How does it feel to be frozen? How does it feel to be frozen while you’re alive? Have you ever thought of that? What if a man isn’t frozen to death but instead of that he’s frozen alive with all his cells, tissues along with the heart and brain are still working but he’s in comma. Is that even possible? In movies we often see that a man is exposed to some extremely cold conditions or is frozon instantly due to some drowning incident in ice-cold water is brought back to life months or even years later. But the most jolting fact then discovered is that the age of that person is found to be the same as it were back then. No growth whatsoever. There maybe some memory loss for sure due to being in comma for a very long time.
But now the question worth asking is that is it really possible or is just a work of fiction. That’s what this article of mine is all about. So let’s move further and let’s relate the stories of some such movies to the reality.
If I ask you to tell me about a fictitious story character who was frozen and then brought back to life, then the first name that comes to your mind is obviously the Marvel’s comic character, Captain America. If not the comic book, then almost everyone has seen the movie, “Captain America-The First Avenger” I guess.
In the climax of the movie, it’s been depicted that after being frozen alive for almost 50 years or so, Captain America is resurrected with not even a minor change or growth in his body. However, his memory is somewhat affected. The rest of the story is as we know is followed by the movies, “The Avengers” and “Captain America-The Winter Soldier”. We all know that it’s entirely a work of fiction which it is but you’ll be surprized or even shocked if I tell you that upto some extent, it’s possible. I don’t say it. It’s been proved by the scientists and doctors. And in addition to that, we have some living examples of it.
Now before moving further, I’m gonna tell you an amazing fact about the frogs. Frogs can be often seen in our houses and our locality during rainy season and spring. But what happens to them in winter? Have you ever seen any frog out in winters? Don’t think so much, obviously you haven’t. So, where do they go? They dig down deep in soil to protect themselves and they come out only when the winters have passed. But what if some of the frogs were left out during the winters or they couldn’t dig down deep enough(especially in extremely cold regions). Are they died? Well, no. Not all of them. Though some of them may freeze and remain frozen for months. But there are some frogs that don’t freeze to death. There are five such species of frogs that can survive being frozen and are freeze-tolerant. The most common one is, the Wood Frog.
So, now the question is, How do they survive being frozen?
The frogs are cold-blooded or biologically, “Ectothermic”. So, their body temperature closely tracks the temperature around them. A temperature below 32 degrees Fahrenheit is sufficient to intitiate the freezing process in a frog. The most astounding fact is that seconds after a wood frog is frozen, its heartbeat begins to slow down and it stops eventually stops and similarly, the functioning of all its body organs stops. So, it appears to be dead and in some it is. But even after all that, when it get’s melted, it comes alive! When the whether get’s warmer and when the wood frog melts, it has to go through a repair process. It’s body needs to replace some damaged cells which may take a while. So, it’ll be extremely sluggish in the beginning and it slowly regains its strength. But how is it possible? How can the heart start beating again? What causes it start beating? We’re still unaware of that Scientists are still studying the reason behind that.
But is that even possible in case of humans? We see that in many Hollywood movies, a person gets frozen or is put into “Cryosleep”. And When he’s unfrozen years later, he comes back to life with aging and no ill effects. Sometimes a human is frozen accidently like getting frozen in a glacier. And sometimes, it can be done on purpose. For instance, if a person is having an incurable disease and he desires to be in “Cryosleep” hoping that a cure would be available in future. However, it is illegal to perform “Cryonics” on a living person.
It may have reminded you of the movie, “Vanilla Sky” starring Tom Cruise, Penelope Cruz and Cameron Diaz. In this movie, Tom Cruise opts for a Cryonic Sleep facility from a company which offers the people to undergo cryonic sleep and gives them an imaginary life of their choice. They feel like they’re living in some other dimension happily and it feels real. But it’s all in their minds. And their physical body is actually kept frozen in some chamber under temperatures as below as -320 degrees Fahrenheit.
However, Cryonics can only be performed on a person who is legally dead which is also called “Cryopreservation” of a human body. A person who is having an incurable disease and is sure to die soon can opt for this process which will be performed on him as soon as he dies. It is done with a hope that a cure that can bring him back to life would be available in future.
There are several companies that provide “Cryonics” or “Cryopreservation”. After the heartbeat stops, a person is pronounced legally dead but at that instant, he’s not totally dead. Some part of his brain still remains in functioning for a few minutes and after the brain also goes off, only then a person is said to be totally dead. So as soon as the heart stops beating, the company providing cryonics takes over if you’ve signed with that company. They immediately stabilize the person’s body by supplying enough oxygen and blood to the brain to preserve minimal function until he can be transported to the suspension facility. The body is then packed in ice and is injected with an anti-coagulant to prevent the blood-clotting. This state is called, “Cryonic Suspension”. Inspite of its unreliability, the cryonic procedure is very expensive. It costs around $200,000 to get your whole body preserved. In 2013-14, about 270 people opted for this facility.
However, it is still in doubt, if a person under cryonic suspension would ever be revived. But scientists say that Nanotechnology will make the revival possible some day as using Nanotechnology it is possible to repair anything virtually including human cells and tissues. But there’s still a long way to go. The predicted year to make the revival possible is 2045. Believe it or not, but if we get success in making resurrection possible using Nanotechnology, then immortality won’t be a long way ahead.
Stay tuned to read about some living examples where a human survived some extremely freezing conditions and find out if “Hybernation” possible in human beings or not.
But now the question worth asking is that is it really possible or is just a work of fiction. That’s what this article of mine is all about. So let’s move further and let’s relate the stories of some such movies to the reality.
If I ask you to tell me about a fictitious story character who was frozen and then brought back to life, then the first name that comes to your mind is obviously the Marvel’s comic character, Captain America. If not the comic book, then almost everyone has seen the movie, “Captain America-The First Avenger” I guess.
In the climax of the movie, it’s been depicted that after being frozen alive for almost 50 years or so, Captain America is resurrected with not even a minor change or growth in his body. However, his memory is somewhat affected. The rest of the story is as we know is followed by the movies, “The Avengers” and “Captain America-The Winter Soldier”. We all know that it’s entirely a work of fiction which it is but you’ll be surprized or even shocked if I tell you that upto some extent, it’s possible. I don’t say it. It’s been proved by the scientists and doctors. And in addition to that, we have some living examples of it.
Now before moving further, I’m gonna tell you an amazing fact about the frogs. Frogs can be often seen in our houses and our locality during rainy season and spring. But what happens to them in winter? Have you ever seen any frog out in winters? Don’t think so much, obviously you haven’t. So, where do they go? They dig down deep in soil to protect themselves and they come out only when the winters have passed. But what if some of the frogs were left out during the winters or they couldn’t dig down deep enough(especially in extremely cold regions). Are they died? Well, no. Not all of them. Though some of them may freeze and remain frozen for months. But there are some frogs that don’t freeze to death. There are five such species of frogs that can survive being frozen and are freeze-tolerant. The most common one is, the Wood Frog.
So, now the question is, How do they survive being frozen?
The frogs are cold-blooded or biologically, “Ectothermic”. So, their body temperature closely tracks the temperature around them. A temperature below 32 degrees Fahrenheit is sufficient to intitiate the freezing process in a frog. The most astounding fact is that seconds after a wood frog is frozen, its heartbeat begins to slow down and it stops eventually stops and similarly, the functioning of all its body organs stops. So, it appears to be dead and in some it is. But even after all that, when it get’s melted, it comes alive! When the whether get’s warmer and when the wood frog melts, it has to go through a repair process. It’s body needs to replace some damaged cells which may take a while. So, it’ll be extremely sluggish in the beginning and it slowly regains its strength. But how is it possible? How can the heart start beating again? What causes it start beating? We’re still unaware of that Scientists are still studying the reason behind that.
But is that even possible in case of humans? We see that in many Hollywood movies, a person gets frozen or is put into “Cryosleep”. And When he’s unfrozen years later, he comes back to life with aging and no ill effects. Sometimes a human is frozen accidently like getting frozen in a glacier. And sometimes, it can be done on purpose. For instance, if a person is having an incurable disease and he desires to be in “Cryosleep” hoping that a cure would be available in future. However, it is illegal to perform “Cryonics” on a living person.
It may have reminded you of the movie, “Vanilla Sky” starring Tom Cruise, Penelope Cruz and Cameron Diaz. In this movie, Tom Cruise opts for a Cryonic Sleep facility from a company which offers the people to undergo cryonic sleep and gives them an imaginary life of their choice. They feel like they’re living in some other dimension happily and it feels real. But it’s all in their minds. And their physical body is actually kept frozen in some chamber under temperatures as below as -320 degrees Fahrenheit.
However, Cryonics can only be performed on a person who is legally dead which is also called “Cryopreservation” of a human body. A person who is having an incurable disease and is sure to die soon can opt for this process which will be performed on him as soon as he dies. It is done with a hope that a cure that can bring him back to life would be available in future.
There are several companies that provide “Cryonics” or “Cryopreservation”. After the heartbeat stops, a person is pronounced legally dead but at that instant, he’s not totally dead. Some part of his brain still remains in functioning for a few minutes and after the brain also goes off, only then a person is said to be totally dead. So as soon as the heart stops beating, the company providing cryonics takes over if you’ve signed with that company. They immediately stabilize the person’s body by supplying enough oxygen and blood to the brain to preserve minimal function until he can be transported to the suspension facility. The body is then packed in ice and is injected with an anti-coagulant to prevent the blood-clotting. This state is called, “Cryonic Suspension”. Inspite of its unreliability, the cryonic procedure is very expensive. It costs around $200,000 to get your whole body preserved. In 2013-14, about 270 people opted for this facility.
However, it is still in doubt, if a person under cryonic suspension would ever be revived. But scientists say that Nanotechnology will make the revival possible some day as using Nanotechnology it is possible to repair anything virtually including human cells and tissues. But there’s still a long way to go. The predicted year to make the revival possible is 2045. Believe it or not, but if we get success in making resurrection possible using Nanotechnology, then immortality won’t be a long way ahead.
Stay tuned to read about some living examples where a human survived some extremely freezing conditions and find out if “Hybernation” possible in human beings or not.
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