Cryonics
Freezing of a human corpse / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Cryonics (from Greek: κρύος kryos meaning 'cold') is the low-temperature freezing (usually at −196 °C or −320.8 °F or 77.1 K) and storage of human remains, with the speculative hope that resurrection may be possible in the future.[1][2] Cryonics is regarded with skepticism within the mainstream scientific community. It is generally viewed as a pseudoscience,[3] and its practice has been characterized as quackery.[4][5]
Cryonics procedures can begin only after the "patients" are clinically and legally dead. Cryonics procedures may begin within minutes of death,[6] and use cryoprotectants to try to prevent ice formation during cryopreservation.[7][better source needed] It is, however, not possible for a corpse to be reanimated after undergoing vitrification, as this causes damage to the brain including its neural circuits.[8][9] The first corpse to be frozen was that of James Bedford in 1967.[10] As of 2014, about 250 bodies had been cryopreserved in the United States, and 1,500 people had made arrangements for cryopreservation of their remains.[11]
Economic reality means it is highly improbable that any cryonics corporation could continue in business long enough to take advantage of the claimed long-term benefits offered.[12] Early attempts at cryonic preservation were performed in the 1960s and early 1970s; these ended in failure, with all but one of the companies going out of business, and their stored corpses thawed and disposed of.[13]