Whether as a means of traveling through deep space, a life-saving measure, or a process of slow time travel, placing humans in suspended animation is a well-worn trope in genre fiction. Futurama, Star Trek, and the Fallout gamesall prominently utilize some form of suspended animation as a plot device, but never has the concept of freezing one's self and waking up in the future been more ridiculously utilized than in 2006s Idiocracy.
In it, U.S. Army Corporal Joe Bauers (Luke Wilson) follows in the famed footsteps of Phillip J. Fry, Khan Noonien Singh, and Han Solo, on an unintentional trip to the future. Flawed as the premise may be, suspended animation is an ongoing area of research and may one day assist in medical treatments and long-term space travel.
THE CASE FOR SUSPENDED ANIMATION
There are plenty of sci-fi tropes that stretch the bounds of credulity. Time travel, teleportation, invisibility all potentially possible with sufficiently advanced technology, but not something we see a lot of empirical evidence for in the real world. At least not on the macro-scale. Suspended animation, however, is downright commonplace if you know where to look.
Rotifers, a collection of relatively simple microscopic animals, are common to freshwater environs all over the world. They feed on algae and dead bacteria, among other things, and are often preyed upon by the more famous tardigrade. These entirely female species reproduce asexually and have a lot of the same incredible abilities as tardigrades, namely the ability to survive in harsh environments.
In the event their watery home dries up, rotifers undergo anhydrobiosis, a process that involves contract into themselves and slowing their metabolism, perhaps even halting it altogether. In this state, rotifers and similar creatures lay in waiting for suitable conditions to return.
In the normal course of events, the waiting period should be relatively short, a few days or months, maybe a season. There have been documented cases of anhydrobiosis lasting for several years, but those instances pale in comparison to a recent discovery published in the journal Current Biology.
A team of researchers, studying permafrost in Siberia, recovered bdelloid rotifers from ice core samples dating back approximately 24,000 years. The researchers clarified that not all rotifers survive such extended deep freezes. In fact, only 1 in 20 or fewer samples result in successful reanimation. Still, those who do survive are able to exit their anhydrobiosis stage and even reproduce ahappy result of that asexual reproduction mentioned above.
The way in which small animals like rotifers and tardigrades accomplish these incredible levels of suspension arent wholly understood, but part of the process seems to involve the manufacturing of antifreeze-like chemicals which prevent the formation of ice crystals in their tissues. Understanding precisely how that unfolds could unlock an avenue for human cryonics.
Other animals, more complex than the humble rotifer, undergo different types of suspended animation which are nonetheless equally intriguing.
Hummingbirds have a staggeringly high metabolism, requiring near-constant consumption of nectar in order to survive. Their heart rates are so fast they sound less like the rat-a-tat drumbeat were used to and more like an incessant buzzing. Its difficult to imagine an animal more diametrically opposed to the concept of suspended animation, and yet, in the Andes mountains of Peru,these fast-flying birds have adapted to slow down. At least at night.
Many birds, and other animals, enter a state known as torpor when necessary. Similar to hibernation, torpor allows an animal to severely decrease its metabolism in order to wait out lean times. For black metaltail hummingbirds, the lean times come every night when temperatures drop.
As night falls and temperatures decrease, these birds decrease their body temperatures to just above freezing, and their heart rates, usually thrumming at 1,200 beats per minute, decrease to as low as 40.
The common theme, whether you are a rotifer or a hummingbird is the slowing down of metabolism, decreasing the bodys energy needs until you can return to a more active state. Achieving such a state in humans has thus far proven difficult. Though there are some promising areas of research.
WHAT ABOUT US?
The human body is capable of at least temporary suspended animation, under the right conditions. We know this because it has happened, accidentally. The trouble is figuring out how to make it happen reliably.
Emergency preservation and resuscitation (EPR) has shown some promise in extending treatment timeframes in pigs, which are often used as a stand-in for humans in medical research. The process involves pumping ice-cold saline solution into the aorta, dramatically reducing body temperature to approximately 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
At this temperature, brain and body activity slows, buying doctors time to treat injuries. A small clinical trial began at the University of Marylands Shock Trauma Center, targeting patients with acute trauma and a low estimated chance of recovery. The aim is to extend the critical treatment window from minutes to hours. At the time of this writing, the results of that study are not available.
This process of freezing might be useful as a last-ditch treatment option or for those willing to throw in their chips on a chance at being resurrected in the future, but isnt being seriously considered by space agencies as a method of deep space travel. Instead, both NASA andESA are exploring torpor as a potential solution.
Vladyslav Vyazovskiy is part of the team put together byESA to answer this question. He suggests theres probably no biological barrier to human torpor, given that the process spans all types of mammals including primates.
Success in this area will require a more robust understanding of the precise mechanisms in place when animals enter and exit torpor. Today, we dont know whats happening biologically to induce this state, or what the potential impacts might be on humans. Finding answers to these questions could provide significant advancements in both medical treatments and the future of space exploration.
Research is ongoing, and with any luck, we might one day be able to nap through the hard times. What a world it could be. Hopefully, it'll be a smarter world than the one we see in Idiocracy.
Excerpt from:
Could suspended animation send you into the future to become the smartest person alive? - SYFY WIRE
- Inside facility storing hundreds of corpses with the hope of using technology to restore them to full health - UNILAD - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- Cryonics: Could you live forever? | BBC Science Focus Magazine - April 8th, 2023 [April 8th, 2023]
- Introduction to Cryonics - Alcor - February 18th, 2023 [February 18th, 2023]
- Inside Philip Rhoades' bid to be frozen in a new Australian cryonics ... - February 15th, 2023 [February 15th, 2023]
- About Cryonics - The Cryonics Institute - February 2nd, 2023 [February 2nd, 2023]
- Ted Williams - Wikipedia - November 25th, 2022 [November 25th, 2022]
- Arizona cryonics facility preserves bodies to revive later - November 23rd, 2022 [November 23rd, 2022]
- 200 Frozen Heads and Bodies Await Revival at This Arizona Cryonics Facility - Smithsonian Magazine - October 21st, 2022 [October 21st, 2022]
- Why the sci-fi dream of cryonics never died - MIT Technology Review - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- 3 Things That Kept Me Up After The Kardashians, Season 2, Episode 4 - British Vogue - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Think Outside The (Titanium) Box: Isochoric Cryopreservation Could Save Lives - Forbes - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- 184 Frozen Bodies Are Waiting To Be Resurrected | History of Yesterday - History of Yesterday - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- The First Person To Be Cryonically Frozen and Preserved for the Future - History of Yesterday - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Why TV vampires have our undying attention - The Boston Globe - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- David Suzuki: Gaia theorist James Lovelock was always ahead of the times - NOW Toronto - August 10th, 2022 [August 10th, 2022]
- expert reaction to paper suggesting that cellular and tissue function can be restored in pigs after death - Science Media Centre - August 6th, 2022 [August 6th, 2022]
- David Suzuki: Gaia theorist James Lovelock was always ahead of the times - The Georgia Straight - August 6th, 2022 [August 6th, 2022]
- Does Life on Earth Have a Purpose to Ancient Ghost Tracks of the West (Planet Earth Report) - The Daily Galaxy --Great Discoveries Channel - August 6th, 2022 [August 6th, 2022]
- Cryonics Technology for Pet Market Is Expected to Boom | Praxair,Cellulis,Cryologics,Cryotherm,KrioRus,VWR,Thermo Fisher Scientific - Digital Journal - June 24th, 2022 [June 24th, 2022]
- Cryonics company hopes to use legal loophole to freeze people alive - June 22nd, 2022 [June 22nd, 2022]
- Russian Cryonics Couple Danila Medvedev and Valerija Udalova's Bad Breakup Led to Heist Of Frozen Brains - The Daily Beast - April 11th, 2022 [April 11th, 2022]
- Buckys 10 Trigger Words Explained - Bucky's Metal Arm - February 24th, 2022 [February 24th, 2022]
- Severance Offers a Surreal, Allegorical Twist on Work-Life Balance - The Ringer - February 19th, 2022 [February 19th, 2022]
- U.S. Cryonics Lab Currently Keeping The Heads And Bodies ... - February 17th, 2022 [February 17th, 2022]
- Preserving Bodies in a Deep Freeze: 50 Years Later ... - February 17th, 2022 [February 17th, 2022]
- Suspended animation - Wikipedia - January 24th, 2022 [January 24th, 2022]
- Delving into the sci-fi world of cryonics - SaskToday.ca - January 24th, 2022 [January 24th, 2022]
- Cryonics Technology Market Overview by Industry Dynamics, Regional Analysis and Forecast 2021 to 2026 Industrial IT - Industrial IT - January 3rd, 2022 [January 3rd, 2022]
- If cryonics suddenly worked, wed need to face the fallout ... - December 13th, 2021 [December 13th, 2021]
- Cryonics Institute - Wikipedia - December 13th, 2021 [December 13th, 2021]
- Frozen for the future: Does Minnesota have any cryonics ... - December 13th, 2021 [December 13th, 2021]
- News - Cryonics: Alcor Life Extension Foundation - November 17th, 2021 [November 17th, 2021]
- Death - Wikipedia - November 17th, 2021 [November 17th, 2021]
- How much would you pay to come back from the dead? The starting price is 60k - The Telegraph - November 13th, 2021 [November 13th, 2021]
- Review: Irresistible and observant realms of science fiction revealed in 19 stories - SF Chronicle Datebook - November 13th, 2021 [November 13th, 2021]
- Humans could 'live forever' as firm offers 'immortality' freezing for 478-a-year - Ammon News - October 30th, 2021 [October 30th, 2021]
- Halloween fun to be had at Metro area haunted houses - Polk.Today - October 30th, 2021 [October 30th, 2021]
- Cryonics Technology Market to Witness Highest Growth In Near Future | Praxair, Cellulis, Cryologics, Cryotherm, KrioRus, VWR, Thermo Fisher Scientific... - October 15th, 2021 [October 15th, 2021]
- Fact check: False claim that Walt Disneys frozen body will be thawed in December - USA TODAY - October 3rd, 2021 [October 3rd, 2021]
- Will Walt Disney's Frozen Body Be Thawed in December 2021? - Snopes.com - October 3rd, 2021 [October 3rd, 2021]
- Scorned wife raids ex-husbands cryogenics lab stealing frozen brains of people who hoped to be brought b... - The Sun - September 12th, 2021 [September 12th, 2021]
- Two cryopreservation companies, run by ex-spouses, fight over frozen corpses and one tries to remove the bo... - Market Research Telecast - September 12th, 2021 [September 12th, 2021]
- Conclusive Study of Cryonics Technology market 2021 forecast to 2027 The Manomet Current - The Manomet Current - August 20th, 2021 [August 20th, 2021]
- UFOs and the Boundaries of Science - Boston Review - August 4th, 2021 [August 4th, 2021]
- Frequently Asked Questions | Cryonics Institute - July 12th, 2021 [July 12th, 2021]
- Is Walt Disney's Body Frozen? - Biography - July 10th, 2021 [July 10th, 2021]
- Jeanette Winterson, stone gods, oranges are not the only ... - July 10th, 2021 [July 10th, 2021]
- Cryonics Technology Market to Eyewitness Massive Growth by 2028: Praxair, Cellulis, Cryologics The Manomet Current - The Manomet Current - July 7th, 2021 [July 7th, 2021]
- Corrections: July 4, 2021 - The New York Times - July 5th, 2021 [July 5th, 2021]
- The cryonics industry would like to give you the past year, and many more, back - bdnews24.com - June 28th, 2021 [June 28th, 2021]
- Cryonics Technology Market Analytical Overview, Growth Factors, Demand and Trends Forecast to 2027 The ERX News - The ERX News - June 28th, 2021 [June 28th, 2021]
- Cryonics During the Pandemic - The New York Times - June 27th, 2021 [June 27th, 2021]
- Heres what a trend-analyzing A.I. thinks will be the next big thing in tech - Digital Trends - June 27th, 2021 [June 27th, 2021]
- Global Cryonics Technology Market 2021: Size, Application, Regional Outlook, Competitive Strategies Analysis and Forecasts To 2026 The ERX News - The... - June 27th, 2021 [June 27th, 2021]
- Cryonics Technology Market Pegged for Robust Expansion by 2027 Covid-19 Analysis The Courier - The Courier - June 4th, 2021 [June 4th, 2021]
- Cryonics Technology Market 2021 Is Booming Across the Globe by Share, Size, Growth, Segments and Forecast to 2027 | Top Players Analysis- Praxair,... - April 9th, 2021 [April 9th, 2021]
- Scientist proposes new plan to "resurrect" the dead with a Dyson Sphere, kind of - Boing Boing - April 9th, 2021 [April 9th, 2021]
- Global Cryonics Technology Market Growth in the Forecast Period of 2020 to 2026 With Top Companies: , Buckeye Partners, Shell Pipeline, NuStar Energy,... - April 2nd, 2021 [April 2nd, 2021]
- Cryopreservation - Wikipedia - March 21st, 2021 [March 21st, 2021]
- Will Cryogenically Frozen People Ever Be Revived? - March 21st, 2021 [March 21st, 2021]
- Cryonics Technology Market Statistics, Facts & Figures, Size, Trends and Forecast 2025 by Leading Companies Praxair, Cellulis, Cryologics,... - March 18th, 2021 [March 18th, 2021]
- Dyson spheres: The key to resurrection and immortality? - Big Think - March 18th, 2021 [March 18th, 2021]
- Putting dead heads on ice until the technology catches up - Sifted - February 2nd, 2021 [February 2nd, 2021]
- Global Cryonics Technology Market Detailed analysis of current Industry figures with forecasts growth by 2028 | Top Players; Praxair, Cellulis,... - January 19th, 2021 [January 19th, 2021]
- Cryonic Preservation Technique Lets You Preserve Your Body And Wake Up In The Future - ED Times - January 17th, 2021 [January 17th, 2021]
- Global Cryonics Technology Market (2020) to Witness Huge Growth by 2026 | Praxair, Cellulis, Cryologics, Cryotherm, KrioRus, VWR, and more -... - January 17th, 2021 [January 17th, 2021]
- Intelliconnect (Europe) Ltd. - Cryogenics and connecting the cold bits - Design Products & Applications - January 5th, 2021 [January 5th, 2021]
- Cryonics Technology Market Key Trends, Drivers, Challenges and Standardization To 2020-2026 - PRnews Leader - October 20th, 2020 [October 20th, 2020]
- Cryonics - Wikipedia - June 1st, 2020 [June 1st, 2020]
- What Is Cryonics? - How Cryonics Works | HowStuffWorks - June 1st, 2020 [June 1st, 2020]
- The False Science of Cryonics | MIT Technology Review - June 1st, 2020 [June 1st, 2020]
- Here's How Far Cryonic Preservation Has Come in the 50 ... - June 1st, 2020 [June 1st, 2020]
- Disrupting death: Could we really live forever in digital form? - CNET - June 1st, 2020 [June 1st, 2020]
- Research Report, Growth Trends and Competitive Analysis 2020-2026 - Cole of Duty - May 14th, 2020 [May 14th, 2020]
- Why Was Baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams Decapitated? - Sportscasting - May 14th, 2020 [May 14th, 2020]
- Does Trump know his own government indirectly bankrolls some key promoters of the Russiagate hoax? - RT - May 14th, 2020 [May 14th, 2020]
- Oxford academic claims future humans could live for thousands of years - Express.co.uk - March 23rd, 2020 [March 23rd, 2020]
- How Long Do You Want to Live? This Technology Could Potentially Help People Live Forever - Interesting Engineering - March 23rd, 2020 [March 23rd, 2020]
- Cryonics, Dakota the Dog, and the Hope of Forever - Gizmodo - March 5th, 2020 [March 5th, 2020]
- Meet the Man Who Looks After Nederland's Frozen Dead Guy - 5280 | The Denver Magazine - March 5th, 2020 [March 5th, 2020]