Re: extropians-digest V5 #30

From: Eugene Leitl (eugene.leitl@lrz.uni-muenchen.de)
Date: Mon Jan 31 2000 - 16:37:51 MST


Tim Ventura writes:

> My understanding of this is that other animals have substances that
> their bodies produce that help to shield them against some of the
> effects of freezing. When you really think about it, getting water to

We're not talking Fahrenheit here. Body temp is 37 deg C, 30 deg C is
just 6 K lower. Body fluids start to freeze at ~0 deg C (~273 K).

Freezing injury != chilling injury. For instance, unless pH is
adjusted, the heart starts to fibrillate slightly below 30 deg
C. (With pH adjustment and other supportive drugs you can get a
heartbeat (i.e. not just electocardiac potentials) ~12-14 deg C in
dogs).

> NOT assume to standard crystalline-lattice should be as easy in its
> own as way as raising the boiling point of water--it should just be an

Actually, the jury is still out whether adding cryoprotectants in
concentrations necessary for cryopreservation actually changes the
crystal lattice.

> issue of adding the right substance in the right concentration to
> it. But then again I'm not a chemist.

The field is cryobiology, not chemistry.

> Tim
>



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