Is Cryonics Our Ticket To Immortality?

In cryonics, dead people are preserved at very low temperatures, halting all decomposition so they can one day be revived

Many people think cryonics is like 'freezing', but this is far from the case

When water in our body freezes, it expands, forming ice crystals that destroy our cells

That's why cryonics uses a technology called vitrification

Vitrification occurs naturally in some animals, allowing them to survive exposure to freezing temperatures

Species like the North American Wood Frog concentrate cryoprotectants in their blood

Cryoprotectants stop water from forming ice crystals - instead, it solidifies like glass, meaning water molecules are immobilised in their liquid arrangement

Humans corpses can be vitrified after injecting a cocktail of cryoprotectant chemicals. Unfortunately, they're quite toxic

To revive a cryopreserved human, we'd need to reverse damage from cryoprotectants

We'd also need to 'cure' whatever killed them in the first place...

...but whether it takes 100 years or 1000, a cryopreserved human may one day be revived, while a decomposing human is lost forever

If you'd like to learn more about cryonics, check out some of our in-depth articles:

Cryonics: A Brief History Of Reviving The Dead

A Tour Of The Companies Seeking To Revive The Dead

Cryopreservation, Where Are You? Why Calls To Cure Death Still Fall On Dead Ears