Via the transhumantech list, signs of movement from the world of cryonics research:

Suspended Animation will be hosting a special meeting at the end of May, 2007 to disseminate important new information about cryonics research & development, and services.

Under the broad title "Advances in Human Cryopreservation," we will present progress reports from a wide range of sources including 21st Century Medicine, Critical Care Research, Suspended Animation, Alcor Foundation, The Cryonics Institute, and the American Cryonics Society. The presentations will be entirely new-not derived from speeches that have been delivered elsewhere.

From the rather attractive PDF-format meeting materials:

We will provide information about the most ambitious research plan in the history of cryobiology, describing stage one of an unprecedented effort to achieve reversible whole-body vitrification without the need for cell repair via [future] nanotechnology.

That's a pretty bold plan, given the current state of thinking on and practice of cryonics; I look forward to seeing more of the details.

As the attention of more of the older members of the healthy life extension community turns - sensibly - to cryonics, it will be most interesting to see how an increased flow of support and funding translates into research and a plan for future development, growth and professionalism. Younger folk can hope to engineer a future of rejuvenating biotechnology - such as that proposed by the Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence - that will rescue us before we die from old age. A good backup plan is a good backup plan, however, and we should be glad that a fair number of people are working on that.

Technorati tags: cryonics, life extension