Cryogenic experts are exploring new techniques to expand life, and now a recent breakthrough preserving a rabbit brain in near perfect condition has scientists that much closer to putting people on ice, according to the International Business Times.
Just recently, the Brain Preservation Foundation announced that the award for best small mammal brain preservation went to 21st Century Medicine for their outstanding work in preserving a rabbit brain in near perfect condition.
The most astounding fact from their work was that they were able to avoid the general pitfalls of modern cryogenics, like dehydration and massive amounts of brain damage by using an "ultrafast chemical fixation and cryogenic storage called aldehyde-stabilised cryopreservation," according to the Daily Mail.
"Every neuron and synapse looks beautifully preserved across the entire brain. Simply amazing given that I held in my hand this very same brain when it was vitrified glassy solid," said Brain Preservation Foundation president Dr. Kenneth Hayworth. "This is not your father's cryonics."
Their miracle solution, though deadly, was pumped into the animals head in place of its blood. The chemical glutaraldehyde was pumped through its vascular system.
"The result was an intact rabbit brain uniformly filled with such a high concentration of cryoprotectants that it could be vitrified solid and stored at -135 °C (-210°F)," added Hayworth.
The research has been published in Science Direct.
