Humans placed in suspended animation for the first time | Hacker News Reader

Humans placed in suspended animation for the first time

newscientist.com

75 pointshbcondo71411 comments

> He wouldn’t reveal how many people had survived as a result.

Uhm, I believe reviving someone from suspended animation for the first time is the interesting headline.

Indeed, not saying that even one person survived does not bode well. It's very early days, and if it's possible at all they're not likely to be able to do this effectively for a while, but you'd be hoping for some positive indicators even from an early trial.

Saying how many people survived because of the treatment is impossible until the study completes, because you don't even know the baseline yet (ie how many people survived without the treatment).

This is the equivalent of curing cancer in vitro.

> “I want to make clear that we’re not trying to send people off to Saturn,” he says. “We’re trying to buy ourselves more time to save lives.”

Odd that they would stress that. My immediate thought upon reading the title was indeed: Finally, starships!

It lowers the bar. The lives may otherwise be lost.

> “I want to make clear that we’re not trying to send people off to Saturn,” he says. “We’re trying to buy ourselves more time to save lives.”

The interplay between medical necessity and medical option is fascinating. Reconstructive surgery after cancers and burns. Botox was first develop to treat eye muscle issue.

It's very easy to see a path from accessories worn by amputees to augmentations taken by perfectly able-bodied people.

I suspect this technology given enough time will take a similar path: recreational or practical extension of life for healthy people.

Suspended animation with low body temperatures is very common. I've undergone it myself for several hours. But it's very difficult, expensive and takes a lot of resources.

I venture to say that 'easy' suspended animation (as shown in sci-fi movies) is one of those things that will be unobtainable for long-term use for quite a long time in the foreseeable future.

They claim patients heart was stopped and blood replaced with saline.

Previous discussion here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21583257

I'd hardly call that a discussion...

Reply on news.ycombinator.com