Cryonics

What do you plan to have done with your mortal remains?

Many people make funeral plans long in advance of their death, recognising that death can strike at any time. Most opt for either cremation or burial, believing that their physical body has been discarded permanently.

But is this true?

Today, in 2010, hospitals routinely perform operations which would have been considered impossible even a decade or so ago. Developments in related sciences are moving ever more swiftly, each new breakthrough standing on the shoulders of those which have gone before them. It is the demonstrated character of all the sciences that they progress exponentially.

Consequently, our future is ripe with possibilities. Many if not all of the diseases which currently plague mankind might be curable, even entirely preventable.

These diseases include aging. Research is currently being undertaken by the SENS Foundation to develop methods of reversing the effects of aging. SENS is an acronym for Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence. This organisation is working to develop medical techniques using stem cell and molecular biology to halt and reverse the effects of aging, which they believe can be treated just like any other disease of the body.

Will you live long enough to benefit from these inspirational future sciences?

Some people, myself included, have plans to ensure this is a real possibility by having made arrangements for our bodies to be cryo-preserved. Cryonicists hope that in a future - and quite probably a non-too-distant future - the sciences of age-reversal and nanomedicine will have developed sufficiently to enable us to be reanimated to a healthy condition in which we can go on to enjoy full and interesting lives, perhaps even living indefinitely thanks to age reversal treatments and organic regeneration from stem cells and/or archived DNA.

Cryonics is not a perfected science, but new developments are coming constantly.  The Q&A page of the Cryonics Institute's website (link below) explains the process involved in cryo-preservation, and clarifies many misconceptions about the subject.

One of the most obstinate myths about cryo-preservation is that it is expensive. Most cryonicists fund their cryo-preservation plans via an ordinary life insurance policy which, depending on the age and health of the policy holder, need not cost any more per month than one average take-away meal.

Interest in cryonics is growing, and while not every country yet has cryo facilities it is most definitely an international movement.

Timeship is a fascinating project, which aims to house the world's most advanced and secure facility for cryo-preservation and related sciences. This huge project holds so much potential, and most cryonicists are eager to see how it develops.