Cryonics Cryonics is the practice of cryopreserving a legally dead person or animal for possible revival if and when future

science can cure all disease, can rejuvenate to a condition of perpetual youth and can reverse all damage due to the cryopreservation process. Vocabulary Match the word and the correct definition 1. Cessation (n) 2. Gamble (v) a) books, films or cartoons about an imagined future, especially about space travel or other planets b) a process of converting a material into a glass-like amorphous solid which is free of any crystalline structure c) to make someone look or feel young and energetic again d) ending or stopping e) based on a guess and not on information f) the transformation of a glass-forming liquid into a glass, which usually occurs upon rapid cooling g) when something that had disappeared or ended is brought back into use or existence h) certain to happen and unable to be avoided or prevented i) an area of science which deals with developing and producing extremely small tools and machines by controlling the arrangement of separate atoms j) give new life or energy to something k) to make something last a longer time l) a person who is one of the first people to do something m) when someone or something stops something from happening for a short period n) to do something risky that might result in loss of money or failure, hoping to get money or achieve success

3. Glass transition temperature 4. Inevitable (adj) 5. Interruption (n) 6. Nano technology (n) 7. Pioneers (n) 8. Prolong (v) 9. Reanimation (n)

10. Rejuvenate (v) 11. Resurrection 12. Science fiction (n) 13. Speculative (n) 14. Vitrification (n)

Watch the video and answer the questions. 1. What are people preserved in? 2. How many organisations currently offer Cryogenic freezing?

3. How many people are already frozen? 4. Why did Anita Riskin chose to be frozen?

5. You can suspend the whole body or just one other body part. What other body part? 6. How much does it cost to freeze a body? 7. What is the major problem with freezing the body? 8. Why are cryoprotective additives added to the body? 9. What is the first thing Anita wants to eat when she is reanimated? 10. What does the stabilisation procedure do? 11. What is the first part of the body to die first? 12. What is the last thing to go when a person dies? 13. In the team of 8 people performing the cryogenic procedure how many have medical background? 14. What percentage of the body is water? 15. What happens to the skin when it receives the cryogenic protectant? What is fracturing? 16. What happens during Rapid Cool Down? 17. Will cryonics definitely work?

Questions for discussion What is cryonics ? Why Life Extension? Is physical immortality possible ? Why would anyone want to live forever or thousands of years ? Wouldn't it be boring to live thousands of years or more ? Won't cryonics overpopulate the Earth ? Why would future society want to reanimate cryopreserved persons ? How would we adapt to future society ? What if the future is horrible, dystopian or totalitarian ? How could I live in the future without the people I love ? Is cryonics trying to "cheat death" ? Is cryonics promoting false hope ? Doesn't death give meaning to life ? Doesn't death give closure ? If lifespans are greatly increased, will people stop taking risks ? Is there a conflict between religion and cryonics ? Where does the soul go when a person is cryopreserved ? Is cryonics trying to "play God" ? Doesn't God intend for humans to die ? If personal identity resides in a material brain, couldn't the brain (and identity) be duplicated ? Wouldn't it be simpler to upload the mind to a computer ? Is it immoral to practice cryonics when people are starving ? Is cryonics selfish or egotistical ? Isn't it better to leave money to relatives when the success of cryonics is so uncertain? Why would a person who is old and sick with diseases of old age want to be cryopreserved? What is aging and why should it be regarded as a curable disease ? How can a legally dead person have a valid contract for cryopreservation ?

Stream video at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1598612092045110436&hl=en Or use keepvid.com to download by copy and pasting the url Answers Vocab 1. D 2. N 3. F 4. H

5. 6. 7. 8.

M I L K

9. J 10. C 11. G 12. A

13. E 14. B

Video Questions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. What are people preserved in? Liquid Nitrogen How many organisations currently offer Cryogenic freezing? 2 How many people are already frozen? 147 already frozen Why did Anita Riskin chose to be frozen? She was dying of cancer You can suspend the wh0le body or just one other body part. What other body part? The head 6. How much does it cost to freeze a body? 80,000 7. What is the major problem with freezing the body? It causes extensive molecular damage 8. Why are cryoprotective additives added to the body? To protect against ice crystals 9. What is the first thing Anita wants to eat when she is reanimated? Spaghetti and meatballs 10. What does the stabilisation procedure do? Stops cellular decomposition by oxygen deprivation 11. What is the first part of the body to die first? The brain cells 12. What is the last thing to go when a person dies? The hearing 13. In the team of 8 people performing the cryogenic procedure how many have medical background? 2 14. What percentage of the body is water? 72% 15. What happens to the skin when it receives the cryogenic protectant? It turns yellow 16. What is fracturing? The splitting of cells/organs/bones 17. What happens during Rapid Cool Down? Liquid Nitrogen is pumped inside the pod containing the body 18. Will cryonics definitely work? There is no definitive answer