Let's prepare mentally for the next conference now.

Will there be anything "new" offered at the Alcor conference in October? [+]. I think that the first thing that will be "new" will simply be the perspective. Every gathering-- regardless of who sponors it-- in cryonics or in cryobiology for that matter-- can be regarded as an opportunity to refresh our perspectives.

I think that we've all thoroughly reviewed the SA Inc conference as much as it's going to be reviewed and it's time to shift attention to the upcoming event in October. This doesn't mean we've tied up the loose ends on the SA Inc conference and the follow up "demonstration" of SA's cababiliites with C81-- but I think we've all got enough of a general picture of what's going on. So-- with that-- I'll be reviewing the upcoming speakers-- and offering some background support here for cryonicists who care to read and for Classical Humanists who read Larouche's EIR every week like I do. No Larouche people are signed up for cryonics, by the way, other than me. They're more interested in immortality through good works. I think both good-work immortality and physical immortality dovetail nicely-- and I call that Classical FutureHumanism.

See the alpha list below for this post--

Alcor billing screw-up-- continues. (1)
Alcor blog-- Chapman points to Newsweek article (1)
Alcor conference-- Harris's topic not tight enough (1)
Alcor Conference-- Oct. conf. features Bridge-- (1)
Alcor- homepage (1)
Alcor- Why have a conference Nov 2007? (1)
Alcor-- billing bungling (1)
Alcor-- board meeting June 30 (1)
Alcor-- end of life optin-- not life extension (1)
Alcor-- last online case report 2004 (1)
Alcor-- Paid speaker program mistake. (1)
Alcor-- Pancake disappears into black box (1)
Alcor-- prepare for conference in Oct. (1)
Alcor-- readiness personnel in question (1)
Alcor-- rescue team personnel (1)
Alcor-- threat of cancelled membership or non-rescue (1)

UPDATE later on Sat. 8-10-07
This doesn't assume that the SA situation has been settled. Maxim has raised money matters in CF and will be making a new post today-- and I'm still not satisfied that CI turning C81 over to SA was right. We'll just pursue multiple lines of problems here-- and ADD the look at the Alcor conference.

Steve Bridge
Why We Are Here and Where We Are Going
30-year cryonicist and former Alcor President Steve Bridge will succinctly overview how far Alcor and cryonics have come in the past 30 years. He will give you an insider's look at where the organization sometimes went wrong, where it stands now and what needs to be learned to get on the best path to saving lives for the future. Start your conference with this presentation and you will be ready to handle anything the other speakers discuss the rest of the day.

My comment on that-- Steve Bridge made a splash in Cryonet and Cold Filter a few months ago with the idea that cryonics should have been more concered with emergency medicine from the beginning, as opposed to transhumanism. He called his posts Wrong Path. This is not going to be news-- just read the Wrong Path posts.

Aubrey de Grey, Ph.D.
Is it Politically Safe for a Biologist to Support Cryonics Publicly?
Many cryonics advocates and supporters keep their views private, for many different reasons. Among these, a prominent reason is often fear about the impact on one's professional reputation and career. Dr. de Grey concluded years ago that he would have great difficulty publicly reconciling a cryonics-skeptic position with his own knowledge of biology and public research, even setting aside any personal misgivings he might have about being diffident on such an important topic. Dr. de Grey will discuss the extent to which these considerations apply to his own career and biologists in general.

This is not a hot topic-- the answer is still no, it's not safe.

Steven Harris, M.D.
Rapid Hypothermia Induction Methods and Brain Oxygen Requirements in Resuscitation and Cryonics
Dr. Steven B. Harris is a medical doctor with board certifications in internal medicine and geriatrics. Many of his recent studies have focused on very rapid cooling of the brain in large animals in order to model brain cooling as part of the post-resuscitation treatment process. By injecting cold fluorocarbon liquids into the lungs, it is possible to use the lungs as heat exchangers to cool the brain without significant damage. Extremely rapid brain cooling from only a few degrees up to deep cooling near the temperature of ice has applications from resuscitation treatment to medical "suspended animation." Dr. Harris will describe his studies and how theoretical models of brain oxygen needs at different temperatures applies to cryonics.

This is probably the best topic in the conference. Along with this, though, we need to review the emergency responses of the people in the cryonics labs-- and nearby cryonics communities for retired cryonicists.

Chris Heward, Ph.D.
The Kronos Longitudinal Aging Study: The Measurement of Human Aging
Aging in mammals is a process that begins early in adult life and continues, thereafter, until death. It manifests as a decline in functional capacity over time, leading to increasing risk of morbidity and mortality. Aging, as defined in the Kronos Longitudinal Aging Study (KLAS), can be measured by monitoring the decline of a global index of functional capacity, expressed as a rate function (i.e. change per unit time). To be useful, this global index of aging must be relatively easy and inexpensive to measure. When fully developed and properly validated, such aging measurement technology will enable empirical testing of purported “anti-aging” interventions in relatively short-term human clinical trials. Dr. Heward, President of Kronos Science Laboratory, will present a complete description of the KLAS program, including selected preliminary data describing some of the best candidate biomarkers of aging.

eh

Calvin Mercer, Ph.D.
Cryonics and Religion: Friends or Foes?
Dr. Mercer is one of the few scholars looking into the religious implications of life extension. In this talk he examines the religious issues at play with regard to cryonics. Religious belief encompasses a vast array of positions that can range from Luddite bias against science and technology to welcoming affirmation of any development that extends the length and quality of life. He examines the theological issues, the role of myth and symbol in the debate, and prospects for how the conversation might unfold. The talk can be useful for people of faith, as well as for those interested in how religion might impact the assessment of cryonics in the broader culture.

eh

Ralph Merkle, Ph.D.
Molecular Nanotechnology and the Repair of Cryopreserved Patients
Reversing cryopreservation should be possible with molecular nanotechnology. Molecular medical tools provided by nanotechnology should be able to scan, analyze, and repair cryopreserved humans at the molecular and cellular level, enabling restoration of well-cryopreserved tissue to good health. Besides discussing the technical feasibility of cryonics, Dr. Merkle will overview several recent advances in the field of nanotechnology, including a recent paper he co-authored illustrating the kind of computational work that is needed to show the feasibility of flexible molecular manipulation.

This is probably new-- hope we dont have to sit through repeated stuff

Christine Peterson
Life Extension: Good News, Bad News, Surprising News
For those interested in personal life extension, the news is complex. We all have busy lives and wish that effective life extension could be as easy as taking a vitamin pill, "One A Day for Longevity." Unfortunately, a quick fix is not an option today, but there is good news. Learn what you can do today to add healthy years to your life. This talk will review some of the more popular life extension approaches, beyond cryonics, because every year gained offers the benefit of yet another year of advances in longevity research.

eh

Michael West, Ph.D.
Immortal Cells: The Prospect of Regenerative Medicine
Since prehistoric times people have observed the mortality of the individual human life contrasted with the immortality of the species itself. In the ancient world, this led to metaphysical speculation regarding the meaning of the present human condition and paths to hopefully improve that fate. In our generation we are fortunate enough to have deciphered the molecular basis of this immortality of the species. The isolation of human immortal germ-line cells and the ability to rejuvenate aged somatic cells by nuclear transfer has led to the dawn of the new field of regenerative medicine. Realistic prospects of these technologies to regenerate function in the context of age-related disease will be discussed.

nyeh-- I don't care right now

Brian Wowk, Ph.D.
Common Questions about Cryobiology and Cryonics
Cryobiology is a small field, and cryonics is even smaller still. Finding answers to technical questions can be difficult. Common questions are: What can and cannot be cryopreserved today? How is freezing damage prevented? What lessons from cold tolerance in nature can be applied to cryopreservation? What is the difference between cryonics and suspended animation? When considering scientific fields that bring life processes to a complete stop, perhaps the most pervasive question of all is: What is the difference between life and death? This question and many others will be answered.

No news

Human Cryopreservation and Critical Care Medicine Panel:
David Crippen, M.D., Tanya Jones, Leslie Whetstine, Ph.D., Aschwin de Wolf


Have you ever been curious about the interaction of Alcor staff and medical professionals at a hospital when an Alcor patient presents for cryopreservation? Neuro Critical Care Physician David Crippen and Alcor COO Tanya Jones will simulate a typical scenario of negotiation during a cryonics case. Leslie Whetstine will comment on these exchanges from a bioethical perspective setting the stage for a broader panel discussion on the ethical, legal and practical issues surrounding cryonics.
Questions that will be discussed include: What is the current status on laws that affect the practice of cryonics such as the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (UAGA) and the Uniform Declaration of Death Act (UDDA)? Where is the ethical debate surrounding nonheart-beating organ donation (NHBD) heading? How do organ transplantation procedures compare to cryonics procedures? Is cryonics a form of critical care medicine? Panel Moderator: Aschwin de Wolf. More background information about our panel.

That sounds interesting.

Harris, Merkle and the critical care med panel worth considering.