4 ms·

The most interesting question/answer is the last: "What does this mean for the possibility of cryonics?" "No one has tested whether the system would work on br

The most interesting question/answer is the last: "What does this mean for the possibility of cryonics?" "No one has tested whether the system would work on brains that have been frozen." So that should be one of the next steps

tempestn 7y ago
Until we have a vitrification process that doesn't do significant tissue damage, that will be difficult. It is being worked on though, as the ability to freeze organs would revolutionize transplants.
- ben_w 7y ago
  I thought that was demonstrated on animals last year, and the team had started looking for human volunteers? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16577627 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16577627
  - tempestn 7y ago
    Hadn't heard of that, but it appears they used a different sort of process, which will preserve some state, but only to a degree; it's not expected to preserve the organ such that it would be viable when thawed. > It proved effective at preserving an entire brain to the nanometer level, including the connectome—the web of synapses that connect neurons. > A connectome map could be the basis for re-creating a particular person’s consciousness, believes Ken Hayworth, a neuroscientist who is president of the Brain Preservation Foundation—the organization that, on March 13, recognized McIntyre and Fahy’s work with the prize for preserving the pig brain. > There’s no expectation here that the preserved tissue can be actually brought back to life, as is the hope with Alcor-style cryonics. Instead, the idea is to retrieve information that’s present in the brain’s anatomical layout and molecular details. While some may believe that the connectome alone is sufficient to define memory and consciousness, there are reasons to believe it's more complicated than that, so I have my doubts.

4 ms·

The most interesting question/answer is the last: "What does this mean for the possibility of cryonics?" "No one has tested whether the system would work on br

by cybertronic 7y ago

tempestn 7y ago
Until we have a vitrification process that doesn't do significant tissue damage, that will be difficult. It is being worked on though, as the ability to freeze organs would revolutionize transplants.
- ben_w 7y ago
  I thought that was demonstrated on animals last year, and the team had started looking for human volunteers? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16577627 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16577627
  - tempestn 7y ago
    Hadn't heard of that, but it appears they used a different sort of process, which will preserve some state, but only to a degree; it's not expected to preserve the organ such that it would be viable when thawed. > It proved effective at preserving an entire brain to the nanometer level, including the connectome—the web of synapses that connect neurons. > A connectome map could be the basis for re-creating a particular person’s consciousness, believes Ken Hayworth, a neuroscientist who is president of the Brain Preservation Foundation—the organization that, on March 13, recognized McIntyre and Fahy’s work with the prize for preserving the pig brain. > There’s no expectation here that the preserved tissue can be actually brought back to life, as is the hope with Alcor-style cryonics. Instead, the idea is to retrieve information that’s present in the brain’s anatomical layout and molecular details. While some may believe that the connectome alone is sufficient to define memory and consciousness, there are reasons to believe it's more complicated than that, so I have my doubts.