Category Archives: Cryonics

Meet the Man Who Looks After Nederland's Frozen Dead Guy - 5280 Photo by Chet Strange

Taking care of the cryogenically frozen corpse saved Brad Wickham's life.

It was 2014, and Brad Wickham was done with death. Hed spent the past 25 years working as a respiratory therapist in hospital emergency departments, where the relentless cycle of seeing patients die caused him such trauma that hed been diagnosed with PTSD. Wickham turned to alcohol and drugs to cope. Realizing he needed a fresh start, Wickham moved from Missouri to Nederland because he heard he might find work there. Eventually he didthough there was one catch: Would he be willing to spend time with a dead body?

Although small, Nederland has an outsize reputation, partly due to a local named Bredo Morstoel, a Norwegian man whos been dead for 30 years. In the early 1990s, Morstoels family brought his corpse to town, aiming to create a cryonics facility, but legal issues required them to leave the country before it came to fruition. Bredo stayed behind and became the centerpiece of Nederlands Frozen Dead Guy Days (March 13 to 15), a winter festival with live music and eccentric events like coffin racing. Bredos relatives pay someone to take care of Morstoel during the other 362 days of the year. Since 2014, that person has been Wickham.

Morstoels body rests within a Tuff Shed near Nederlands Barker Reservoir. Every two weeks, Wickham, now 61, empties around 1,000 pounds of dry ice into a wooden container that holds the casket, keeping the corpse near minus 110 degrees Celsius. The ritual provides him an opportunity to catch up and chat with the man hes come to think of as family. That might be the part where a therapist could come in handy, Wickham says, but Ive kind of grown sentimental about it. I know he depends on me.

This article appeared in the March 2020 issue of 5280.

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Meet the Man Who Looks After Nederland's Frozen Dead Guy - 5280 | The Denver Magazine

Updated February 26, 2020 12:34:04

When Ron Fielding tells people he plans to be brought back to life long after he dies, he gets a few curious looks, but that is just what he has signed up for.

Cryonics has been a passion of Mr Fielding's for decades.

The 78-year-old from Goulburn in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, is a member with The Cryonics Institute in the United States.

He has spent years researching the process of having his body frozen, or put into a state of 'suspension' and is hoping that one day, his own frozen body will be brought back to life.

Mr Fielding had initially planned that at age 84 he would leave his family and move to the US to be closer to a cryonics storage facility.

But he is now hoping his move across the world may not need to go ahead as groundwork for the first cryonics storage facility in the southern hemisphere started this month in Holbrook, in southern NSW.

Mr Fielding visited the site on the weekend to take a sneak peek of the facility where he hopes to be kept in suspension and to start the long wait for science to maybe, one day, bring him back into the world of the living.

Mr Fielding said while he was used to facing scepticism about the possibility of being brought back from the dead, he remained an optimist.

"People might laugh, but someone had to be a pioneer," he said.

"They always laughed at people when they're going to do something [new], but I feel this is the start of another exploration.

"The way science and that are today, just ask yourself, 'why should you die?'"

Mr Fielding said he hoped he would not be waking up alone in the future if he ever is brought back to life.

But he should not worry too much as his son, Guy Fielding, has also signed on to be suspended.

Guy, who describes himself as having "an open mind", decided to be frozen after learning about the process from his father.

It was an exciting moment for Mr Fielding and his son to inspect the foundations of the storage facility in Holbrook this month.

"I'd rather Dad stayed in Australia if it's at all a possibility, rather than go to America at one the cryonics institutes in the States," Guy said.

"This is really exciting to keep Dad with us here in Australia.

"If one day we can be together again, that will be fantastic [and] if we're here in Australia, that will be a better option than being overseas."

The warehouse at Holbrook will be operated by Southern Cryonics and is expected to be completed by the end of 2020.

Zoning, location, and a reduced risk of natural disaster all helped lead to the small town becoming one of the cryonics capitals of the southern hemisphere.

The warehouse will only be around 100 square metres and will host up to 40 clients.

For those undergoing the process, a designated response team will step into action after a client is declared legally dead.

The body will be stabilised to help preserve the brain as best as possible and slowly cooled, before the body is wrapped in ice and injected with an anticoagulant to stop blood clotting.

Water will then be removed from cells and replaced with a glycerol-based chemical.

The body is cooled to dry-ice temperatures to about minus 130 degrees Celsius and is then placed upside down in a vacuum-sealed tank filled with liquid nitrogen.

Being upside down will protect the brain from any potential leaks in the tank, where temperatures hover around minus 200 degree Celsius.

Different specialist teams will be in charge of different steps of the suspension process, with Southern Cryonics in charge of the final storage stage.

"We have the technology for the suspension part," Southern Cryonics founder, director, and chairman Peter Tsolakides said.

"Where the technology does not exist, very clearly, is technology and science of the future, and that is to bring people back."

That has not deterred future clients, whom Mr Tsolakides described as "optimists".

"Most of the people who are interested in cryonics are male [and] either they've got a science or STEM-type background or they're interested in that," he said.

"They've got an interest in the future and normally they're very positive about the future, they have a positive aspect, they're optimistic type people generally."

Being frozen is more expensive than a standard funeral or cremation.

So far 27 founding members of Southern Cryonics have committed $50,000 each to help build the facility, and will receive a free suspension.

Founding memberships will be closing on March 31, this year and after that, associated members who want to be frozen will have to pay $150,000.

Mr Fielding and his son Guy have weighed up the financial obstacle and agree it was "an issue".

"Things like insurance and having something there when you pass away usually you have some assets saved up, and that's when you make the commitment to spend," Guy said.

"Certainly being able to raise the funds and do it now would be difficult while you're still living but I think it's something you have in place when you do pass."

Executive officer of the Cryonics Association of Australasia, Phil Rhoades, who joined the Fieldings on their tour of the site, is expecting cryonics to become more mainstream.

"I'm expecting a non-foundation member to happen relatively quickly in the next year or two," he said.

"I'm guessing the first person [to be frozen] is going to be a non-foundation member who is going to come out of the blue, finding out that the facility is working and wanting to take advantage of it.

"There's the possibility also of preserving pets, so I wouldn't be surprised if that happened sooner than a human as well."

Like the Fieldings, Mr Rhoades is also an optimist about what the future holds.

"People are starting to think that anything might be possible," he said.

Topics:science-and-technology,health,community-and-society,medical-research,death,holbrook-2644,goulburn-2580,united-states

First posted February 26, 2020 11:43:20

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Work begins on first cryonics storage facility in southern hemisphere - ABC Local

The first facility in the Southern Hemisphere thats capable of storing frozen dead bodies, so they can be brought back to life one day,should open in Australia this year.

For $50,000 as a foundation member, you can help build the storage warehouse at Holbrook, north of Albury in regional NSW. Southern Cryonics will operate the facility which initially will store up to 40 bodies, kept suspended by a system of freezing and preserving. Foundation members receive a free suspension.

The way science and that are today, just ask yourself, why should you die? Ron Fielding

Foundation members Ron Fielding and his son Guy told ABC News they are excited about the prospect of being awakened in the distant future. They always laughed at people when theyre going to do something [new] but I feel this is the start of another exploration, said Ron Fielding, who has been researching cryonics for decades.

The way science and that are today, just ask yourself, why should you die?

For some people, these current technological advances might conjure up pop culture images from the past like Han Solo in the 1983 flick Return of the Jedi. But actually before all that in fact, over two thousand years ago Jesus has been offering people the ability to not die and to rise from the dead. And with no financial transaction needed.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life, said Jesus, referring to himself as that all-important son of God (see John 3:16).

Christians have placed their hope in this offer by Jesus, who backed up his claim by himself rising from the dead three days after he was crucified by Roman officials.

Similar to what cryonics promises, the Bible says those who have faith in Jesus will be as if asleep in death (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17) and will rise again (John 11:25-26).

But in contrast, the Bible also says they will receive newly refurbished bodies: For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. For we will put on heavenly bodies (2 Corinthians 5:1-3).

And the cost outlaid for this afterlife process? Already paid in Jesus himself: The Son of Man [Jesus] came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:28)

Quite the life-after-death deal, isnt it?

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Want to live forever? It will cost you $50,000 - Eternity News

Alexey Boronenkov, one of the clients of the company Kriorus, frozen brain and my 70 year old mother in the hope that it will be able to return to life with the help of scientific progress.

I took this decision because we were very close. I thought that this is the only opportunity to meet in the future, he said.

He himself is going to cryonization after death.

I Hope one day we will reach such a level that it will be possible to create an artificial body with an artificial muscle tissues and organs which may be transplanted the brain of my mother, he says.

the ContextHoliness and frozen Ilta-Sanomat18.01.2018 Stern: the Russian business aimed at Stern03.10.2018 Cryopreservation as a successful Helsingin Sanomat11.06.2017

investing in the future for tens of thousands of dollars

In the suburban tanks of the company in liquid nitrogen at minus 196 degrees stored the body or the brain 71 people and Pets. It is an expensive procedure. The preservation of the whole body will cost 36 thousand dollars, the preservation of the brain 15 thousand dollars.

This is a much higher level of average salaries of Russians. For foreigners the cost is a little higher. Customers from more than 20 countries have signed a contract with the company regarding further actions with their bodies after death.

a Firm referred to as expensive funeral Agency

the activity of the company is often criticized. Evgeny Alexandrov, the head of the Commission of Sciences to combat pseudoscience and falsification of scientific data, said the newspaper FStia that cryonics is a very commercial idea that lacks any scientific basis.

Its a fantasy, speculating on the hopes of the people about the resurrection of the dead and dreams of eternal life quoted by his newspaper.

Valeria Udalova Director of the company, her dead dog froze in 2008. She considers it likely that humanity will be able to develop the technology to revive dead people. However, she acknowledges that no guarantees for this.

According to Valerie Udalovoy, the people who pay for the procedure for preservation of bodies of relatives show how much they love their loved ones.

They need hope, she says.

What can we do for our dead relatives and loved ones? A good funeral, an album of photographs. And these people go on proving their love even stronger.

the new York times contain estimates of the solely foreign media and do not reflect the views of the editorial Board of the new York times.

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MTV (Finland): the Russian firm will freeze your body or brain for resurrection in the future - International Law Lawyer News

SERGIEV POSAD ( RUSSIA ): When Alexei Voronenkovs 70-year-old mother passed away, he paid to have her brain frozen and stored in the hope breakthroughs in science will one day be able to bring her back to life. It is one of 71 brains and human cadavers which Russian company KrioRus calls its patients floating in liquid nitrogen in one of several metres-tall vats in a corrugated metal shed outside Moscow.'; var randomNumber = Math.random(); var isIndia = (window.geoinfo && window.geoinfo.CountryCode === 'IN') && (window.location.href.indexOf('outsideindia') === -1 ); console.log(isIndia && randomNumber They are stored at -196Celsius (-320.8F) with the aim of protecting them against deterioration, although there is currently no evidence science will be able to revive the dead. I did this because we were very close and I think it is the only chance for us to meet in the future, said Voronenkov who intends to undergo the procedure, known as cryonics, when he dies. The head of the Russian Academy of Sciencess Pseudoscience Commission, Evgeny Alexandrov, described cryonics as an exclusively commercial undertaking that does not have any scientific basis, in comments to a newspaper. KrioRus says hundreds of potential clients from nearly 20 countries have signed up for its after-death service. It costs $36,000 for the whole body and $15,000 for brain alone for Russians, who earn average monthly salaries of $760, according to statistics. Prices are higher for non-Russians.Voronenkov said he set his hopes on science. I hope one day it reaches a level when we can produce artificial organs to create an artificial body where my mothers brain can be integrated.

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Brain freeze: New path to immortality - Times of India

Immortality has always been one of the biggest human obsessions. From fantasy to science fiction, eternal life is often depicted both a boon and a bane. And now, a Russian firm could be making these dreams of immortality real - for only Rs 25 lakh.

A Russian firm by the name of KrioRus is offering to freeze human brains and cadavers in cryogenic cylinders for the sum of Rs 25 lakh. the bodies will be frozen in liquid nitrogen for an unspecified time until the technology becomes available for reanimating the body again.

If it sounds like a nightmare out of Dr Frankenstein's head, you are probably not far off the mark.

When Alexei Voronenkovs 70-year-old mother passed away, he paid to have her brain frozen and stored in the hope breakthroughs in science will one day be able to bring her back to life.

It is one of 71 brains and human cadavers that KrioRus calls its patients - floating in liquid nitrogen in one of several metres-tall vats in a corrugated metal shed outside Moscow.

They are stored at -196 degrees Celsius (-320.8F) with the aim of protecting them against deterioration, although there is currently no evidence science will be able to revive the dead.

I did this because we were very close and I think it is the only chance for us to meet in the future, said Voronenkov who intends to undergo the procedure, known as cryonics, when he dies.

The head of the Russian Academy of Sciencess Pseudoscience Commission, Evgeny Alexandrov, described cryonics as an exclusively commercial undertaking that does not have any scientific basis, in comments to the Izvestia newspaper.

It is a fantasy speculating on peoples hopes of resurrection from the dead and dreams of eternal life, the newspaper quoted him as saying.

Valeriya Udalova, KrioRuss director who got her dog frozen when it died in 2008, said it is likely that humankind will develop the technology to revive dead people in the future, but that there is no guarantee of such technology.

KrioRus says hundreds of potential clients from nearly 20 countries have signed up for its after-death service.

It costs $36,000 (about Rs 25 lakh) for a whole body and $15,000 (about Rs 10 lakh) for the brain alone for Russians, who earn average monthly salaries of $760, according to official statistics. Prices are slightly higher for non-Russians.

The company says it is the only one in Russia and the surrounding region. Set up in 2005, it has at least two competitors in the United States, where the practice dates back further.

Voronenkov said he set his hopes on science. I hope one day it reaches a level when we can produce artificial bodies and organs to create an artificial body where my mothers brain can be integrated.

KrioRus director Udalova argues that those paying to have dying relatives remains preserved are showing how much they love them.

They try to bring hope, she said. What can we do for our dying relatives or the ones that we love? A nice burial, a photo album, she said. They go further, proving their love even more.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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Immortality or Scam? Russian Company Offers to Freeze Dead Brains to Revive Them in Future - News18

ReutersJan 15, 2020 09:42:25 IST

When Alexei Voronenkovs 70-year-old mother passed away, he paid to have her brain frozen and stored in the hope breakthroughs in science will one day be able to bring her back to life.

It is one of 71 brains and human cadavers which Russian company KrioRus calls its patients floating in liquid nitrogen in one of several metres-tall vats in a corrugated metal shed outside Moscow.

They are stored at -196 degrees Celsius (-320.8F) with the aim of protecting them against deterioration, although there is currently no evidence science will be able to revive the dead.

I did this because we were very close and I think it is the only chance for us to meet in the future, said Voronenkov who intends to undergo the procedure, known as cryonics, when he dies.

A Russian company will freeze your brain or your entire body in the hopes of reviving you when the tech is available. Image credit: Friso Gentsch/Getty Images

The head of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Pseudoscience Commission, Evgeny Alexandrov, described cryonics as an exclusively commercial undertaking that does not have any scientific basis, in comments to the Izvestia newspaper.

It is a fantasy speculating on peoples hopes of resurrection from the dead and dreams of eternal life, the newspaper quoted him as saying.

Valeriya Udalova, KrioRuss director who got her dog frozen when it died in 2008, said it is likely that humankind will develop the technology to revive dead people in the future, but that there is no guarantee of such technology.

KrioRus says hundreds of potential clients from nearly 20 countries have signed up for its after-death service.

It costs $36,000 for a whole body and $15,000 for the brain alone for Russians, who earn average monthly salaries of $760, according to official statistics. Prices are slightly higher for non-Russians.

The company says it is the only one in Russia and the surrounding region. Set up in 2005, it has at least two competitors in the United States, where the practise dates back further.

Voronenkov said he set his hopes on science. I hope one day it reaches a level when we can produce artificial bodies and organs to create an artificial body where my mothers brain can be integrated.

KrioRus director Udalova argues that those paying to have dying relatives remains preserved are showing how much they love them.

They try to bring hope, she said. What can we do for our dying relatives or the ones that we love? A nice burial, a photo album, she said. They go further, proving their love even more.

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Russian company will freeze your brain in the hopes of reviving you in the future with better tech - Firstpost

In the past, the most common thing to do was a traditional burial, but that is no longer the case. According to the report, the majority of Americans now plan on being cremated (44%), with traditional burials coming in second (35%).

That leaves one in five Americans (21%) who have other plans for their body.

Some (6%) choose to donate their bodies to science, while others (4%) opt for a natural burial being buried without a casket, directly in the ground.

Others have opted for more unique arrangements, such as mummification, having their ashes launched into space or being turned into a memorial diamond. Such options are not cheap.

Mummification a lengthy process in which a persons skin and flesh are preserved is the costliest, starting at $67,000 (all figures in U.S. dollars).

Plastination a process in which the body is drained of all fluids and filled with a plastic-like substance starts at $40,000.

Cryonics which will freeze your clients body at a temperature low enough that the body wont decompose is a relative bargain, starting at only $20,000.

The average cost for a traditional burial is $7,360 and thats without a burial plot or headstone. Cremation is a slightly cheaper option, coming in at $6,260, but that doesnt include the cost of a viewing and memorial services.

If your client is looking for a more affordable option, donating their body to science is free.

While cremation has become the most common option, what people are doing with their ashes varies.

The most popular option among respondents was having their ashes spread in a specific location (40%), followed by having their family keep the ashes (36%).

Ten per cent of respondents chose to mix their ashes with soil and be planted as a tree, while 14% chose something more creative, such as being painted onto a canvas, turned into a coral reef, compressed into a diamond, mixed with ink and used for a tattoo or used in fireworks.

Having your ashes launched into space costs upward of $2,500, and having them planted as a tree starts at $50.

Thirteen per cent of respondents said financial reasons influenced their burial plans. More people were influenced by personal beliefs (47%) and family traditions (24%).Yet, nearly one-third of respondents (30%) said they would choose differently if they did not have to take these factors into account.

Choice Mutual surveyed 1,500 people in the United States about their burial plans and preferences. Read the full report here.

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Mummification or being launched into space? Burial options for your client - Investment Executive

Fleetwood Macs Stevie Nicks: Did she help to inspire Daisy Jones and the Six?GETTY IMAGES

FICTION

Frankissstein: A Love Story by Jeanette Winterson A trans woman doctor starts an affair with the scientist Victor Stein, who is planning to reanimate the head of a man frozen in a cryonics facility. The recently divorced Ron Lord is marketing talking sex dolls for lonely men. And in 1816 Mary Shelley is plotting a new novel . . . This fast-paced tale has fun with the Frankenstein story.Vintage, 8.99

Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid A rocknroll soap opera. The rise and drug-addled fall of a fictional pop group definite shades of Fleetwood Mac told in glorious Seventies detail.Arrow, 8.99

Reasons to be Cheerful by Nina Stibbe Nina Stibbe won the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse prize for comic literature

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: the practice of freezing a person who has died of a disease in hopes of restoring life at some future time when a cure for the disease has been developed

1966, in the meaning defined above

earlier cryonic (from cry- + -onicin bionic) + -ics)

Cite this Entry

Cryonics. The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cryonics. Accessed 28 December 2019.

More Definitions for cryonics

medical : a procedure in which a person's body is frozen just after he or she has died so that the body can be restored if a cure for the cause of death is found

: the practice of freezing the body of a person who has died from a disease in hopes of restoring life at some future time when a cure for the disease has been developed

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Cryonics | Definition of Cryonics by Merriam-Webster