The world's first frozen person: paid 50 years in advance, originally scheduled to be awakened in 2017. Wake up?

Tech 2023-05-04 21:36:50 Source: Network

In science fiction, there is a well-known concept: 'human hibernation'.For example, during long-distance interstellar travel, in order to avoid people dying of old age before reaching the destination

In science fiction, there is a well-known concept: 'human hibernation'.

For example, during long-distance interstellar travel, in order to avoid people dying of old age before reaching the destination. It will first freeze the human body and enter a "hibernation state" to reduce metabolism, and then thaw and revive it when it is close to its destination.

Although this technology may seem surreal, it has also been used as a life-saving tool by many terminally ill patients. Spend a lot of money to freeze your dying self, in order to find a cure for terminal illness in the distant future after thawing.

Little known is that as early as 1967, a scientist chose to "hibernate" himself and prepare to be awakened 50 years later, in 2017

Technology born from science fiction

The concept of 'Frozen Man' was actually proposed in a science fiction novel called 'Strange Story' written by Neil Jones.

The novel was published in 1931 and tells the story of a person named James who, after his natural death, was not buried, but was launched into space for a 'celestial burial'.

Due to the lack of air in space and the extreme cold, microorganisms were unable to exist, and James' body was coincidentally preserved.

James, who has already died, has been drifting in space for millions of years, even though humans on Earth have become extinct, he has still basically maintained his original appearance.

One day, James accidentally passed by an extraterrestrial mechanical civilization, and the alien who first saw carbon based organisms was very curious about James and directly captured his body for research.

In order to communicate with James more conveniently, aliens resurrected his head and transplanted it to a robot. As a result, James became the first and only immortal human on Earth.

This is just a science fiction concept, no one will seriously launch themselves into space.

But in 1962, someone really put forward a feasible scheme of cryonics.

The person who proposed "cryosurgery" was Robert Eddinger, an American scholar with a dual master's degree in physics and mathematics. In his book "The Foreground of Eternal Life and Immortality," he first cited examples of plants and lower organisms successfully reviving after years of freezing. Then it is pointed out that death is actually a "gradual process", and if freezing is carried out quickly enough when it is about to die, there is great hope of resurrection.

Although this may sound a bit absurd, after his work was published, it really attracted a lot of people's attention, especially many terminally ill patients, who regarded it as gospel.

James Bedford, a psychologist suffering from cancer and an emeritus professor at the University of California, is one of them.

James is suffering from kidney cancer and has already metastasized to his lungs, which is almost certain to lead to death. But he didn't want to die and invested 200000 yuan to build Los Angeles' first human freezing laboratory.

James' "grandeur" caught the attention of a person named Nelson.

This Nielsen is the chairman of the American "Life Extension Association". In 1965, he proactively contacted James and said that their association was preparing to temporarily freeze and store human bodies through the most primitive equipment, and needed a volunteer to ask if James was interested.

After consulting Robert's opinion, James decided to give it a try.

So, can this Nielsen really achieve human freezing and resurrection?

The answer is no, because Nielsen is an electrician and has not even completed high school. But James still decided to give it a try, even if he couldn't be resurrected in the distant future, it would be great to serve as a volunteer for the first longevity experiment in human history.

James once asked members of the "Life Extension Association" how many years would they be able to resurrect themselves if the freezing was successful. Their answer is: '50 years'.

Now it seems that saying 50 years may be a bit hasty. But don't forget, this is the 20th century, where technology flourished. It was only 66 years since humans invented airplanes and landed on the moon.

At that time, people even believed that in the 21st century, there would inevitably be explosive advances in human technology, even achieving interstellar migration and time travel would not be surprising, let alone just a "mere cancer".

So, during the freezing period of the human body, how can we ensure future resurrection?

Nielsen's method is to "exchange blood" to reduce metabolism.

This approach was proposed by a person named Peter Sapphire, and there are successful precedents.

At that time, scientists selected 14 dogs and surgically emptied all their blood, injecting salt soluble acid into them to replace the blood. Within the next hour, the heart rate and pulse of 14 dogs began to weaken.

Afterwards, the scientists refilled the blood into the dog's body. Amazingly, all 14 dogs have been resurrected, and only half of the dogs' mental systems have been traumatized. However, 72 hours later, all the dogs died and none survived.

frozen

On January 10, 1967, James' life was about to come to a close. He had prepared 100000 yuan to freeze his body and spent $4200 to purchase a steel tank and sufficient liquid nitrogen. According to the agreement between the two parties, James did not have to worry about being "left unattended" for the next 50 years and could set sail with peace of mind.

At 6 pm, James' condition worsened and he began to pant heavily. Shortly after, the doctor officially announced his death.

The experts of the Life Extension Association immediately connected the body of the elderly person to a cardiopulmonary machine to ensure the supply of nutrients and oxygen, avoiding brain damage. Afterwards, the experts extracted the blood from the elderly person's body and injected it with anti freezing dimethyl sulfoxide, which they believed could prevent the formation of ice crystals in living tissues.

Next, James was placed in dry ice. When his temperature dropped to near freezing point, he turned off the cardiopulmonary machine, wrapped aluminum foil and carried it into a polystyrene foam box.

Until then, the experts breathed a long sigh of relief and looked at the time. It was already two o'clock in the morning.

The reason for waiting until the heart stops before freezing is because it is a requirement of relevant laws and regulations. But since everyone is dead, what's the point of freezing again?

Experts have their own explanation for this:

It's not that if the heart stops beating, it can no longer be retrieved. Brain death occurs only after 4-6 minutes of cardiac arrest, which can lead to complete death. During this period, the brain and other organs still undergo metabolic activity, and if rescued in a timely manner, there is a possibility of survival. Beyond this time, cells will die irreversibly. What we need to do is to freeze the donor during this period, so that they can survive in the future There is a possibility of resurrection

Later generations

After James was frozen, he was placed in an underground parking lot and then taken to the Cryogenic Care Facility Center in Phoenix, Arizona, where he was placed in large frozen capsules filled with liquid nitrogen.

However, James did not truly find peace. Even less than 50 years later, the company where his body was located unfortunately went bankrupt, and James was forced to go through a period of wandering life. He was sometimes placed in a factory, sometimes in a cross generational center, and then sent back to his son's house, causing the son's family to suffer greatly. After all, the cost of maintaining his father's body was too expensive.

It was not until 1982 that the body was sent to the Alco Life Extension Foundation for safekeeping.

With James, the first person to eat crabs, more and more terminally ill patients have since chosen the path of freezing. Of course, this is not cheap.

For example, on May 30, 2015, Du Hong, a Chinese female writer and one of the editors and reviewers of Three Bodies, before her death due to pancreatic cancer, was inspired by Luo Ji's future treatment in the novel, and specifically told her daughter to freeze her body after her death, hoping to revive in the future.

At that time, Du Hong's daughter Zhang Siyao spent $120000 to request the Alco Life Extension Foundation to perform brain cryosurgery on her mother on September 17th, in order to revive her 50 years later.

Du Hong also became the first person in China to try this technology.

And freezing human bodies locally in China is also very expensive. For example, the cost of freezing a woman named Zhan Wenlian after her death was extremely staggering:

Liquid nitrogen tank, 400000 yuan; Programmed cooling equipment, 400000 yuan; Extracorporeal circulation machine, 1 million yuan; Ventilator, 70000 to 80000 yuan; Laboratory construction, 5 million yuan, various cryoprotectants, 230000 yuan. Liquid nitrogen needs to be replenished every ten days, and 50000 yuan per year

It can be seen that this "longevity technology" is not something that ordinary people can afford to play.

So, is spending so much money really effective?

It's difficult.

No company can promise that the bodies inside the jar will definitely be resurrected in the future. After all, when a person dies, it's easy to freeze them, but it's difficult to thaw them and keep them intact.

frozen

At low temperatures, the water inside cells will expand due to freezing and break through the cell membrane, causing irreversible losses. In the state of ultra-low temperature, in addition to serious damage to cells, human organ will also become extremely fragile, and even will be directly torn apart by carelessness.

It's better not to freeze in this situation, at least we can leave a whole body.

How to achieve deep freezing without damaging cells is a difficult problem.

frozen

Lost electrician

After the news spread that Nelson had frozen James' body, it can be said that he became a well-known figure in the United States for a period of time, attracting many wealthy individuals who wanted to extend their lifespan.

The problem is, Nielsen is just an electrician who hasn't graduated from high school. It's a bit difficult for him to juggle such a complex job. All he can do is exchange blood for the body, and then send it to a liquid nitrogen tank for freezing. Due to limited equipment, there was even a ridiculous situation where four bodies were squeezed into the same tank.

In 1979, Nielsen was sued in court, claiming that he was "suspected of fraud". Although Nielsen claimed that this was science, he was still awarded a compensation of $400000.

Once there was a first, there was a second, and the families of the victims who believed his lies filed lawsuits with the court. Under the pressure of exhaustion, Nielsen voluntarily announced that he would no longer engage in related research and disappeared.

Until 2017, Nielsen, who was 80 years old, suddenly jumped out again and said that James Bedford, who had been frozen by him, would revive this year.

But it is obvious that he is completely talking nonsense. The reasons are as follows:

Back then, Nielsen and others had a slow reaction time, and James was likely to have died of brain damage when he was frozen.

Their technology is too primitive, and the cells in James' body have been pierced by crystals, losing their activity.

2023frozen

How can we bring the deceased back to life at the level of 2017?

After saying this, Nielsen disappeared again.

As for what happened to James after 2017, there are various opinions. Some say that his family felt hopeless and directly brought James back to their hometown for burial, while others say that James is still in a frozen state, hoping for the glimmer of hope in decades or centuries to come.

However, even with perfect cryopreservation technology, the resurrection limit cannot exceed 1000 years. James, like him, can only remain cautious and optimistic

Disclaimer: The content of this article is sourced from the internet. The copyright of the text, images, and other materials belongs to the original author. The platform reprints the materials for the purpose of conveying more information. The content of the article is for reference and learning only, and should not be used for commercial purposes. If it infringes on your legitimate rights and interests, please contact us promptly and we will handle it as soon as possible! We respect copyright and are committed to protecting it. Thank you for sharing.(Email:[email protected])

Mobile advertising space rental

Tag: in The world first frozen person paid years advance