Hello, readers and writers! Remi here again, comin' atcha' with another out-of-the-blue question. I'm writing a quasi-science-fiction story, and I'm hoping that someone can clear this up for me if they happen to be knowledgeable at all in this field: what are some of the effects of cryostasis on the body? For those of you who might not know what this is, this is the process in which an individual is kept cryogenically frozen, yet alive, for some amount of time. I wish to ask, what would you expect to happen to someone who is kept frozen like this for, say, two thousand years? Would they have to be supplied nutrients somehow, to keep their bodies alive? Or would they be perfectly preserved? Thank you for taking the time to read this message, and I hope to hear from anyone soon ^^
Considering this is an entirely speculative science, you could probably get away with it working however you wanted to. In real life, though, we've as yet been unable to bring anyone out of a cryogenic freezing alive. The biggest problem is that water, which our bodies posses a surprising amount, likes to crystallize when it freezes and this likes to absolutely shred our cell walls and basically kills tissue on it's most basic level, and the longer a body is frozen, the larger these crystals like to get. So, maybe addressing that problem and the feeding problem with a hyper-nutrient bath that prevents water crystallization could be a "solution." But to be honest, most sci-fi just hand waves it. In 3001, the third book to the Space Odyssey franchise (spoilers), Frank Poole, the guy that got shot off into space in 2001, is recovered and revived and basically all they say is he was frozen because space is cold.
I agree, do whatever you want since the technology is both not existent and not even close. Currently, if you freeze a body, the main result would be freezer burn. Most of your cells are water, and water expands when frozen, destroying the cells.
We regularly cryogenically freeze things on a day to day basis. For example fruit, veg. Meat and Fish etc. But what I always find is that when I come to defrost the meat and veg etc, they aren't entirely the same as if I had cooked them fresh. This is because the freezing process actually breaks down the cells within the plan/animal essentially a form of cooking. I think also that a lot of the water stored in cells makes it's way to the outside of the plant/meat and when thawed out there is a massive puddle of juice. If you want to make your Sci/fi version of human cryostasis, then one of the side-effects could be extreme dehydration for the reasons mentioned above. You could even have it that every time the person is put in cryostasis, they are changed in someway just as explained above. So that maybe a part of them dies each time. Could be amnesia the hair might, nails skin etc fall out etc.... These to me seem plausible side-effects.
There's a host of reasons why you can't turn humans into popsicles. Animals in the wild that survive short term freezing usually have something akin to anti-freeze mixed in their blood... we have no such thing. The foremost problem with freezing humans is, cell damage. Cell walls will crystalize, and once thawed out will turn to mush.
I concur with the above comments but would like to point out something. All humans who have been cryogenically frozen have been frozen after they died, usually over an hour after. The route I would go, is a flash freeze (process takes about a second (ideally less) to complete), with an end temperature of 0 Kelvin. That ensures that all processes are effectively halted. Molecule, atoms, and even electrons would barely move. There are two reasons for these, first, a flash freeze might halt electrical impulses, thereby ensuring that upon attempted revival the body may begin to function again. If all electrical impulses dissapated (as in no neural activity), it would be impossible to restart them (That is why modern attempts are failing, we can't bring back the dead, and unless you can freeze simultaneously freeze all electrical impulses during travel, and simultaneously de-thaw them, you will not be able to revive the subject). Second, no matter how cold it is, the body will break down. Some cellular machinery is very delicate and requires constant upkeep. Even at 0 Kelvin, this would be the case, but it would significantly slowed. Just my 2 cents coming from a STEM major. For side effects, it would mostly be psychological at that level, but there could always be a foul up in the dethawing process that leaves them with a personality change or some sort twitch.
Thank you all for your feedback on this question-it is greatly appreciated! I will especially consider Masterful Misanthrope's advice, as well as the whole anti-freeze-in-the-blood thing...this will help nicely!
