardabouthowtokeeptheir members involved through othermeans.oneof themostperceptiveobservations

of Sheskinisthatitispossibletoseparatetheconceptof cryonics fromthesuccessof theorganizationsthatofferit:“[T]he problems of cryonics could

be attributed to individuals or particularcryonics organizations, thus allowingbelief in the practice to remain separatefrom, and unchallenged by, the practicesor vicissitudes of particular cryonicsorganizations.”(p.40)Intheextreme,allcryonicsorganizations

could fail and their patients thaw out,but future generations will develop themolecular technologies that would have

been sufficient to restore many of thesepatientstogoodhealth.Inaddition,thereis a non-trivial number of people whothink that cryonics will work but are notmotivated tomakecryonics arrangementsfor themselves. By introducing AssociateMembership Alcor is making an effortto tap into the support for cryonicswithoutrequiringpeopletomakecryonicsarrangements (right away) as a conditionfor joining the organization. This optionmakes it clear thatAlcor is serious aboutits tax-exempt status to educate thegeneralpublicandseeksupportforhumancryopreservationingeneral.Italsohelpstoconveytheimportantpointthatcryonicsisnotjustanoptionforindividualstoservetheir own interests but that we want todevelopandmakethisoptionavailableforallpeoplewhoneedandwantit.A more difficult problem is how to

permanentlyengagemembers.AsSheskinrecognizes, successful social and religiousmovements often offer awhole range of activities and benefits for their members.Inmanycases,people aredrawn to thesemovements because of these benefits.It would be artificial for a cryonicsorganization to bundle cryonics serviceswith “something else” solely for the sakeof increasedmembership involvement ormembership recruitment. In fact, there isan increasing recognition that if wewantto appeal to as many people as possiblewe should present cryonics as form of forward-looking critical care medicine,opentopeopleof allpersuasions.There is one interest that all cryonics

membershave in common,however, thatcan inspire more member involvementandrecruitmentandthat is lifeextension.If Alcor were known as an organizationthatnotonlyofferscryonicsarrangements,but also provides up-to-date, valuableinformation and tools to extend people’slives, applicants would feel much morethat they have something to gain byjoiningright now. Anambitiousefforttobeperceivedastheorganizationtogotoforevidence-basedlifeextensiontechnologiescoulddrawa lotmorepeopletoAlcor.A(potential) member will not feel that his(financial)contributionsaresolelyaimedataneventinthedistantfuturebutwillstartreaping benefits on an ongoing basis byjoiningtheorganization.There is another advantage of Alcor

providing members tools to extend

their lives. If Alcor became known as anorganization thatmakes strong efforts tohelp theirmembers toprevent theirhavingtobecryopreserved,(hostile)outsiderswillnolongerclaimthatAlcoraimstobenefitfromthe“death”of theirmembers.Inclosing,Sheskin’sbookstill contains

importantlessonsandcluesaboutgrowthfortoday’scryonicsorganizations:

1. Cryonics is not sustainable on apay-as-you-go third-party basis,and proper paperwork and soundfunding (life insurance, living willsetc.) should be a requirement formakingcryonicsarrangements.

2. Cryonics organizations shouldrequire inflation-proof, butpredictable, funding (even thepractice of “grandfathering” candestabilize an organization andconfusemembers).

3. Secure ownership of a cryonicsfacilityisof crucialimportanceforasustainablecryonicsorganization.

4. A cryonics organization shouldoffer members (and relatives of patients)meanstoremaininvolvedwiththeorganization.

5. The only logical service that acryonics organization can offerto (potential) members withoutcompromising its broad appealis state-of-the-art knowledge andtoolstoextendlife.Thisshouldnotonlybeofferedasabenefit,butcanbeamajordrawforpeopletowanttojointheorganization.


That `70s TranshumanismBy Mark Plus

Cosmic Trigger, Volume I: Final Secret of the Illuminati, by Robert Anton Wilson. Las Vegas: New Falcon Publishers. First Edition published in 1977. ISBN 1-56181-003-3.

A BOOk REVIEW OF CoSmIC TrIgger, Volume I: FInAl SeCreT oF The IllumInATI

Ihave to admit to feeling nostalgiaabout“childishthings”fromrereadingthisnonfictionbookof “Whatifs”by

RobertAntonWilson,whodiedin2007.Iread it thefirst time inmy freshmanyearof collegein1978,whenIhadjoinedtheL-5Society and shared in the enthusiasmforgerardK.o’Neill’sspacecolonizationproposalswhichpeaked inpopularity latein that decade. The quest for radical lifeextensionseemstocomplementthequestforcolonizingspace,consideringthatbothventures seek to overcome natural limits,and eventually several prominent L-5ers,notablyKeithHenson, showed up in thecryonicsmovementinthe1980sand1990saswell.Wilson in Cosmic Trigger writes about

someof thethingswhichinterestedmeatthe time, andwhich stilldo,mainly spacecolonization, radical life extension andcryonics, given their respective states inthe1970s.Healsoapparentlyknewsomeof thatdecade’scryonicsactivists,notablyPaul Segall, and the surviving cryonicistold-timers who read those passages of his book may recognize a few names. Ididnotunderstandtheappealof Wilson’sadventures in drug experimentation andoccultplay-acting,however,evenif Wilsonhimself found them so fascinating andinsightful. And from hindsight I also do not

understandthecrushWilsonapparentlyhadonTimothyLeary,whofiguresprominently

inWilson’spersonalphilosophy inTrigger.The glowing portrayal of Leary makesme wonder if Wilson wrote the book inpart to defend Leary’s reputation in thedrugculture inresponsetorumors inthe1970s thatLearyhad agreed to amorallycompromising deal with the Feds inexchange for reduced prison sentences. IgottomeetLearyacoupletimesintheearly1990s because he had cryopreservationarrangements with Alcor (he canceled allsuch arrangements right before he died),and hewould hostAlcor’sTurkeyRoastsin his home in Beverly Hills. I just didnotexperienceLearyasthevivaciousandfascinating personality propagandized byWilson, though by the time I saw him,senescence,anirregularlifestyleandillnesshadtakentheirtoll.TheepisodewithLearygave me my first inkling that bohemiansprobablydonotagewell.Wilson covers material which would

normallygobynamesof “fringeweirdness”and the like, and I have to withholdjudgmentonmuchof thatbecauseIhavenot experienced anything like it myself.But he also makes claims about the partof realitywhichtherestof uscanobserveandevaluate,namely,predictionspublishedin the 1970s that we would have attainedbreakthroughs in radical life extensionandhumancryopreservationbyrightaboutnow.Forexample,onp.118,Wilsonrecounts

hisvisitcirca1973toLearyintheprisonatVacaville,California,whereWilsonwrites:

The most important events of the next three decades, Leary predicted, will be the invention of an immortality pill . . . .

Tim forecasted the longevity pill in Terra II, published in January 1973, saying it would appear around 1980. One month later, in February, Michigan State University released the information that they were researching a pill that might extend life to 200 years. In April, Dutton published TheImmortalityFactor by Osborn Segerberg, Jr., which reviews current research on aging and predicts a life-extension pill by 2000 or so.

Dr. Leary doesn’t insist that a literal immortality formula will be found that quickly, of course. Rather, he feels that extension of life to around 400 years is most probable; then, those who live a few centuries will acquire further medical technology expanding life into millennia, hundreds of thousands of years, millions . . .

“I expect to be alive when the solar system has

“When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” 1 Corinthians 13:11


burned up 5½ billion years from now,” he said happily. “Nobody in this generation has to die, unless they want to.”

Howhasthat“immortality”workedoutforLearylately?Wilsonlaterdescribesonpp.120-124and

126-130 the “Immortalist underground”which he says existed in the 1970s, andwhich seemed concentrated in the BayArea.These then-youthful scientists drewinspiration from Robert Ettinger’s book,The Prospect of Immortality, published inthe previous decade, and sought ways todecelerate or reverse the aging process,with the (lack of) results we can see allaround us now. Wilson references morepredictions of imminent breakthroughsin life expectancyandeven“immortality”from these scientistswriting in the 1960sand1970s,againfixedtodateswhichhavealreadycomeandgone.Wilson then throws out some more

speculations on pp. 214-218 which mademe laugh,after thenonsensesurroundingthe so-called “Mayan Apocalypse” onDecember21,2012.AccordingtoWilson,apparently the McKenna brothers,Terrence L. and Dennis J., developed acomputermodel based on some dubiousmath derived from the I Ching, and theirprogram predicted that “everything goesjackpotaroundA.D.2012.”WilsonquotestheMcKennabrothers:

in the last 135 minutes, 18 such barriers (i.e., barriers comparable to the appearance of life, the invention of language or the achievement of immortality [Wilson’snote]), will be crossed, 13 of them in the last 75 X 10-4 seconds.

gee,wherehaveIheardsomethinglikethatbefore?Wilson’s description of Leary’s

speculations about eight “brain circuits”on pp. 197-206 also has not aged well.Supposedly the first four of these“circuits” activate in humans for dealingwith terrestrial life; while the “circuits”numbered V through VIII turn on inresponse to certain drugs (marijuana,LSD, peyote, etc.) and mystical or occultpractices,andtheyexisttorunhumanlifein our allegedly destined migration off the planet and into space colonies andstarships, where we will commune withother advanced (and apparently drug-tripping) intelligenceswhohaddeveloped

tothatstageaheadof us.Verywell.CouldLearyorWilsonhave

shownusinatextbookof neuro-anatomywhere to find these “higher circuits” inthe brain? And why would humans havethese alleged “circuits” conveniently lyinginside our heads which make us adaptedfor living inouter space,when just abouteverythingelseinthebodydoesnotworkefficiently in free fall?Weknownow thatprolonged weightlessness causes a varietyof illnesses in the human body whichastronauts do not always fully recoverfrom when they return to Earth, not tomentionthedamageinflictedbyexposuretocosmicrays.PerhapsLearyandWilsondid not know about these hazards in the1970s,butthefactsdonotsupportLeary’steleologyaboutalleged“braincircuits”forhelpingus tosurvive inanextraterrestrialenvironmenthumansdidnotevolveinandwhichcannotsupporthumanlifeingeneral.Wilson’s credulity about Leary’s pseudo-neuroscienceshowshowinfatuationwithacelebritycansabotagejudgmentaboutthecelebrity’s questionable pronouncements.AndingeneralWilsondependsonpopularwritings for his claims instead of tryingto discuss them intelligently by readingtextbooksorthescientificliteraturetoseewhattheyhavetosayaboutthem.WilsonendsCosmic Triggerwithanaccount

of themurderof histeenagedaughterLunaWilson onoctober 3, 1976, and how hisfriends raisedmoney tohaveLuna’sbraincryopreservedby theTransTimecompanyin theBayArea.ApparentlyLunabecamethe first charity cryonics case, about 30years before the Venturists assumed theroleof raisingmoneyforpeopleinsimilarsituations.TransTimeinthe1970soccupiedaspotintheworldof cryonicscomparabletoAlcor’stoday,yetithassincefallenintoobscurity because infighting between thepeoplewhoranitandthemembersof theaffiliated Bay Area Cryonics Society leftTransTime in a weakened state. I gatherthatTransTimestillexists,butmyeffortstocontact anyone there—including by letterand by telephone—have not generated aresponse.So this raises the question of what

happened to Luna Wilson’s brain. HasTransTimekept it cryopreserved all theseyears?Andif so,wheredidthelong-termfundingcomefrom?[1]Assuming that Luna’s brain has stayed

cryopreserved and that it can remain

that way in case it becomes revivablesomeday,Lunawillfacewhatmanypeopleconfrontedwiththecryonicsideaconsiderthedeal-breakerandthebestexcusetorejectcryopreservationforthemselves:“Butshewouldn’t know anyone in The Future!”Worseyet,shewouldcomebacktolifewithnoexpectationfrombeforehermurderthatshewouldwindupcryopreservedandthenrevivedpossiblycenturieslater,thoughshemighthaveknownaboutcryonicsbecauseof her father’s friendship with cryonicsactivistsinthe1970s.Luna’smother,Arlen,died in1999,whileWilson, as I indicatedabove,diedin2007;andasfarasIknow,neither parentwent into cryopreservationinanattempttoaccompanytheirdaughteracross time. Eventually everyone whoknew Luna through the end of her firstlifecyclenearly40yearsagowillhavediedaswell.Who,then,wouldwanttoassumethe responsibility of looking out for herinterests?Aschwin deWolf has recently pointed

out the need to maintain the socialvisibility and identities of the people incryopreservation, and if Luna Wlison’sbrain has stayed cryopreserved, then shedeserves this consideration as much asany other cryonaut. I would like to seethe establishment of a tradition in thecryonicsmovement where we formwhatI call “asymmetric friendships,” for wantof a better term,where living cryonicistsin effect “friend” our colleagues incryopreservation, even ones we did notknow. If we lay the groundwork now,when we go into cryo ourselves, futuregenerations of cryonicists will accept theresponsibility of “friending” all previouscryonauts, ourselves included, during ourtimeof vulnerability, and their successorswilldosointurnetc.,sothatif andwhentherevivalshappen,therevivedcryonautswilldiscoverbenefactorswaitingforthemwhowill help them to have soft landingsinto their new lives. We would certainlywanttowelcomeLunaintothatcommunityof asymmetricfriendships.Theemergenceof acultureof trans-temporalrelationshipsmight turn into something analogousto the Christian practice of “apostolicsuccession,”wherethecryonicistsalivein,say,theyear2113cantracethetransmissionof theircommitmenttocryonauts’welfaretothecryonicistsalivenow.To sum up, Wilson does not use the

word “transhumanism” in Cosmic Trigger,


but some of the people he writes aboutadvocated ideas which clearly fall intothat category now, including TimothyLearywithhispropheciesof animminentbreakthroughinlifeextension.Ihadasenseof déjà vu fromreadingthisbookagainafter35 years, because today’s transhumanistsmake similar claims about impending“immortality,” only they realize that theywould sound foolish now to say that we“conqueredaging”orbecame“immortal”in 1980, 2000 or 2012. Instead they haverescheduled the year when “everythinggoes jackpot,” as Wilson phrases it, tosomethinglike2045.Yetthepeoplewhomakethesekindsof

forecasts miss an apparently nonobviouspoint: You cannot test the effectivenessof an “anti-aging” or “life extension”technology inhumansany faster than therateatwhichhumanshappentolive—andhumans in their natural state can alreadylive decades longer than most othermammals.Inotherwords,wehavenowayof knowingif alongevitybreakthroughhashappeneduntilawhole lotof people livewell past 120 years, and in good physicalandcognitiveshape.Thatrulesouthavinganysuchknowledgeinthiscenturybecauseevery year between now and 2100 fallswithincurrenthumanlifeexpectancies.[2]Ababybornin2013couldlivetoseeher87thbirthdayin2100,butwehave87yearoldpeoplearoundnowwithouthavingtopostulate anything science fiction-like toaccountfortheirlongevity.Ifinditsadthatsomanytranshumanists

suffer from the delusion that they livein the privileged generation which willwitness revolutionary transformations inthe human condition, including radicallyextended lives for themselves, instead of allowingformorelikelyscenarios:(1)Theywill age, sicken and die on schedule, likeLearyandWilson;(2)Thecoolthingstheywant to seemightnothappen for severalmore centuries; or (3) Many of thesethingsmayneverhappenanyway;orworse,

they cannot happen because they makescientifically wrong assumptions. Wilsonfellintothistrapwhenhewritesonp.218:

By the turn of the next century, then, we will be a completely new species in many dimensions: living in space, not on a planet; able to program our nervous systems for any degree of any function we wish; possessing a lifespan in centuries, and well on our way to immortality. Between 2000 and 2012, if the McKenna scenario can be trusted, the real Cosmic Action will begin.

Delete thepart about “the turnof thenext century” and add about 40 years tothe dates in the above paragraph, and itcouldpassforarecentpostononeof thetranshumanist internet forums predictingwhen“therealCosmicActionwillbegin.”

Cosmic Trigger supports my impressionthatthecryonicscommunitywoulddowelltokeepthecaseforcryonicsseparatefromthe wider transhumanist “philosophy,”if youcouldcall it thatgiven itsapparentlack of wisdom to love. Compare 1970stranshumanism with today’s, and it stillsounds like an adolescent fad whichpromotes irresponsible beliefs about thenext20-30yearsandresistsmaturingintoanadultworldview.The field of cryonics, by contrast, has

had opportunities for some time nowto develop into a form of experimentalmedicinewhichcanmakeprogress in thehere and now, based on existing scienceand technology, and without having toassociateitwithsciencefiction,speculativefuturology, or in Wilson’s case, alteredstatesof consciousness.Wecanalsostaterealistic ambitions for cryonics by sayingthathumancryopreservationhas thegoalof tryingtoturndeathfromapermanentoff-state into a temporary and reversibleoff-state through applied neuroscienceand biotechnology. This avoids theproblems of the transhumanist way of describing cryonics as a means to turnus into “immortal supermen.” Cryonics

simply does not need the “cryonics andsomethingelse”burdenwhichpeople likeWilsonhavewantedtoimposeuponitforseveral decades already; and if anything,these “something elses” have provencounterproductive.The people who run cryonics

organizationsorrepresentthecommunitycould further gain credibility and statusin mainstream society by emphasizingcryonics as a 300 year project insteadof a 30 year project, and then actingaccordingly, because the “immortalityin 30 years” predictions coming fromtranshumanistswhotrytolinktheseclaimstocryonicsbecomeembarrassingwhenthepeoplewhomakethem,likeRobertAntonWilson andTimothyLeary, die accordingtoactuarialexpectations.oraswiseeldershavesaidforgenerations,

people judge you by the kinds of friendsyou have. The companions you enjoyedas a teenager do not necessarily serve youwellwhen you become an adult andwantto earn the respect of other adults—andif youwant high-status adults to take youseriously,youwouldnotwanttolistpeoplelike Robert Anton Wilson and TimothyLeary as character references on yourrésumé,muchlessasintellectualinfluences.until transhumanists start to show signsof maturation and a reality-orientationin their thinking and conduct, instead of repeatingthesamechildishfolliesfromonegenerationtothenext,cryonicistswouldactprudently tokeepadiscreetdistance fromtheircompanytoavoiddiscreditandridiculebyassociation.

ENDNOTES

[1]Thewebsiteof theCryonicsInstitutehasanundatedbutapparentlyoldarticlebyArtQuaifeaboutLunaWilson’scryopreservation.Ihavenotfoundanythingrecentaboutherdisposition:http://www.cryonics.org/luna.html

[2]PhysicistMichioKakuunderstandsthispointaswell.Refertomyreviewof hisbook,Physicsof theFuture:http://www.alcor.org/magazine/2011/08/30/physics-of-the-future/


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Delayed Aging Is Better Investment than Cancer, Heart Disease Research

on the heels of an announcement fromgoogle that the company’s next startup,Calico, will tackle the science of aging, anew study showed that research to delayagingandtheinfirmitiesof oldagewouldhavebetterpopulationhealthandeconomicreturns than advances in individual fataldiseases such as cancer or heart disease.With even modest gains in our scientificunderstanding of how to slow the agingprocess, anadditional5percentof adultsover age 65wouldbehealthy rather thandisabled every year from 2030 to 2060,revealed the study in the october issueof Health Affairs. Put another way, aninvestment in delayed aging would mean11.7millionmorehealthy adultsover age65in2060.Theanalysis,fromtopscientistsat uSC, Harvard university, Columbiauniversity, the university of Illinois atChicago and other institutions, assumesresearch investment leading to a 1.25percentreductioninthelikelihoodof age-relateddiseases. In contrast to treatmentsforfataldiseases,slowingagingwouldhaveno health returns initially, but significantbenefitsoverthelongterm.

SuzanneWu/uSCNews7oct.2013

http://news.usc.edu/#!/article/55969/delayed-aging-is-better-investment-than-

cancer-heart-disease-research/

A Staff of Robots Can Clean and Install Solar Panels

InadustyyardunderablisteringAugustsun,Roverwashard atwork, lifting 45-poundsolarpanelsoff astackandinstallingthem,one by one, into a concrete track.A fewyards away, Rover’s companion, Spot,movedalongarowof panels,washingawaymonthsof grit,thensqueegeeingthemdry.But despite the heat and monotony—an

alternative-energy version of lather-rinse-repeat—neither Rover nor Spot broke asweat or uttered a complaint.They couldhave kept at it all day. That is becausethey are robots, surprisingly low-techmachines that a start-up company calledAlionEnergy isbetting can automate theinstallationandmaintenanceof large-scalesolar farms.Working innearsecrecyuntilrecently,thecompany,basedinRichmond,Calif., is ready to use its machines inthree projects in the next fewmonths inCalifornia, SaudiArabia andChina. If allgoeswell, executives expect that they canhelpbringthepriceof solarelectricityintolinewiththatof naturalgasbycuttingthecostof buildingandmaintaininglargesolarinstallations.

DianeCardwell/NewYorkTimes14oct.2013

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/15/business/energy-environment/

putting-robots-to-work-in-solar-energy.html?partner=socialflow&smid=tw-

nytimesbusiness

Researchers Advance toward Engineering

“Wildly New Genome”

In two parallel projects, researchers havecreatednewgenomesinsidethebacteriumE.coliinwaysthattestthelimitsof geneticreprogramming, openingnewpossibilitiesfor increasing flexibility, productivity andsafety inbiotechnology.“Thefirstprojectis saying that we can take one codon,completely remove it from the genome,then successfully reassign its function,”saidMarcLajoie,aHarvardMedicalSchoolgraduate student in the lab of georgeChurch.“Forthesecondprojectweasked,‘oK,we’vechanged thisonecodon,howmanyothers canwechange?’”of the13codonschosenfortheproject,allcouldbechanged.“Thatleavesopenthepossibilitythat we could potentially replace any orall of those 13 codons throughout the

entire genome,” Lajoie said. The resultsof these two projects appeared oct. 18in Science.Theworkwas led byChurch,RobertWinthropProfessorof geneticsatHarvardMedicalSchoolandfoundingcorefaculty member at theWyss Institute forBiologicallyInspiredEngineering.

JakeMiller/HarvardMedicalSchool17oct.2013

http://hms.harvard.edu/news/ radical-recoding-10-17-13

Biological Clock Able to Measure Age of

Most Human Tissues

Everyonegrowsolder,butscientistsdon’treallyunderstandwhy.NowauCLAstudyhasuncoveredabiologicalclockembeddedinourgenomesthatmayshedlightonwhyourbodies age andhowwe can slow theprocess. Published in theoct. 21 editionof the journalGenome Biology, thefindingscould offer valuable insights to benefitcancerandstemcellresearch.Whileearlierbiologicalclockshavebeenlinkedtosaliva,hormonesandtelomeres,thenewresearchisthefirsttoresultinthedevelopmentof anage-predictivetoolthatusesapreviouslyunknown time-keepingmechanism in thebodytoaccuratelygaugetheageof diversehuman organs, tissues and cell types.unexpectedly,thisnewtooldemonstratedthat some parts of the anatomy, like awoman’s breast tissue, age faster than therestof thebody.“Tofightaging,wefirstneed an objective way of measuring it.Pinpointingasetof biomarkersthatkeepstimethroughoutthebodyhasbeenafour-yearchallenge,”saidSteveHorvath,uCLAprofessor of human genetics and thepredictivetool’sinventor.

ElaineSchmidt/uCLANewsroom21oct.2013

http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/ucla-scientist-uncovers-biological-248950.

aspx

Tech News Reported by R. Michael Perry


Hair Regeneration Method is First to Induce New Human

Hair Growth

Researchers at Columbia universityMedical Center (CuMC) have devised ahair restorationmethod that cangeneratenew human hair growth, rather thansimply redistribute hair from one partof the scalp to another. The approachcouldsignificantlyexpand theuseof hairtransplantation to women with hair loss,whotendtohaveinsufficientdonorhair,aswellastomeninearlystagesof baldness.Thestudywaspublishedtodayintheonlineeditionof theProceedingsof theNationalAcademyof Sciences (PNAS).“About90percent of womenwith hair loss are notstrong candidates for hair transplantationsurgerybecauseof insufficientdonorhair,”saidco-studyleaderAngelaM.Christiano.“This method offers the possibility of inducing large numbers of hair folliclesor rejuvenating existing hair follicles,startingwith cells grown from just a fewhundred donor hairs. It could make hairtransplantationavailabletoindividualswitha limited number of follicles, includingthosewithfemale-patternhairloss,scarringalopecia,andhairlossduetoburns.”

ScienceDaily21oct.2013

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131021104242.htm

MD Anderson Taps IBM Watson in Battle Against

Cancer

NotjustaJeopardy!winner,IBM’sWatsonhas now joined the battle against cancer.Accordingtoarecentannouncementfromthe university of Texas MD AndersonCancer Center and IBM, the Houston,Texas-based medical center is using theIBMWatson cognitive computing systemfor its mission to eradicate cancer. Thetwo organizations will leverage Watson’scomputing power to help cliniciansuncover insights from MD Anderson’spatient and research databases. The

technology is designed to integrate theknowledge of MD Anderson’s cliniciansandresearchers,andtoadvancethecancercenter’s goal of treatingpatientswith themost effective, safe and evidence-basedstandard of care available, officials say.“oneuniqueaspectof theMDAndersononcology Expert Advisor is that it willnot solely rely on established cancer carepathways to recommend appropriatetreatmentoptions,”saidLyndaChin,M.D.,professor and chair of genomicmedicineand scientificdirectorof the Institute forAppliedCancerScienceatMDAnderson.

RajivLeventhal/HealthcareInformaticsoctober22,2013

http://www.healthcare-informatics.com/news-item/md-anderson-taps-ibm-

watson-battle-against-cancer

Companies Rush to Build ‘Bio-Factories’ for Medicines,

Flavorings and Fuels

ScientistJackNewman’sbiotechcompanyAmyris is creating new organisms, mostforms of genetically modified yeast, atthe dizzying rate of more than 1,500 aday. Some convert sugar into medicines.others create moisturizers that can beused in cosmetics. And still others makebiofuel,arenewableenergysourceusuallymadefromcorn.“Youcannowbuildacellthe samewayyoumightbuildanapp foryouriPhone,”saidNewman.Somebelievethiskindof workmarksthebeginningof a third industrial revolution—one basedon using living systems as “bio-factories”forcreatingsubstances thatareeither tootrickyor too expensive to grow innatureor to make with petrochemicals. Therush to biological means of productionpromises to revolutionize the chemicalindustryandtransformtheeconomy,butitalso raises questions about environmentalsafety and biosecurity and revives ethicaldebates about “playing god.” Hundredsof productsareinthepipeline.

Health&Science/WashingtonPost24oct.2013

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/companies-

rush-to-build-biofactories-for-medicines-flavorings-and-fuels/2013/10/24/

f439dc3a-3032-11e3-8906-3daa2bcde110_story.html

Vicarious AI passes First Turing Test: Reads CAPTCHAs

Vicarious, a startup developing artificialintelligence software, announced oct. 27that its algorithms can now reliably solvemodern CAPTCHAs, including google’sreCAPTCHA,theworld’smostwidelyusedtestof amachine’sabilitytoacthuman.ACAPTCHA scheme is considered brokenif analgorithmisabletoreachaprecisionof atleast1%.Byleveragingcoreinsightsfrommachine learning and neuroscience,the Vicarious AI achieves success ratesup to90%onmodernCAPTCHAsfromgoogle,Yahoo,PayPal,Captcha.com,andothers. This advancement renders text-based CAPTCHAs no longer effectiveas a Turing test. “Recent AI systems likeIBM’s Watson and deep neural networksrely on brute force: connecting massivecomputingpowertomassivedatasets.Thisis the first time this distinctively humanact of perceptionhas been achieved, andit uses relatively minuscule amounts of dataandcomputingpower.TheVicariousalgorithmsachievealevelof effectivenessandefficiencymuchclosertoactualhumanbrains,”saidVicariousco-founderD.ScottPhoenix.

Vicarious.com27oct.2013

http://news.vicarious.com/post/65316134613/vicarious-ai-passes-

first-turing-test-captcha

Synaptic Transistor Learns While It Computes

It doesn’t take a Watson to realize thateven the world’s best supercomputersare staggeringly inefficient and energy-intensive machines. our brains have


upwardsof 86billionneurons,connectedbysynapsesthatnotonlycompletemyriadlogic circuits; they continuously adapt tostimuli, strengthening some connectionswhileweakeningothers.Wecallthatprocesslearning,and itenables thekindof rapid,highly efficient computational processesthat put Siri and Blue gene to shame.Materials scientists at theHarvardSchoolof Engineering and Applied Sciences(SEAS) have now created a new type of transistor that mimics the behavior of asynapse. The novel device simultaneouslymodulates the flow of information in acircuit and physically adapts to changingsignals. Exploiting unusual properties inmodern materials, the synaptic transistorcouldmark the beginning of a new kindof artificial intelligence: one embeddednot in smart algorithms but in the veryarchitecture of a computer. The findingsappearinNatureCommunications.

HarvardSchoolof EngineeringandAppliedSciences1Nov.2013

http://www.seas.harvard.edu/news/2013/11/synaptic-transistor-learns-

while-it-computes

Findings May Lead to New Tissue Cryopreservation

Methods

Researchershave gainednew informationabout the processes that promotefreezing of cells within tissues, whichcouldultimately lead tonovel approachesfor preventing tissue injury duringcryopreservation, they report in theNov. 5 issue of the Biophysical Journal (open access), a Cell Press publication.Developinganefficientwaytofreezeandstore living tissues could transformmanyaspectsof medical care and research,buticecrystallizationoftenoccurswithincellsduring such cryopreservation procedures,leading to cell death. A long-standingobstacle toavoiding tissuedamageduringfreezing is that when cells are joinedtogetherwithintissues, individualcellsaremore likely to crystallize than if the cellsare kept apart. “In tissues, ice crystalsare thought to be able to grow throughmembrane channels called gap junctions,thusallowingicetoeasilypropagatefrom

celltocell,”explainsseniorauthorDr.JensKarlsson, of Villanova university. “Butthe results of the present study indicatethatthemechanismof tissuecryo-injuryismuchmore complex thanwas previouslythought.”

KurzweilAI6Nov.2013

http://www.kurzweilai.net/findings-may-lead-to-new-tissue-cryopreservation-methods-for-grafts-and-organ-

transplantations

Crispr Technique Heralds Gene Editing Revolution

Abreakthrough ingenetics—describedas“jaw-dropping” by oneNobel scientist—has created intense excitement amongDNA experts around the world whobelieve the discovery will transformtheir ability to edit the genomes of allliving organisms, including humans.The development has been hailed as amilestone in medical science because itpromises to revolutionize the study andtreatment of a range of diseases, fromcancer and incurable viruses to inheritedgeneticdisorderssuchassickle-cellanemiaand Down syndrome. For the first time,scientistsareable toengineeranypartof thehumangenomewithextremeprecisionusingarevolutionarynewtechniquecalledCrispr, which has been likened to editingtheindividuallettersonanychosenpageof an encyclopedia without creating spellingmistakes. The technique is so accuratethat scientistsbelieve itwill soonbeusedin gene-therapy trials on humans to treatincurablevirusessuchasHIVorcurrentlyuntreatable genetic disorders such asHuntington’sdisease.

SteveConnor,ScienceEditor,Independent7Nov.2013

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/exclusive-jawdropping-breakthrough-hailed-as-landmark-in-fight-against-hereditary-diseases-as-crispr-technique-heralds-genetic-

revolution-8925295.html

Novel Genetic Patterns May Make Us Rethink Biology and

Individuality

Professor of genetics Scott Williams,PhD, of the Institute for QuantitativeBiomedicalSciences(iQBS)atDartmouth’sgeiselSchoolof Medicine,hasmadetwonoveldiscoveries:first, apersoncanhaveseveral DNAmutations in parts of theirbody,withtheiroriginalDNAintherest—resulting in several different genotypes inone individual—andsecond, someof thesamegeneticmutationsoccurinunrelatedpeople.Wethinkof eachperson’sDNAasunique,so if an individualcanhavemorethanonegenotype,thismayalterourveryconceptof whatitmeanstobeahuman,andimpacthowwethinkaboutusingforensicorcriminalDNAanalysis,paternitytesting,prenatal testing, or genetic screening forbreast cancer risk, for example.Williams’surprising results indicate that geneticmutations do not always happen purelyat random, as scientists have previouslythought. His work, done in collaborationwithProfessor of genetics JasonMoore,PhD, and colleagues at Vanderbiltuniversity,waspublishedinPLOS Genetics journalonNovember7,2013.

geiselSchoolof MedicineatDartmouth/Eurekalert!7Nov.2013

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-11/tgso-drf110713.php

Researchers Regrow Hair, Cartilage, Bone, Soft Tissues

Young animals are known to repair theirtissues effortlessly, but can this capacityberecapturedinadults?Anewstudyfromresearchers at the Stem Cell Program atBostonChildren’sHospitalsuggeststhatitcan.ByreactivatingadormantgenecalledLin28a,whichisactiveinembryonicstemcells, researcherswereable toregrowhairand repair cartilage, bone, skin and othersoft tissues in amousemodel.The studyalso found that Lin28a promotes tissuerepair in part by enhancing metabolismin mitochondria—the energy-producingengines in cells—suggesting that amundanecellular“housekeeping”functioncould open new avenues for developing


regenerative treatments. Findings werepublished online by the journal Cell onNovember7. “Efforts to improvewoundhealing and tissue repair have mostlyfailed, but altering metabolism providesa new strategywhichwe hopewill provesuccessful,” says the study’s seniorinvestigatorgeorgeQ.Daley,MD,PhD.

BostonChildren’sHospital7Nov2013

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-11/bch-rrh110713.php

IBM to Announce More Powerful Watson via the

Internet

on Nov. 14 IBM will announce thatWatson, the computing system that beatall the humans on “Jeopardy!” two yearsago, will be available in a form morethan twice as powerful via the Internet.Companies, academics and individualsoftware developerswill be able to use itat a small fraction of the previous cost,drawingon IBM’s specialists infields likecomputationallinguisticstobuildmachinesthatcaninterpretcomplexdataandbetterinteract with humans. IBM’s move tomakeitsmarqueetechnologymorewidelyavailable is the latest effort among bigtechnologycompaniestomaketheworld’smostpowerful computers as accessibleastheAngryBirdsvideogame. It is alsoanindication of howquickly the technologyindustry is changing, from complexsystems that cost millions to install topay-as-you-go deals that provide smallcompanies and even individuals access totechnology that just a few years agoonlythe largest companies could afford. “Thenext generation will look back and see2013 as a year of monumental change,”said Stephengold, vice president of theWatsonprojectatIBM.

QuentinHardy/NewYorkTimes13Nov.2013

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/14/technology/ibm-to-announce-more-

powerful-watson-via-the- internet.html?_r=0

Turning Nanoparticles into Complex Nanostructures

Animal and plant cells are prominentexamples of how nature constructs ever-largerunits ina targeted,preprogrammedmanner using molecules as buildingblocks. In nanotechnology, scientistsmimic this “bottom-up” technique byusing the ability of suitably structurednano materials to “self-assemble” intohigher order architectures. Applying thisconcept,polymerscientistsfromBayreuth,Aachen, Jena, Mainz, and Helsinki haverecently published an article in theprestigious journal Nature that describesa new principle for the self-assembly of patterned nanoparticles. This principlemay have important implications forthe fundamental understanding of suchprocesses as well as future technologies.TheresearchteamisheadedbyProfessorAxelMuller.Theresearchwasconductedattheuniversityof BayreuthandfundedbythegermanResearchFoundation (DFg)within the Collaborative Research Center840 “From Particulate Nano-Systemsto Mesotechnology.” The self-assemblyprocess described in Nature begins withchain-like macromolecules called triblockterpolymers.

NanoDaily14Nov.2013

http://www.nanodaily.com/reports/Team_succeeds_in_organizing_

programmed_nanoparticles_into_highly_complex_nanostructures_999.html

Novel Gene Therapy Works to Reverse Heart Failure

ResearchersattheCardiovascularResearchCenter at Icahn School of Medicine atMount Sinai have successfully tested apowerful gene therapy, delivered directlyinto the heart, to reverse heart failure inlarge animal models. The new researchstudy findings, published in November13 issue of Science Translational Medicine,is the final study phase before humanclinical trials can begin testing SuMo-1gene therapy.SuMo-1 isagene that is“missinginaction”inheartfailurepatients.“SuMo-1 gene therapy may be one of thefirsttreatmentsthatcanactuallyshrink

enlargedheartsandsignificantlyimproveadamaged heart’s life-sustaining function,”says the study’s senior investigator RogerJ.Hajjar,MD. “We are very eager to testthisgenetherapyinourpatientssufferingfrom severe heart failure.” Heart failureremainsa leadingcauseof hospitalizationintheelderly.Itaccountsforabout300,000deathseachyearintheunitedStates.Heartfailureoccurswhenaperson’sheartistooweaktoproperlypumpandcirculatebloodthroughouttheirbody.

Mt.SinaiHospital,Schoolof Medicine/Eurekalert!15Nov.2013

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-11/tmsh-ngt111113.php


ARIZONAFLAGSTAFF: Arizonawithouttheinferno.Cryonicsgroupinbeautiful,high-altitudeFlagstaff.Two-hourdrivetoAlcor.Contacteric@flagstaffcryo.comformoreinformation.

SCOTTSDALE: ThisgroupmeetsthethirdFridayof eachmonthandgatheringsarehostedatahomenearAlcor.ToRSVP,visithttp://cryonics.meetup.com/45/.

AT ALCOR: AlcorBoardof DirectorsMeetingsandFacilityTours—AlcorbusinessmeetingsaregenerallyheldonthefirstSaturdayof everymonthstartingat11:00AMMST.guestsarewelcometoattendthefully-publicboardmeetingsonodd-numberedmonths.FacilitytoursareheldeveryTuesdayandFridayat2:00PM.Formoreinformationortoscheduleatour,callMarjiKlimaat(877)[email protected]. CALIFORNIALOS ANGELES: AlcorSouthernCaliforniaMeetings—Forinformation,callPeterVossat (310)822-4533ore-mailhimatpeter@optimal.org.Althoughmonthlymeetingsarenotheldregularly,youcanmeetLosAngelesAlcormembersbycontactingPeter.

SAN FRANCISCO BAY: AlcorNorthernCaliforniaMeetingsareheldquarterlyinJanuary,April,July,and

october.ACryoFeastisheldonceayear.ForinformationonNorthernCaliforniameetings,callMarkgaleckat(408)[email protected].

FLORIDA CentralFloridaLifeExtensiongroupmeetsonceamonthintheTampaBayarea(TampaandSt.Petersburg)fordiscussionandsocializing.Thegrouphasbeenactivesince2007.Emailarcturus12453@yahoo.comformoreinformation.

NEW ENGLANDCAMBRIDGE: TheNewEnglandregionalgroupstrivestomeetmonthlyinCambridge,MA—forinformationortobeaddedtotheAlcorNEmailinglist,pleasecontactBretKulakovichat617-824-8982,[email protected],oronFACEBooKviatheCryonicsSpecialInterestgroup.

PACIFIC NORTHWEST CryonicsNorthwestholdsregularmeetingsformembersof allcryonicsorganizationslivinginthePacificNorthwest. Forinformationaboutupcomingmeetingsandeventsgoto:http://www.facebook.com/cryonics.northwest AYahoomailinglistisalsomaintainedforcryonicistsinthePacificNorthwestathttp://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/CryonicsNW/.

BRITISH COLUMBIA (CANADA): ThecontactpersonformeetingsintheVancouverareaisKeeganMacintosh:[email protected].

OREGON: ThecontactpersonformeetingsinthePortlandareaisChanadeWolf:[email protected].

ALCOR PORTUGAL AlcorPortugalisworkingtohavegoodstabilizationandtransportcapabilities.ThegroupmeetseverySaturdayfortwohours.Forinformationaboutmeetings,contactNunoMartinsatn-martins@n-martins.com.TheAlcorPortugalwebsiteis:www.alcorportugal.com.

TEXASDALLAS: NorthTexasCryonauts,pleasesignupforourannouncementslistformeetings(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cryonauts-announce)orcontactDavidWallaceCroftat(214)636-3790fordetailsof upcomingmeetings.

AUSTIN/CENTRAL TExAS: Wemeetatleastquarterlyfortraining,transportkitupdates,anddiscussion.Forinformation:SteveJackson,512-447-7866, [email protected].

UNITED KINGDOM ThereisanAlcorchapterinEngland.Forinformationaboutmeetings,contactAlanSinclairatcryoservices@yahoo.co.uk.Seethewebsiteatwww.alcor-uk.org.

MEETINGS

ABOUT THE ALCOR FOUNDATIONThe Alcor Life Extension Foundation is a nonprofit tax-exempt scientific and educational organization dedicated to advancing the science of cryopreservation and promoting cryonics as a rational option. Being an Alcor member means knowing that—should the worst happen—Alcor’s Emergency Response Team is ready to respond for you, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Alcor’s Emergency Response capability includes specially trained technicians and customized equipment in Arizona, northern California, southern California, and south Florida, as well as many additional certified technicians on-call around the United States. Alcor’s Arizona facility includes a full-time staff, and the Patient Care Bay is personally monitored 24 hours a day.

If you are interested in hosting regular meetings in your area, contact Alcor at 877-462-5267, ext. 113. Meetings are a great way to learn about cryonics, meet others with similar interests, and introduce your friends and family to Alcor members!

What is Cryonics?

Cryonicsisanattempttopreserveandprotecthumanlife,notreversedeath.Itisthepracticeof usingextremecoldtoattempttopreservethelifeof apersonwhocannolongerbesupportedbytoday’smedicine.Will

futuremedicine,includingmaturenanotechnology,havetheabilitytohealatthecellularandmolecularlevels?Cancryonicssuccessfullycarrythecryopreservedpersonforwardthroughtime,forhowevermanydecadesorcenturiesmightbenecessary,untilthecryopreservationprocesscanbereversedandthepersonrestoredtofullhealth?Whilecryonicsmaysoundlikesciencefiction,thereisabasisforitinrealscience.Thecompletescientificstoryof cryonicsisseldomtoldinmediareports,leavingcryonicswidelymisunderstood.Weinviteyoutoreachyourownconclusions.

How do I find out more?

TheAlcorLifeExtensionFoundationistheworldleaderincryonicsresearchandtechnology.Alcorisanon-profitorganizationlocatedinScottsdale,Arizona,foundedin1972.ourwebsiteisoneof thebestsourcesof

detailedintroductoryinformationaboutAlcorandcryopreservation(www.alcor.org).WealsoinviteyoutorequestourFREEinformationpackageonthe“FreeInformation”sectionof ourwebsite.Itincludes:

• Afullyillustratedcolorbrochure• Asampleof ourmagazine• Anapplicationformembershipandbrochureexplaininghowtojoin• Andmore!

Your free package should arrive in 1-2 weeks. (Thecompletepackagewillbesentfreeintheu.S.,Canada,andtheunitedKingdom.)

How do I enroll?

Signingupforacryopreservationiseasy!

Step 1: Filloutanapplicationandsubmititwithyour$90applicationfee.Step 2: Youwillthenbesentasetof contractstoreviewandsign.Step 3: Fundyourcryopreservation.Whilemostpeopleuselifeinsurancetofundtheircryopreservation,other

formsof prepaymentarealsoaccepted.Alcor’sMembershipCoordinatorcanprovideyouwithalistof insuranceagentsfamiliarwithsatisfyingAlcor’scurrentfundingrequirements.

Finally: Afterenrolling,youwillwearemergencyalerttagsorcarryaspecialcardinyourwallet.ThisisyourconfirmationthatAlcorwillrespondimmediatelytoanemergencycallonyourbehalf.

Notreadytomakefullarrangementsforcryopreservation?Thenbecome an Associate Memberfor$10/month(or$30/quarteror$120annually).AssociateMemberswillreceive:

• Cryonicsmagazinebymail• DiscountsonAlcorconferences• AccesstopostintheAlcorMemberForums• Adollar-for-dollarcredittowardfullmembershipsign-upfeesforanyduespaidforAssociateMembership

TobecomeanAssociateMembersendacheckormoneyorder($10/monthor$30/quarteror$120annually)toAlcorLifeExtensionFoundation,7895E.AcomaDr.,Suite110,Scottsdale,Arizona85260,orcallMarjiKlimaat(480)905-1906ext.101withyourcreditcardinformation.YoucanalsopayusingPayPal(andgettheDeclarationof IntenttoBeCryopreserved)here:http://www.alcor.org/BecomeMember/associate.html

Call toll-free TODAY to start your application:

877-462-5267 ext. 132 • [email protected] • www.alcor.org

Your best chance at achieving future immortality is to protect your precious health now so you can benefit from future medical breakthroughs. Staying informed about the latest health discoveries can mean the difference between life and premature death.

And the Life Extension Foundation can be your passport to the future. As the largest anti-aging organization in the world, we are dedicated to finding scientific ways to prevent disease, slow aging, and eventually stop death.

For more than three decades, Life Extension has been at the forefront of the movement to support revolutionary anti-aging research that is taking us closer to our goal of extending the healthy human life span indefinitely. We inform our members about path-breaking therapies to help keep them healthy and alive.

Join today and you’ll receive these life-prolonging benefits:

• A subscription to Life Extension magazine ($59.88 yearly newsstand value)...Over 100 full-color pages every month are filled with medical research findings, scientific reports, and practical guidance about using diet, nutrients, hormones, and drugs to prevent disease and slow aging.

• Access to a toll-free phone line to speak with knowledgeable health advisors, including naturopathic doctors, nutritionists, and a cancer expert, about your individual health concerns. You can also receive help in developing your own personal life extension program.

• Discounts on prescription drugs, blood tests, and pharmaceutical quality supplements that will greatly exceed your membership dues. You’ll receive a directory listing

the latest vitamins and supplements, backed by scientific research and available through a unique buyers club.

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• Disease Prevention and Treatment book ($49.95 cover price)...this hardbound fourth edition provides novel information on complementary therapies for 133 diseases and illnesses—from Alzheimer’s disease to cancer, from arthritis to heart disease—that is based on thousands of scientific studies.

Life Extension Foundation funds advanced vitrification and gene-chip research. Your $75 membership fee helps support scientific projects that could literally save your life.

Mention Code: PIM

a non-profit organization · 2017-02-08 · december 2013 • volume 34:12 a non-profit...

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