Want to Live FOREVER? Major Breakthrough in Cryogenic Freezing

The chance to see what the world will be like in 200 or 300 hundred years, once a fancy belonging to the realm of science-fiction, has just become a more realistic possibility. Scientists in the US were able to freeze zebra embryos to sub-zero temperatures and then successfully revive them. Although only 10% of the embryos were viable after being brought back from their frozen state, this marks a huge milestone for the cryogenics industry.

Prior tests had been routinely unsuccessful as the gradual warming of the frozen embryos caused a lethal formation of ice crystals. With the addition of gold nano-rods heated by laser, the warming process became much faster. This allowed for some of the embryos to survive defrosting and continue to grow as normal. If perfected, this process has far-reaching implications, one of which is prolonged space travel. Currently, there are concerns that isolation in space over long distances might lead to mental instability. If astronauts could be cryogenically frozen and then awakened at journey’s end, the possibility of a mental breakdown, in addition to lower food, water, and oxygen consumption, would be significantly reduced.

See Sean Martin Want to Live FOREVER? Major Breakthrough in Cryogenic Freezing, Express, August 3, 2017.