A team of researchers from Fudan University in Shanghai has achieved the unthinkable: successfully reviving human brain organoids that had been frozen for as long as 18 months. This pioneering feat, achieved using a new cryopreservation method called MEDY, shatters all previous records in the cryogenic field, and opens up a world of possibilities for the future of neuroscience and space exploration.
The news triggered fierce discussions and debates about the implications of the discovery. In the end, the question is always the same: is cryonics a hope for the future or an impossible dream?
For those who don't know what cryonics is
Cryonics, the practice of preserving the human body or brain at extremely low temperatures after death, has long been a fascinating topic in science fiction. The idea of being able to “freeze” an individual until a cure is found for their illness or until a distant destination in space is reached has captured the imagination of many. However, until now, cryonics has remained more of a theoretical concept than a practical reality. And this is the reason why I let the crionica.it domain I owned expire a few years ago. Who knows, maybe one day I'll regret it, but it was a little too niche a topic even for my tastes. The sources consulted traced a 50-70 year perspective. Now, after this discovery we could anticipate this prediction.
Fudan University's breakthrough could change all that. Demonstrating that a human brain can be preserved and revived after such a long period, the team led by Zhicheng Shao has opened the door to a number of exciting possibilities. We may be on the verge of an era in which terminal illnesses are no longer a death sentence, in which interstellar travel becomes a reality, in which death itself may no longer be a “permanent state.”
What does the MEDY cryogenic method consist of?
In the study published in Cell (I link it here) researchers detail MEDY, the new cryogenic method for freezing human brain tissue without damaging it. This method combines various chemicals, including methylcellulose, ethylene glycol, DMSO e Y27632, which interfere with the processes that cause cell death during freezing. Using MEDY, researchers were able to successfully freeze and thaw brain organoids and human brain tissue samples, maintaining their structure and function.
This method opens up new possibilities for studying neurological diseases and, in the future, for freezing entire human brains.
The ethical dilemmas of human cryopreservation
As always, the perspectives offered by this discovery also raise several ethical and philosophical questions. If it becomes possible to “freeze” a human being and bring him back to life in a future time, what does this mean for our understanding of life and death? If an individual can be "awakened" centuries (theoretically even millennia) after his physical death, will his identity and consciousness remain intact?
Again: many religious and philosophical traditions consider the soul as an entity distinct from the physical body, which survives after death. If it becomes possible to reanimate a human body or brain after death, what becomes of the soul? Will it also be "frozen" and "awakened", or will cryopreservation mark a definitive separation between body and spirit?
The impact on society and the individual
Beyond these metaphysical questions, the prospect of human cryopreservation also raises more practical questions. If this “cryogenic world” becomes widely available, who will have access to it? Will it be a luxury reserved for the rich and powerful, or will it be a right for everyone? And if a person chooses to be cryopreserved, what will the implications be for their family and loved ones?
Even more questions for you to discuss on our social channels: If a significant number of people choose to “wait” for a better future, what will the impact be on society? Will we see a mass exodus (not in space, but in time) into the future, with entire generations choosing to “skip” their period? Or will the cryogenic path remain a niche choice, with a few brave pioneers venturing into the unknown?
Is the future cryogenic?
Fudan University's breakthrough has brought us one step closer to a future that until recently would have been unthinkable. As Liu Cixin suggests in “The Three Body Problem” (have you read it? At least have you followed the series?) the future of our species truly lies among the stars. Perhaps one day starships will sail the galaxy, with crews of cryopreserved pioneers who will awaken in distant worlds.
Or perhaps, as some philosophers suggest, true immortality lies not in the preservation of the physical body, but in the transcendence of the soul.
