Cryotubes

[Maxilica]

A few months ago I started an AAR that I named "Redder: Mission to Duna". I only bothered writing the prologue and then got too busy to continue it. Now that I have more free time I have made it up to chapter four but I won't be in town for two weeks so I can't continue the mission in KSP (you know, it's a story based on a mission). Until then, however, I've got plenty of time to correct existing science stuff, most importantly cryotubes.

I don't know much about them, but they're a plot point in my story. So here are my questions about them:

1) Can you be awoken by force by Mission Control?

2) What effects would it have, physically and mentally?

3) Is there a set number of times a tube can be used?

4) After the tube is deactivated, how long will it take you to wake up?

Sorry if these questions seem a little obvious and that some people may facepalm and say "Damn! What is wrong with him!?", but I don't start chemistry till next year

Thanks in advance,

Max

Edited August 9, 2014 by Climberfx

[Nibb31]

They are science fiction, so you are free to use them to do whatever magic you need in your plot.

[sgt_flyer]

@Maxilica current cryopreservations techniques don't work on humans the main problem is, the water inside the cells - when cryogenisation takes place, those water molecules would make ice crystals, and kill the cells. (also the cells 'shrinks' due to the cold, resulting in further tissue damage)

they are researching ways to prevent the ice crystals formation which would be non toxic, but currently, all the stuff they are trying would be dangerous for the cells.

currently, the best they could do was cryofreeze a rabbit kidney, rewarm it and reimplant it in another rabbit - where it did function

as for what the effects would be on a brain - that remain to be seen

so viable cryopreservation techniques for humans are only Science Fiction

if you wish to base your own writing works on 'real' facts, you'll need either to inject a cryoprotectant inside the body (if it's toxic, it can have devastating effects upon warming up - due to the concentrations needed to act as antifreeze - that could mess up the cells functions quite badly)

or a Flash Freeze (changing the temperature of the whole body to the cryo temperature in less 0.0001 millisecond - so the ice crystals don't have the time to form) - if some ice crystals manage to form because the temperature change is not uniform, it would destroy some cells - with also dramatic results

Edited August 9, 2014 by sgt_flyer

[EzinX]

The brain is so delicate a structure that it may not be possible to freeze and thaw it, with the cells remaining viable upon rewarming, at all. The same company that did the rabbit kidney experiment actually did freeze a slice of brain tissue. The problem is, ice crystal formation is strongly related to the speed at which you freeze an object. For a thin slice, you can spray coolant directly on the slice and get it to cool extremely quickly (which is how that company did it). In fact, there's a method for preparing neurons for viewing with an electron microscope that basically involves dropping them directly into liquid nitrogen. This method causes the least damage and leaves very clear and intact internal structures.

So if you need to cool a whole brain at the same rate as dropping a few cells from that brain directly into liquid nitrogen, how can you do it? Find a solution to this problem and you can probably make cryotubes work. I don't know of any method that is likely to work, however.

The method that cryonicists - people who freeze the recently deceased in the hopes of future revival - expect to work involves a complete rebuild. They think you would need to tear the brain down and scan it at the molecular, maybe even atomic level. One method to do this is you slice the brain into 50 nanometer slices using an ATLUM (a very thin slicing saw that does exist today) and scan each slice with ~1000 beam electron microscope (a 192 beam model exists today).

The scanned brain would be emulated with a supercomputer built of custom brain emulation chips, similar to this one.

Of course, any brain emulation supercomputer built with near future technology is going to be gigantic - probably office building size.

However, the brain you are emulating did fit into your skull - so a ~1 kilogram computer that consumes approximately 12 watts of electric power is theoretically possible. That computer would be as smart as the human you scanned and could fit into even a small spacecraft.

Edited August 10, 2014 by EzinX

[EvilotionCR2]

Exactly as said above, cryopreservation is science fiction right now, so make it up!

Edited August 10, 2014 by EvilotionCR2

[Tommygun]

You might want to look at Hydrogen sulfide research on inducing Hibernation rather than outright freezing.

It's more feasible, at least for a short time. If you could get it to work for a few months reviving a person may be like getting a short term coma patient up and going again, but that is just a guess.

Edited August 10, 2014 by Tommygun

[lajoswinkler]

It will never be possible because brain has not only apparent molecular structure, but also ionic pulses which need to work all the time. It's a delicate system, more delicate than the life itself.

No matter what kind of cryoprotectant for avoiding ice you use, you'll never ever be able to freeze a person and revive it. You can bet on it.

[78stonewobble]

You might want to look at Hydrogen sulfide research on inducing Hibernation rather than outright freezing.

It's more feasible, at least for a short time. If you could get it to work for a few months reviving a person may be like getting a short term coma patient up and going again, but that is just a guess.

I was about to mention hibernation instead of freezing. It would presumably still allow for quite the reduction in consumables.

[lajoswinkler]

Hibernation, with temperatures around 5 °C or something similar, with very weak heart and brain activity, that is in development. It is possible. Obstacles are technologic.

Total halt of all activity, never ever. Those people who freeze their bodies are naive.

[Maxilica]

Aha... Very well, then.

Well, I guess I'll be resorting to Sci-Fi for this one. Thanks for all your help!