Search found 224 matches

by jordansparks
Thu Sep 21, 2023 1:17 pm
Forum: Forum
Topic: James Arrowood, Alcor CEO
Replies: 0
Views: 13921

James Arrowood, Alcor CEO

James Arrowood is the new Co-CEO of Alcor. He was interviewed recently in the following podcast: https://www.cryonicsunderground.com/1510453/13388129-james-arrowood-new-leadership-and-new-directions-at-alcor Boy, he's a talker. Nearly 3 hours. I ran it at 2x speed. Here are some things I learned: Al...
by jordansparks
Wed Sep 20, 2023 9:57 pm
Forum: Forum
Topic: Rebranding as Oregon Brain Preservation
Replies: 0
Views: 13611

Rebranding as Oregon Brain Preservation

Yes, it's definitely time for us to rebrand. We're completely dropping the "cryonics" label and fully adopting the "brain preservation" label. Our new name will be Oregon Brain Preservation. The transition will take a little while. As I said in another thread, the motivation behi...
by jordansparks
Tue Sep 19, 2023 8:12 pm
Forum: Forum
Topic: Removing brains
Replies: 1
Views: 9474

Removing brains

I've now removed a fair number of brains, so I'm developing some opinions about the procedure. Many of them were research cases rather than patients, and the quality was admittedly not ideal. So after I had removed the first few, I decided firmly that I would not want that done to my brain because o...
by jordansparks
Tue Sep 19, 2023 7:18 pm
Forum: Forum
Topic: After fixation, maybe we should not store in liquid nitrogen
Replies: 3
Views: 10987

Re: After fixation, maybe we should not store in liquid nitrogen

Yes, we plan to regularly publish in mainstream science journals. It might be time to rebrand away from "cryonics" right now. While we will always do some cryonics, the majority of our patients are chemically preserved instead. Perhaps the name of the company should reflect that majority. ...
by jordansparks
Tue Sep 12, 2023 7:42 am
Forum: Forum
Topic: After fixation, maybe we should not store in liquid nitrogen
Replies: 3
Views: 10987

After fixation, maybe we should not store in liquid nitrogen

I've always had a little trouble explaining to people why we use fixative and then also cryopreserve. Fixative works very well, so what additional advantage are we getting from the liquid nitrogen? Everyone in the cryonics community has generally agreed that we need cryopreservation, so I've basical...
by jordansparks
Sat Jul 08, 2023 8:44 pm
Forum: Forum
Topic: Apex Neuroscience
Replies: 2
Views: 9864

Apex Neuroscience

Our sister company, Apex Neuroscience, is finally up and running. http://apexneuro.org/ Apex does all the research, works out the protocols, and has deep expertise. Oregon Cryonics owns all the equipment and the building. The main advantage of this arrangement is that Apex will be a 501c3, so that i...
by jordansparks
Sun May 21, 2023 7:20 am
Forum: Forum
Topic: New group on Spain for SST.
Replies: 1
Views: 9205

Re: New group on Spain for SST.

How exciting for you! I hope you are able to keep it going.
by jordansparks
Sun Apr 16, 2023 7:38 am
Forum: Forum
Topic: Why not program a web app for signup?
Replies: 2
Views: 11660

Re: Why not to programing a sign web app?

We already did a rough version of an app that let members apply. They entered info in all the fields and it was stored in our server. It also tracked membership status, payment status, life insurance status, etc. It took a lot of time. And then it was hard to maintain. The server is still sitting th...
by jordansparks
Mon Mar 27, 2023 4:50 pm
Forum: Forum
Topic: Life Extension as Backup Plan
Replies: 16
Views: 16250

Re: Life Extension as Backup Plan

On a given subject occasionally most 'scientists' can be wrong most of the time Absolutely not. The scientists are always more right than anyone else could ever be. That's the whole point of the scientific revolution. This is not even up for debate. You used the example of self experimentation on a...
by jordansparks
Mon Mar 27, 2023 2:54 pm
Forum: Forum
Topic: Life Extension as Backup Plan
Replies: 16
Views: 16250

Re: Life Extension as Backup Plan

Wow, that's an extreme diet. It seems to lack any controlled studies. Shouldn't we instead follow diets that science has shown to be beneficial? There is strong scientific consensus that a carnivore diet is a bad idea. I don't understand how you can ignore that. It has nothing to do with common wisd...
by jordansparks
Sat Mar 25, 2023 1:29 pm
Forum: Forum
Topic: Life Extension as Backup Plan
Replies: 16
Views: 16250

Life Extension as Backup Plan

Most cryonicists I talk to describe cryonics as their backup plan in case life extension doesn't work out. I've alway treated it the other way around, with life extension as my secondary goal. The reason for this is that I've never thought that life extension could happen in my lifetime. Nevertheles...
by jordansparks
Sat Mar 25, 2023 5:14 am
Forum: Forum
Topic: Alcor CT Scanner
Replies: 5
Views: 17788

Re: Alcor CT Scanner

I should have known that a 10x resolution improvement was too good to be true. I wasn't skeptical enough.
by jordansparks
Thu Mar 16, 2023 7:20 pm
Forum: Forum
Topic: Alcor CT Scanner
Replies: 5
Views: 17788

Re: Alcor CT Scanner

I heard that Alcor gave up on trying to use this model of CT scanner. The quality of the machine and software were just too low to have any usefulness at all. Thank goodness we didn't buy one of those yet. We almost did. I guess we'll stick with medical grade CT scanners. It's frustrating that they ...
by jordansparks
Wed Mar 15, 2023 4:21 pm
Forum: Forum
Topic: Vice Motherboard and Dr. Toner
Replies: 2
Views: 10436

Vice Motherboard and Dr. Toner

About six years ago, Vice Motherboard did a 23 minute documentary that heavily featured Oregon Cryonics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5KuNAeOtJ0 I've never posted a reply about it, but it's been bugging me lately. Dr. Mehmet Toner was also prominently featured. He seems like a nice reasonable gu...
by jordansparks
Sat Jan 28, 2023 11:00 am
Forum: Forum
Topic: The Death of Death in Cryonics
Replies: 4
Views: 18704

Re: The Death of Death in Cryonics

I disagree with a number of ideas in that recent article. First of all, in non-ideal cases you're not necessarily forced to accept ice crystals. In fact, you can always avoid a straight freeze. The protocol is to submerge in glutaraldehyde and ramp up the cryoprotectant over weeks/months. We do this...
by jordansparks
Thu Aug 04, 2022 11:39 am
Forum: Forum
Topic: Timeline for Oregon Cryonics
Replies: 1
Views: 12426

Re: Timeline for Oregon Cryonics

The building has been complete for a number of months. We have already started a remodel to add more lab space on the second floor. I've been working hard since day one to make the organization outlast me. I will be a patient, so that's critical. But if I don't get preserved well, then none of that ...
by jordansparks
Sun Jun 12, 2022 10:43 pm
Forum: Forum
Topic: Submerge in resin
Replies: 0
Views: 18280

Submerge in resin

I got an email from someone suggesting that we fix a brain with aldehyde and then submerge it in resin. It was suggested that this would be more stable and cheap than storage in liquid. Here was my response: Hmm. That ideas has been floated around before, but I don't see much advantage over just kee...
by jordansparks
Tue Mar 29, 2022 10:57 am
Forum: Forum
Topic: Oregon ends residency requirement for assisted suicide
Replies: 2
Views: 12964

Re: Oregon ends residency requirement for assisted suicide

Vaguely, yeah. That's fantastic! I did not see that coming. Next, they need to remove the requirement to have less than 6 months to live. Alzheimer's comes to mind as an example of a disease that doesn't fall under the 6 month limit. It will happen, but it's really unpredictable how long it will tak...
by jordansparks
Wed Mar 09, 2022 8:08 pm
Forum: Forum
Topic: Surviving World War III
Replies: 12
Views: 19554

Re: Surviving World War III

I think you misunderstand the purpose of a drought map. That shows changes compared to normal. But if you instead look at a rainfall map, you will see that Salem gets at least 10 times as much rain as Phoenix, and the surrounding hills get at least 20 times as much. I say "at least" becaus...
by jordansparks
Wed Mar 09, 2022 12:17 pm
Forum: Forum
Topic: Could Ötzi the Ice Man ever be revived?
Replies: 3
Views: 12998

Re: Could Ötzi the Ice Man ever be revived?

Damage occurs first at the very smallest scales. Molecules break, membranes tear, proteins denature, etc. At this point, the tissue still looks great under light microscopy. Then, some cells start to completely fragment, with the little fragments getting stirred. I really don't see how you could eve...
by jordansparks
Mon Mar 07, 2022 11:06 am
Forum: Forum
Topic: I live in Vancouver
Replies: 2
Views: 8958

Re: I live in Vancouver

This post seemed so legit except for the porn link at the bottom which I deleted. Although the poster was deleted, the name of the poster remains and they were obviously a spammer. This seems legit because it's a copy of a post from 2015. If this had been a real post, then I would have replied that ...
by jordansparks
Sat Mar 05, 2022 4:33 pm
Forum: Forum
Topic: Surviving World War III
Replies: 12
Views: 19554

Re: Surviving World War III

Head transplants are coming, so I think we'll be fine by comparison.
by jordansparks
Sat Mar 05, 2022 8:16 am
Forum: Forum
Topic: Surviving World War III
Replies: 12
Views: 19554

Re: Surviving World War III

Many brains in jars have only been preserved with formaldehyde rather than glutaraldehyde. I don't think this distinction has been discussed very much. I've been noticing a significant difference in brains that get thoroughly preserved with glutaraldehyde. They shrink a little bit. They get tough an...
by jordansparks
Fri Mar 04, 2022 7:11 am
Forum: Forum
Topic: Surviving World War III
Replies: 12
Views: 19554

Re: Surviving World War III

An underground facility is probably overkill for cryonics patients. There were many reinforced concrete multistory buildings that survived the nuclear bombs of WWII just fine, even though they were very close to ground zero. The people inside were killed because of the hot air that came in through t...
by jordansparks
Fri Mar 04, 2022 7:04 am
Forum: Forum
Topic: Surviving World War III
Replies: 12
Views: 19554

Re: Surviving World War III

>Do you take cash?
I'm not sure what you are asking. Everyone takes cash.
by jordansparks
Thu Mar 03, 2022 10:44 pm
Forum: Forum
Topic: Surviving World War III
Replies: 12
Views: 19554

Re: Surviving World War III

There are existing brains in jars that have been intact for well over 100 years, I believe. It's not ideal, but it might preserve some memories. I was thinking more like a few weeks or months. It's a topic for research.
by jordansparks
Wed Mar 02, 2022 8:33 pm
Forum: Forum
Topic: Surviving World War III
Replies: 12
Views: 19554

Surviving World War III

There's a real chance that Russia could take us down the path to WWIII. The issue I will address here is survivability, especially of cryonics patients. First of all, most people would initially survive in even the worst case scenario of a full nuclear exchange. Just google images for US nuclear tar...
by jordansparks
Wed Feb 16, 2022 1:28 pm
Forum: Forum
Topic: Questions from a newb/potential patient
Replies: 8
Views: 12874

Re: Questions from a newb/potential patient

We're tectonically inert except for every 400 years, there's a massive earthquake 50 miles off the coast that causes a tsunami with 100 ft waves. There's a 37% risk of this in the next 50 years, and if it happened today, approximately 20,000 people would die from the tsunami. Even though this is a l...