Fight Aging!

The information of the mind is encoded in physical structures in the brain, with some debate over exactly which physical structures. Survival after cold water drowning is one example to demonstrate that all electrical activity in the brain can cease without erasing the mind. Therefore memory and all other aspects of the function of the mind must be recorded as physical structures. Given that this is the case, death does not have to be the end. If the brain is preserved sufficiently well at low temperature, then one can be dead but not gone. There is some greater than zero chance of restoration to life in an era of greater technological capabilities than ours.

A growing community feels that sizable gains in life expectancy, and rejuvenation therapies capable of adding significant life expectancy for old people, will be slow in arriving from the biotechnology community. Therefore, there must be a greater focus on improving present approaches to the cryopreservation of patients immediately following death, expanding the presently small cryopreservation industry, and offering some alternative to the grave and oblivion. A part of this effort is to publish and advocate; the path to improvement is actually quite clear. Indeed, the much longer path to producing technologies capable of restoring a cryopreserved individual is also quite clear. The technological capabilities needed can be clearly envisaged and enumerated, and have been.

Biostasis: A Roadmap for Research in Preservation and Potential Revival of Humans

Biostasis is the practice of preservation of humans for the long-term with the intent of future recovery, if this ever becomes feasible. Biostasis can be distinguished into two hypothetical modalities: (a) provably reversible preservation and (b) preservation of informational features in the body in a way that is not reversible with currently known technologies, with the hope that such technologies can be developed and implemented in the future. Provably reversible preservation, also known as suspended animation, is not yet possible for humans, and probably will not be possible anytime soon, absent incredibly rapid advances in preservation technology. Yet, contemporary biostasis methods do not need to be proved to be reversible now in order to allow for a potential chance at revival in the future. The primary justification of contemporary biostasis, which we adopt here, is the preservation of the brain, which most consider to be the seat of our memories, personalities, and identities. By preserving the information contained within the structures of the brain, we may one day be able to revive the individual using advanced future technologies, even though this would require society to bootstrap the development of those technologies while individuals remain under preservation. This practice is also called neural biostasis, brain preservation, or brain archiving. We use the more general term biostasis in this roadmap.

This roadmap is divided into seven main categories: pre-cardiac arrest factors, post-cardiac arrest stabilization, preservation compounds, preservation procedures, methods for measuring preservation quality, long-term preservation, and restoration and recovery. We have attempted to outline the current state of research and future directions for the field of biostasis, with a focus on the scientific and technical aspects of brain preservation for potential future revival. This roadmap touches on several directions, including the development of better chemical compounds and better delivery approaches for those chemicals. Continued research into platforms and chemicals that could improve neural tissue preservation, alongside research into surgical techniques, cannulation methods, perfusion parameters, and long-term storage methods, would all be enormously valuable.

Economic factors are crucial for any field of scientific research, and biostasis research is no exception. So far, funding for biostasis research has predominantly come from individuals and organizations with a vested interest in the field, such as cryonics companies and individual cryonicists. While this has allowed for some progress, the limited resources have constrained the scope and pace of research. To the best of our knowledge, there has never been specific funding awarded for biostasis research from any government agency. We believe that for the field to grow and reach its full potential, there is a need for funding from larger sources, such as government agencies, academic institutions, and philanthropic organizations without a specific focus on biostasis. However, this expansion of funding sources faces a significant challenge: many potential funders and members of the public are highly skeptical about the feasibility of biostasis. This creates a chicken-and-egg problem, where the field receives little funding because many people do not believe it is promising, but there has also been insufficient research to thoroughly investigate its potential.

Breaking this cycle will likely require innovative approaches to both research and public engagement. Possible strategies to address this include: (1) fostering collaborations between biostasis researchers and mainstream cryobiology or neuroscience labs to increase access to resources and the reliability of the research, (2) developing clearer roadmaps and milestones to demonstrate progress and potential, (3) engaging in more public outreach to address misconceptions and discuss ethical concerns, (4) exploring alternative funding models such as crowdfunding or decentralized science initiatives, and (5) leveraging funding for other research topics where synergies with problems relevant to biostasis exist and publishing resulting findings in reputable scientific journals. Additionally, emphasizing the potential spillover benefits of biostasis research to other fields, such as organ preservation for transplantation, treatment of acute brain injuries, or connectomics, could help attract broader interest and support. Overcoming these funding challenges will be critical for performing a thorough and objective examination of the true potential of biostasis technologies.