Cryogenic technology and the promise of bringing the dead back to life (Photo: Internet) Cryogenics, also known as cryopreservation, is the technique of freezing a dead body or body parts to protect them from decomposition. Proponents of cryogenics see it as a magical technology to bypass death and even reach immortality. They decided to freeze and preserve the body intact, hoping to wait until science developed enough to revive the dead body and cure whatever caused them to die before. . (Photo: Internet) To date, more than 350 dead people worldwide have been preserved at low temperatures at one of four facilities providing this service: two in the US (Alcor Life Extension Foundation, Arizona and Cryonics Institute, Michigan State); 1 in Russia (KrioRus company), and 1 in Portugal (also Alcor lab). About 1,000 people have signed up for the post-mortem resurrection service. In this list, there are famous figures such as Britney Spears, Simon Cowell, Larry King, Don Laughlin (a gambling business magnate in the US) or director Charles Matthau… How are cryogenics performed? Legally, deep freezing is only performed when the patient is dead. The ideal time to start a cryogenics procedure is about 2 minutes after the patient’s heart stops and no more than 15 minutes afterward. First, the body is gradually cooled with ice and injected with chemicals to reduce clotting. After the temperature drops to near 0°C, blood is drawn to be replaced with a solution intended to protect tissues and organs. (Photo: Internet) The technicians also injected the body with another solution to prevent ice crystals from forming, then continued to cool the body down to -130°C. As a final step, the body is moved to a container of liquid nitrogen. There, it will be cooled down to -196°C. Cost of cryogenics The fee that a person has to pay if they want to deep freeze the whole body at the Cryonics Institute is from about 35,000 USD (about 800 million VND). While if you do the procedure at KrioRus in Russia, it will cost you 37,600 USD (about 860 million VND). At Alcor, the cost of preserving a person is 220,000 USD (equivalent to 5 billion VND), if you want to save more, just preserve the brain for about 80,000 USD (approximately 1.8 billion VND). This cost does not include the annual maintenance fee, which means that the longer you keep it, the more money you have to spend. (Photo: Internet) chances of success Many scientists believe that the chance to revive a dead person is almost zero. Because the body’s organs, especially vital organs such as the heart, lungs, brain, and kidneys, must have been damaged when freeze. Until now, the damage that has occurred and resulted in death is irreversible. Due to the severe damage to internal organs and the brain, the law requires technical participants to be scientifically dead, which makes it almost impossible to revive a dead person. (Photo: Internet) Alcor doesn’t offer a clear technique to resurrect someone who’s been dead too long, or a technique under development in the future to bring the dead back to life. A very vague technology on Alcor’s website is described that they will use molecular nanotechnology with microscopic nano-sized robots that can replace damaged chromosomes and can restore individual cells. . It is worth mentioning that Alcor has not researched this technology, in fact they only trade in freezing and preserving the dead and no one is responsible for the patient’s promise to revive. Alcor’s main research is only on techniques to preserve the dead as best as possible. The prospect of resurrecting a frozen body has so far been quite remote and unrealistic. And many in the scientific community even consider this to be unethical.

Astronaut in space. Illustration. Many plans have been proposed, such as “launch” ill-fated astronauts into space, burial on Mars, even used as food for the crew. If there is a problem on the flight itinerary We are entering an exciting space era, in which many hope human’s first step on the surface of Mars will not be far away. However, as SpaceX CEO Elon Musk once said, “If you want to go to Mars, prepare for death.” About 21 astronauts have been killed since humans first set foot on a spacecraft and flew into space 60 years ago. According to experts, the death toll will inevitably increase as space agencies prepare for missions to send humans to Mars. To get to the Red planet, astronauts spend at least seven months living inside a cramped spaceship, traveling long distances, deep. If they survive this journey, they will have to endure the harsh environment of the Martian world. When a crew member dies while on a mission, it will take months, even years, for their bodies to be brought back to Earth. This situation raises a question: What happens to the body of a dead person in space? NASA does not have procedures to handle corpses in space because the astronauts selected for the mission are guaranteed physical and mental health. However, researchers around the world have thought of this situation and proposed measures to handle when an astronaut accidentally dies. During the mission on the journey to Mars, can the astronaut’s body be placed in cold storage or freeze-dried until the spacecraft returns to Earth? The process of freezing drying in space is much different from that on Earth. On Earth, people would use liquid nitrogen to freeze bodies, but in space, a robotic arm would hang the body wrapped in a bag on the outside of a spacecraft. The body will freeze for an hour, become brittle, then the arm will shake, breaking into small pieces. This process will theoretically turn an astronaut weighing 90kg into a mass of only 22kg, which can be stored on a spaceship for many years. But if this freeze-drying isn’t an option, the crew can send off their deceased companion to stay forever in the vast universe. Catherine Conley of NASA’s Office for the Protection of the Planet told Popular Science: “At the moment, there are no specific guidelines in the plan to protect the planet, either at the NASA level or internationally, regarding” bury “a deceased astronaut by throwing the body into space”. The solution of releasing the dead into space seems to be the easiest option, the body will stay on the spacecraft’s journey and linger on the place where it was released. And if more missions choose this approach, future spacecraft heading towards Mars will likely collide with many corpses. The robotic arm holds the dead body in space waiting to freeze. Illustration. Bad situation going to Mars If you are lucky enough to survive on a journey that lasts approximately 7 months and reach Mars, astronauts will face new challenges that threaten their survival, radiation. Previous data showed that Mars is 700 times more contaminated with radiation than Earth. Radiation can alter the cardiovascular system, damage the heart, harden and narrow the arteries, or remove some of the cells in the lining of blood vessels, leading to cardiovascular disease and may end with the death of the astronaut. In this case, burial on Mars would be necessary, but NASA has strict laws about contaminating other planets from microorganisms on Earth. NASA scientist Conley told Popular Science: “Regarding the disposal of organic matter (including corpses) on Mars, we are not imposing any restrictions as long as all are eliminated. microorganisms on Earth. So it is necessary to cremate ”. However, not every dead astronaut can be buried, but in some emergency situation, such as when the remaining crew runs out of food and in order to survive, the corpse of the human. The team can help them sustain life on their way back to Earth. It sounds barbaric, but there has been such a case in the past, when a plane crashed into the Andes in 1972. The survivors had no food and no way to communicate with them. outside, so in order to sustain life, to find someone to come and save, they made the difficult decision to eat the dead as soon as the plane crashed. Biologist Paul Wolpe said: “Although we give our bodies a lot of respect, life is everything. If the only way a human could survive was to eat a body, then that would be acceptable, even if no one wanted it.

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According to doctors at the Central Dermatology Hospital, basal cell cancer usually starts as a tumor of 1 to several centimeters in size, progressing slowly, without itching, and without pain, so people often ignore it. However, they can cause inflammation, ulcers, necrosis, and destruction of the local organization.

Causes of basal cell cancer

– Sunshine: Ultraviolet rays in the sun are believed to be a major risk factor for basal cell cancer. Accordingly, those who work outdoors have a very high rate of basal cell carcinoma and about 80% of basal cell carcinoma lesions in the open skin.

– Genetically modified: Studies show a higher chance of skin cancer due to genetic changes.

Common symptoms

• Tumor lesions: Usually starts with tumors of 1 to several cm in size, firm density, glossy, vasodilator above Non-itchy, painless, slow-progressing lesions may be ulcerative.

– Injury to fibrosis: Common in the nose or forehead, manifested as a flat lesion with the skin surface, sometimes into concave scars, infiltrates, above with dilated blood vessels, indistinct limit with healthy skin.

– Paget superficial lesions: Common in the body. Lesions are flat with the skin surface, well-defined, scaly upper, progressing slowly.

– Ulcerative lesions: All of the above types of lesions can be ulcerated for a long time on scaly black secretions or necrosis.

– Hyperpigmentation: Hyperpigmentation is very common in basal cell carcinoma lesions. Often having a dark brown color is easy to confuse with hyperpigmentation in melanoma.

• Regional lymph nodes may be large, infiltrate little or not.

How to treat

The leading principle of treatment for basal cell carcinoma is the complete removal of the cancer. The choice of treatment method depends on the type, location and size of the cancer tumor, and therefore requires the appointment of a specialist. Some commonly selected methods include: surgery, electrocautery, radiation therapy, liquid nitrogen …

After treatment, it is necessary to closely monitor to detect recurrence (if any) or detect new cancerous lesions.

How to prevent disease

The best prevention is to protect your skin from the harmful effects of sunlight by:

– Wear long-sleeved clothing and a wide-brimmed hat to go outdoors.

– Apply sunscreen regularly and properly, especially the face area because this is an area that is frequently exposed to the sun.

Limit prolonged exposure to sunlight, especially children.

In addition, need to immediately visit a doctor if detecting a lesion on the skin with a lump, a lump that looks like a “mole”; or unusual patches of skin color that show signs of spread, or develop over time.

If detected early and promptly treated, and extensively resected, basal cell cancer has a very good prognosis.

Basal cell carcinoma can cause inflammation, ulcers, necrosis, and destruction of the local organization