Buzz
When thinking of cryogenics, a few ideas might cross your mind. For instance, the urban myth about Walt Disney being frozen is a fabrication. You may also recall the fictional worlds of Planet of the Apes, Demolition Man, or Futurama.
Cryogenics, derived from the Greek terms for 'cold' and 'to create,' pertains to the study of temperatures far below those normally experienced by humans. Beyond generating and preserving extreme cold, cryogenics also explores the freezing of materials under such conditions. The field has made remarkable strides over the past two centuries.
Now, let’s delve into ten pivotal early experiments in cryogenics.
10. James Arnott’s 1845 Tumor Freezing Trials
Born in 1797, James Arnott was an English physician renowned for his work in cryotherapy. Before relocating to London, Arnott served as the senior physician at Brighton Infirmary in England. He became the first to use extreme cold to destroy tissues. In 1819, Arnott utilized cryotherapy to freeze tumors in the breast and uterus while treating cancer patients.
Arnott combined 'two parts' ice and 'one part' sodium chloride to create temperatures ranging from -0.4° to -11.2°F (-18° to -24°C). For his experiments, he even designed his own equipment, including a waterproof cushion, flexible tubes to direct water away from the affected area, a reservoir for the mixture, and a sump to collect wastewater. In 1845, Arnott performed the first cryosurgery. He recognized the therapeutic potential of cryotherapy not only for cancer treatment but also for anesthetizing the skin before surgeries. Today, cryotherapy continues to be used for various cancer treatments.
9. Cailletet and Pictet’s 1877 Gas Liquefaction Breakthroughs
In December 1877, Louis Paul Cailletet and Raoul Pictet, working independently, each developed methods to liquefy oxygen.
Cailletet, who studied at Lycee Henri IV in Paris, initially worked at his father’s ironworks before dedicating himself to scientific research. He began experimenting with high-pressure chemistry in 1869. In December 1877, Pictet informed the French Academy that he had successfully liquefied oxygen. Two days later, Cailletet announced that he had made the same groundbreaking discovery.
Both scientists recognized that cooling and compression were necessary to liquefy oxygen but applied different methods to achieve this. Cailletet utilized a compression apparatus to liquefy gases. In contrast, Pictet employed the cascade method, which involved evaporating liquid sulfur dioxide to turn carbon dioxide into liquid form. This technique produced larger quantities of liquid gas and was more adaptable to various gases compared to Cailletet’s approach. Today, liquid hydrogen and helium are crucial to the field of cryogenics.
8. Irving S. Cooper’s 1961 Cryosurgery Experiment
Born in Atlantic City in 1922, Irving S. Cooper later earned his medical doctorate from the University. In the 1950s and 1960s, he helped establish the St. Barnabas Hospital Neurosurgery Department in New York City. During his tenure at St. Barnabas, Cooper gained recognition for performing thousands of surgeries to treat individuals with movement disorders.
Cooper was known for recording his patients' surgeries on video. On December 25, 1961, he received a wine bottle opener designed to remove corks using carbon dioxide injection. He was intrigued by how part of the device cooled the bottle. Cooper eventually applied this bottle-opening mechanism in his surgical practices.
Patient confidentiality was not as stringent in the 1960s as it is today. As a result, many modern experts consider Cooper’s experiments controversial due to their confidential and boundary-pushing nature. Despite these concerns, Cooper is credited with creating cryosurgery, a technique that uses liquid gases to remove diseased tissue.
7. The 1965 Attempted Cryogenic Freezing of Wilma Jean McLaughlin
In 1965, Wilma Jean McLaughlin nearly became the first person to undergo cryogenic freezing by The Life Extension Society, which offered to freeze individuals free of charge at its temporary freezing facility. On May 20, 1965, McLaughlin passed away from heart and circulatory issues. A group of cryogenic scientists attempted to freeze her, but the procedure failed. Additionally, Juno Incorporated, the company allegedly providing the capsule to store her body, stated that the device was still in testing and only a prototype existed.
The experiment to freeze McLaughlin was ultimately abandoned. The reasons for the failure of the procedure remain unclear. Some of the factors cited include disagreements among McLaughlin’s family and minister, the local doctor refusing to assist, the hospital administration declining involvement, the cryogenic capsule not being ready, and the minister’s warning that no laws were in place to support the experiment. Furthermore, McLaughlin was unaware that her husband had planned to have her frozen at the time of her death.
Although technically a failed experiment, McLaughlin’s case prompted the Life Extension Society to proceed with its first successful human cryo-freezing shortly afterward.
6. The 1966 Cryo-Freezing Attempts That Were Abandoned
In the early 1960s, Cryo-Care Equipment Corporation in Arizona was the sole company performing true cryogenic freezing using liquid nitrogen. In 1966, the first human body was frozen after being embalmed for two months.
The process involved immersing the middle-aged woman’s body in liquid nitrogen, followed by storing her at a temperature just above freezing in a mortuary's refrigerator. A year later, the woman, originally from Los Angeles, was thawed and buried by her family.
Later that year, the attempt to freeze a San Francisco school teacher was also aborted because the man had been deceased for too long. Scientists concluded that, even if revival were possible, his brain had suffered irreversible damage.
5. The 1967 Cryo-Freezing of Dr. James Hiram Bedford
Bedford, a former professor at the University of California-Berkeley, died from renal cancer in 1967. He became the first person to undergo cryogenic freezing with the hope that he could someday be revived.
Before passing away, Bedford allocated his personal funds to cryogenic research and left behind $100,000 for that purpose. However, his surviving family members spent more than that amount defending his will and his choice to be cryogenically frozen against opposition from other relatives. His body was preserved by a team of doctors who injected a solution of 15% dimethyl sulfoxide and 85% Ringer's solution, though it is likely that Bedford's brain wasn't fully protected from these chemicals.
For two years, Bedford’s body was stored at Edward Hope’s Crypto-Care facility in Phoenix, Arizona. Hope, who was not only a cryonics pioneer but also a wigmaker, maintained Bedford’s body in liquid nitrogen. Since 1982, Bedford’s remains have been held at the Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Scottsdale, Arizona. In 1994, Bedford, along with 33 other preserved bodies, had to be relocated due to concerns about earthquakes and regulatory issues. January 12th, the date Bedford was cryopreserved, is still celebrated as 'Bedford Day' in the cryogenics community.
4. Dr. Peter Mazur’s 1972 Cryopreservation Experiments on Hamster Tissue
Peter Mazur, an American scientist, developed new techniques for preserving biological material using cryopreservation, enabling scientists to store biological matter for long periods. His work in the 1960s and 1970s also identified factors that could cause damage to cells during the cryopreservation process.
Mazur, born in New York City in 1928 to a housewife and a business writer who also lectured at Harvard, graduated from Harvard University and started his experiments by preserving fungus spores through dehydration. In his groundbreaking paper, 'A Two-Factor Hypothesis of Freezing Injury: Evidence from Chinese Hamster Tissue-Culture Cells,' he discovered that exposing cells to high salt concentrations and the formation of ice inside the cells can cause significant damage to them.
Mazur’s contributions are critical because he identified the ideal cooling rate for each cell type, balancing the speed of cooling to prevent freezing while minimizing exposure to harmful salt concentrations. His research laid the groundwork for key developments in cryobiology and cryopreservation.
3. The 1983 Cryonic Freezing of Miles the Dog
In 1983, a beagle named Miles participated in a cryonics experiment at the University of California, Berkeley. Named after Woody Allen's character in the film Sleeper, Miles had his blood replaced with a glycerol solution and was cooled to just above freezing. After 15 minutes of suspended animation, the dog was revived. The researchers later presented the results at a meeting of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology in Washington.
After the experiment, cryonics companies in the U.S. saw a significant rise in the number of inquiries. Scientists at the time viewed the experiment as a major breakthrough in the field of cryogenics.
The Los Angeles Times later published a follow-up article explaining that the dog had not been exposed to freezing temperatures that are typically associated with the cryogenic suspension of humans. It was also clarified that the researcher responsible for the study was not exactly affiliated with Berkeley's medical research team.
2. A Team at Monash University
The first human embryo was successfully cryopreserved in 1983, marking the beginning of significant advancements in cryopreservation. This breakthrough enabled over 300,000 births involving preserved human blood, stem cells, embryos, sperm, and oocytes. The pioneering team at Monash University carried out this initial cryopreservation while investigating various methods for achieving pregnancy through in vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo freezing prior to implantation.
Research on IVF began in 1971, laying the foundation for the techniques that continue to support IVF today. The program initially involved collecting eggs from women volunteers in Melbourne, Australia. By 1973, medical professionals observed early signs that IVF might succeed in treating infertility. In 1938, another IVF experiment, using a donated egg, resulted in a pregnancy that ended in miscarriage at 10 weeks, but this was crucial for further IVF studies. In 1983, the program achieved a major milestone with the first IVF births using frozen embryos, demonstrating that embryos could be successfully frozen and later implanted into the uterus, resulting in pregnancy.
In vitro fertilization (IVF) has become a widely used treatment for infertility, benefiting both men and women. The procedure involves fertilizing an egg outside the body and then implanting the fertilized egg into the woman’s uterus. Monash IVF is now recognized as one of the foremost leaders in fertility treatments in Australia.
1. The Cryonic Preservation of Genevieve de la Poterie in 1972
In the late 1960s, the Cryonics Society of New York began its practice of freezing patients. The organization received payment from the families of the individuals for the procedure, while they were also responsible for providing the necessary storage capsules. In 1972, they achieved a notable milestone by freezing their first child, which brought them attention due to the media coverage surrounding the event.
In 1972, Genevieve de la Poterie, a child from Montreal, became the first person to undergo cryogenic freezing. Genevieve, who was eight years old and the daughter of a pharmaceutical salesman and an opera singer, tragically died from kidney cancer on January 25, 1972, at Saint Justine's Hospital. The Life Extension Foundation, based in California, was initially tasked with preserving her body, but they failed in the process, leaving her in a worsened state. Eventually, the Cryonics Society of New York took responsibility for freezing her remains.
Genevieve's body was kept by the Cryonics Society of California until 1994, when the 'Chatsworth Disaster' took place. This incident involved the failure of a vacuum pump at the storage facility, where many bodies, including Genevieve's, were kept. The malfunction resulted in the destruction of numerous preserved bodies.
