Research Supports Possibility of Cryo-Preservation

Posted on Jun 23, 2006

Fom threemoviebuffs.com

Mel Gibson thaws from cryo-freeze in a scene from the movie “Forever Young.”

New studies suggest that the entire human body could be cryo-preserved without the formation of damaging ice crystals, which normally damage cells and tissue.

American Chemical Society:

WASHINGTON, June 20 — The latest research on water — still one of the least understood of all liquids despite a century of intensive study — seems to support the possibility that cells, tissues and even the entire human body could be cryopreserved without formation of damaging ice crystals, according to University of Helsinki researcher Anatoli Bogdan, Ph.D.

He conducted the study, scheduled for the July 6 issue of the ACS Journal of Physical Chemistry B, one of 34 peer-review journals published by the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society.

In medicine, cryopreservation involves preserving organs and tissues for transplantation or other uses. Only certain kinds of cells and tissues, including sperm and embryos, currently can be frozen and successfully rewarmed. A major problem hindering wider use of cryopreservation is formation of ice crystals, which damage cell structures.

Link

Elsewhere: .

Comments

Are you a Truthdig member yet? Login now, or register with Truthdig.