4 Comments
User's avatar
Jetse de Vries's avatar

Thanks for the correction. Cryogenics is the branch of physics dealing with very low temperatures, while Cryonics is the technique of deep-freezing bodies (which was the intended meaning in my post). My bad, and I've updated the post.

Expand full comment
Johnathan Reid's avatar

Evolution has indeed produced mechanisms for animals to be frozen and come back to life. For example, tardigrades, nematodes, fish and even some frogs can do this. See https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/animals-freeze-then-thaw-explained

Expand full comment
Johnathan Reid's avatar

Major pharmaceutical companies aren't researching 'life extension' drugs per se, they develop drugs which treat diseases or their symptoms which improve quality of life. Also, contrary to what you say, there is a possibility of drugs which can treat most cancers, targeting the p53 protein. This is a highly active research area, with ongoing trials. See https://www.nature.com/articles/s41573-022-00571-8

Expand full comment
Johnathan Reid's avatar

It's not called "cryogenics", but cryonics. See https://www.cryogenicsociety.org/cryonics and https://www.alcor.org/

Expand full comment