Hibernation and Cryogenics

Hibernation and Cryogenics
Andre Willers
19 Nov 2008

Discussion :
Jessica Palmer pointed out on the 16th Nov 2008 that the primary problem with cryogenics seems to be in the re-establishment of metabolic processes after un-freezing .

But we have an already existing template for doing exactly that .

Hibernation .

See Appendix A

The evolutionary explanation is that during the transition-phase from methane/sulfur to oxygen atmosphere (circa 1.5 bn years ago) , there was a major advantage in suspending oxygen-driven systems if the organism found itself in a non-oxygen environment . It went into hibernation .

At the same time , alcohol was being excreted as a poison (like oxygen) . The ancestors of mitochondria (who could use low concentrations of oxygen or alcohol ) sought refuge in cells whose cell-walls were resistant (but not impervious) to alcohol transition .

Remember , alcohol is completely soluble in water , but oxygen is not . This difference drove the process . Alcohol concentrations in water could grow large , but oxygen-concentrations could not .

Mitochondria earned their keep by mopping up alcohol first and later converting oxygen to ATP . (The glucose and ketone metabolism came after this) . The ketone metabolism has never been very popular , because of the high loss-rate in excretory products , but has been kept as a third string on the bow . (Utilization of fat and protein-muscle reserves during low-glucose periods. )

Mitochondria thus has an exclusive preference of usage : alcohol , glucose , ketones in that order .

From experimental evidence (see Appendix A) , there is a genetic switch sensitive to the concentration of H2S to bring both the host cell and the mitochondrium to a state where all programmed molecular activity is suspended . (The power is switched off) .
But , of course , random beth(0) molecular activity due to temperature does not cease . Uncontrolled and anaerobic reactions still occur .

Freezing:
We get rid of most anaerobic organisms first .
Lots of sulfur , VitC and alcohol (fermented berries or carbohydrates in the stomach . A low acidity is required in the run-up to hibernation)
Then freeze .


Starting the contraption up again is a bit of a problem .

1. The power-plant :
The mitochondria needs to be primed with their preferred fuel (alcohol)
Oxygen needs to be infused .(Hyperbaric chamber)

2. Garbage disposal
The cellular garbage-disposal systems need to be activated . ATP from the powerplant needs to be allocated to breakdown-product disposal before the ATP is allocated to DNA/RNA production processes .

The garbage-disposal uses mechanisms that use sulfur to create the various vacuoles and ropes (cf mitosis) . Enough sulfur is vital .

Once again , oxygen and alcohol is used . Both are recognized by all systems as poisons to be removed as a first priority . They activate a quite sophisticated garbage-disposal system as H2S concentrations decrease .

3 . Flushing
All that garbage has to flushed away , preferably not through the kidneys or liver .
Use machines .
As H2S concentrations decrease , damage might occur due to PH fluctuations . Acidity (H2SO4 , etc) Buffering would be advisable .

4. Temperature:
Lots of water at 105 to 107 Fahrenheit for mammals , pulsing at pulserate(about 90 cycles per minute .)
This is to activate the chaperone systems and discourage opportunistic viruses .

5. Music
See http://andreswhy.blogspot.com “Music”
Play harmonious music so the vibrations can be felt throughout organism being thawed . This enhances timing-procedures by orders of magnitudes . Emergent order .
(A Beth(0.x) effect . )

The de-hibernization process must have an exact program at molecular level to reboot the cellular metabolism . Precisely what you need after a cryogenic procedure .
But its efficiency (ie your chance of survival) can be boosted by orders of magnitude by using the steps above .

Interesting notes:
1. Do hibernating animals like bears use alcohol-producing cells in their bloodstream to time hibernation? This can be tested .
2. Are there cold-chaperone molecules ? There should be .
3. Hibernation is easy . Nature has done all the hard work . Keeping the mechanism ticking over at a very slow rate enables cellular-garbage clearing for a relatively short period (6-8 months)
4. De-cryogenics is a bit harder , Beth(1) intervention is needed .
5. Alcohol-concentrations : we are talking about 1% to 2% imbibing . About 0.06% inside the cell . Ie , the cell-wall protects by a factor of about 30
6. Pulse-Cryogenics : alternate freezing and hibernation to get a better survival factor . For those who are too stupid to design a zero-entropy system .
Try : Life=negative entropy . Non-life = positive entropy . Design it so the sum is zero .

Andre

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Appendix A
From http://andreswhy.blogspot.com “ Birdflu Update-4” dated 29 Oct 2005
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Suspended Animation (the real thing!)
In 2005, Mark Roth and other scientists from the University of Washington and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle demonstrated that mice can be put into a state of suspended animation by applying a low dosage of hydrogen sulfide (80 ppm H2S) in the air. The breathing rate of the animals sank from 120 to 10 breaths per minute and their temperature fell from 37 °C to 2 °C above ambient temperature (in effect, they had become cold-blooded). The mice survived this procedure for 6 hours and afterwards showed no negative health consequences.
Such a hibernation occurs naturally in many mammals and also in toads, but not in mice. (Mice can fall into a state called clinical torpor when food shortage occurs). If the H2S-induced hibernation can be made to work in humans, it could be useful in the emergency management of severely injured patients, and in the conservation of donated organs.
As mentioned above, hydrogen sulfide binds to cytochrome oxidase and thereby prevents oxygen from binding, which apparently leads to the dramatic slowdown of metabolism. Animals and humans naturally produce some hydrogen sulfide in their body; researchers have proposed that the gas is used to regulate metabolic activity and body temperature, which would explain the above findings
Dosages of H2S:
Treatment involves immediate inhalation of amyl nitrite, injections of sodium nitrite, inhalation of pure oxygen, administration of bronchodilators to overcome eventual bronchospasm, and in some cases hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
Exposure to lower concentrations can result in eye irritation (because of the high alkality of the SH- anion), a sore throat and cough, shortness of breath, and fluid in the lungs. These symptoms usually go away in a few weeks. Long-term, low-level exposure may result in fatigue, loss of appetite, headaches, irritability, poor memory, and dizziness. Higher concentrations of 700-800 ppm tend to be fatal.
· 0.0047 ppm is the recognition threshold, the concentration at which 50% of humans can detect the characteristic rotten egg odor of hydrogen sulfide [2]
· 10-20 ppm is the borderline concentration for eye irritation.
· 50-100 ppm leads to eye damage.
· At 150-250 ppm the olfactory nerve is paralyzed after a few inhalations, and the sense of smell disappears, often together with awareness of danger,
· 320-530 ppm leads to pulmonary edema with the possibility of death.
· 530-1000 ppm causes strong stimulation of the central nervous system and rapid breathing, leading to loss of breathing;
o 800 ppm is the lethal concentration for 50% of humans for 5 minutes exposition (LC50).
Concentrations over 1000 ppm cause immediate collapse with loss of breathing, even after inhalation of a single breath.

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