Be More Than You Can Be

Improving radically the performance, mental capacity, and resilience of the human body. It is one of the first targets of transhumanism. Robert Ettinger wrote about it in “Man into Superman”. Of course there are always the naysayers, the discusions about ethics and “playing God”. (Ettinger’s answer to this accusion: “it is better to pay God than playing ostrich”).As usual, when the army may profit from science, a different ballgame is played. And maybe this is not too bad at all. According to an online article by Wired Magazine  the DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, has a budget of US$ 90 million a year to explore how “biological systems … adapt to wide extremes.” Since the human-enhancement program looked promising, DARPA received another $78 million-per-year push for research including “the development of biochemical materials for enhancement of performance.” By “sustaining and augmenting human performance,” as well as “enabling new human capabilities.” Darpa was going to figure out how to build a better soldier. But, since humans are Universal Soldiers (according to that old song by Donovan), I do hope that we may profit a little from this expertise.

How long will it take untill we can buy extensions and enhancements? Cryonics is the solution for people who are too old to wait for the results of DARPA’s research.

Roth knew that some animals hibernate — slowing their metabolisms until environmental conditions improve. He also knew that some cells can enter a kind of dormancy and then spring back to life — essentially, they go into suspended animation. Roth wanted to better understand this “metabolic flexibility.” He started testing various chemicals that slowed metabolism, like heavy water and tetrodotoxin (puffer fish poison, used in Haiti to turn people into zombies). Nothing worked. But then Roth found a loophole in one of nature’s seemingly absolute rules: Animals need oxygen. But some creatures, like nematodes, fruit flies, and zebra fish, don’t die if oxygen levels drop. Instead the critters suspend. Their hearts stop beating for up to 24 hours. They don’t breathe. And they don’t die. Wounds stop bleeding; nearly any injury becomes survivable, and the brain shuts down without damage. “If you were shot, this is exactly what you would want,” Roth says.

It’s a timing issue: At oxygen concentrations below some critical level, animals kick off. But take the oxygen level even lower than that, fast, and they don’t. The problem was, Roth couldn’t figure out how to pull off his oxygen reduction trick in mammals, let alone humans. What would a battlefield medic do? Tie a plastic bag over a wounded soldier’s head?

This is interesting research. Cryonics providers should watch this carefully.

A television show gave Roth the clue he needed. In October 2002, he was watching a PBS show about caving in Mexico. The host had to don a breathing mask because the cavern’s air was full of hydrogen sulfide, which binds to mitochondria and impedes the body’s ability to use oxygen. “Oh my gosh,” Roth thought. “We can de-animate people.”

Three weeks later, Roth was at a meeting at the Breckenridge Ski Resort in Colorado, organized by DSO’s Bielitzki, the ex-NASA veterinarian. The agency was looking for ways to extend the “golden hour,” the period of time within which massive-trauma victims need to get medical care. Bielitzki thought Roth had the best shot, and was prepared to fund further research.

This is awesome. And what about the critics?

But before the program could start, DSO’s performance-enhancement push ran into trouble in Washington. The President’s Council on Bioethics was publishing reports decrying body hacks. Some in Congress worried about being accused of funding a Frankenstein army.

In response to those critics, the agency already predisposed to clandestine research — decided to go underground. Program names were changed to dull their mad-scientist edge. Metabolic Dominance became Peak Soldier Performance. Augmented Cognition became Improving Warfighter Information Intake Under Stress. Researchers were told to keep their mouths shut; many current and former program managers still won’t talk on the record, requesting anonymity for this story. The Surviving Blood Loss program, meant to fund Roth’s work, was itself put into suspended animation.

So the research will continue. And that is good. We want better cars, houses and computers all the time, so why shouldn’t we want a better body if it is possible?

When Hell Freezes over..

Is the Photoshop-contest organized by “Are you Worthy?” – Worth1000. 

Quoted from the contest directions:

The rules of this game are thus: Depict any scene or event that a sane person would never dream to be possible. This is completely wide open as far as contests go, so be creative (and funny, if possible) in what you come up with. As always, quality is a must. We will remove poor entries no matter how much we like you. You’ll have 48 hrs for this contest, so make your submission count.

Of course there are some limitations:

Hitlist:
Paris Hilton or Jessica Simpson. Use either image and get disqualified.

Remember that President Bush is not allowed, as is clearly stated in the FAQ.

That narrows the choice severely.

Cryonicists over the world will be shocked to see Saddam on the cover of Alcor’s magazine, an entry of a person with the alias “Dettiegirl“. 

 

Always wondering about my “Future shock-level” when I will be reanimated, my deepest fear is to be surprised by Saddam crawling out of the dewar.

RAW and Cryonics

Okay, it’s nothing new yet, and other bloggers have written more interesting pieces (or at least, better informed) about it, but this post is about Robert Anton Wilson, who died 11 january. So you may accuse me of blogorrhea, it doesn’t harm me since this weblog is only meant to make a survey of what I read on Transhumanist forums anyway.

First about Wilson. For me RAW is the man who cooperated with Timothy Leary on “The Game of Life”, a remarkable book about Leary’s 8 circuit Model of Consciousness. He also advocated E-prime, space migration, intelligence increase and life extension. Unfortunately all this mixed with a new-age flavour of occultism and Zen-Buddhism.

However, his demise sprouted a small thread on the extropy-mailinglist. A beautiful poem by Nick Herbert was forwarded:

What a marvelous journey!
How we all laughed!
O such lovely companions
On this splendid old craft!
Here’s to bold Captain Wilson
Who jumped ship last night
Amused to the end
By his share of the Light!

Hail Eris! Hail Arlen! Hail Schrödinger’’s Cat
Hail Robert Anton Wilson
Wherever you’re at.

with much love
Nick Herbert
 

Did the great thinker of the future (RAW founded the Institute for the Study of the Human Future with his wife Arlen Riley Wilson) and master of “Maybe Logic” have a suspension contract with one of the providers? Unfortunately not. Wilson knew, of course, of Cryonics, since his daughter Patricia Luna is in suspension. His friend Timothy Leary also had a contract, but changed his mind. Also Robert Heinlein, the Science Fiction writer who wrote about longevity (e.g. “Methuselah’s Children”) did not arrange for Cryonic Suspension.

So, this post is also about Cryonics; last week it was 40 years ago that the first man, Dr. James Bedford was brought in suspension on 12 january 1967. It is interesting to quote Robbert Ettinger, Godfather of Cryonics, from a post to the Cryonics Institute mailinglist on 13 january 2007 when he shares his memories of this event with us.:

I assume no one has made a big deal of the Bedford anniverary because there is no history of effectiveness of such efforts. However, there may be a few latecomers who might be mildly interested in some of the background. Bedford’s freezing was primarily owing to Bob Nelson and myself. I talked him into it, over a period of time, and Nelson was the prime mover in the actual arrangements. Prehoda played a temporary part and kept the body one night in his garage. My brother Alan and I flew out for the feezing and aftermath.

Further details can be found in Bob Nelson’s book, WE FROZE THE FIRST MAN. As you know, Bedford finally found a place with Alcor.

A big publicity boost was mostly missed. Life magazine–then a leading weekly–did a multi-page feature, but the astronaut tragedy resulted in a rare split edition. Partway through the run, our story was pulled and the astronaut story substituted. The big urban centers did not get our version. Who knows what might have resulted otherwise.

Roberrt Ettinger

My stance on Cryonics is simple: it is a rational gamble. You know that you’re dead when you’re dead, but it might work when you buy a ticket in the lottery of Cryonics. So why was it so difficult to persuade Robert “Maybe Logic” -Wilson. The future is for those who prepare for it! (Robert Freitas in “Nanomedicine”).

 

Latest research supports possibility of cryopreservation

Slow-frozen people? Latest research supports possibility of cryopreservation from PhysOrg.com
The latest research on water – still one of the least understood of all liquids despite a century of intensive study – seems to support the possibility that cells, tissues and even the entire human body could be cryopreserved without formation of damaging ice crystals, according to University of Helsinki researcher Anatoli Bogdan, Ph.D. [...]