The new cabinetry and counters (with the exception of a few handles) are completed and in use. This upgrade significantly increases storage and lab counter space (about doubling it). This was a much needed upgrade given the increased tempo of laboratory work.
See pictures in the extended entry.
Continue reading "Our lab renovations are finally complete" »
When the Alcor management changed in September 2005 to the current team, we developed a new policy of not talking about what grand plans we have for the organization, instead choosing to talk about things that we have completed. We implemented this policy change because the management team (consisting of Steve Van Sickle, Jennifer Chapman, and myself) were disappointed members. We were all weary of the empty promises, the distinct lack of improvement in technical capability and the lack of responsible fiscal oversight. We very deliberately set out to rebuild Alcor into an organization of which we could be proud, and we were enthusiastic about bringing positive change. Though it is a lengthy process, in my opinion we are succeeding, and we’d like to present a little perspective on the changes of late and on the challenges yet ahead.
A new scholarly paper has been published in the International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Pathology, reporting on work conducted here at Alcor by Dr. Sergey V. Sheleg and Hugh Hixon. The paper is available online:
Stability and Autolysis of Cortical Neurons in Post-Mortem Adult Rat Brains
It consists of a histological study of rat brains after prolonged global ischemia (such as results from cardiac arrest), something rarely studied in the scientific literature but of great importance to cryonics. A more detailed review of the paper is available on the Depressed Metabolism blog:
To expand upon the regrettably cryptic message posted recently on our whole-body perfusion system development, we are nearing completion on building the new perfusion system for whole-body vitrification. All of the necessary perfusion elements have control systems now, i.e. the computer can control the temperature, pressure, flow, refractive index and more. We are at the point of adding the alarm conditions and constructing the user interface. We fully expect to have this prototype available for demonstrations by the conference, in time for the facility tours.
We are still working on the new operating table design, and this perfusion system is independent of that.
We must yet rigorously test the new system to make sure it works as intended. The current state of this project is something that we will discuss at the conference as well, so that people understand what they are looking at during the tours.
The end of the year is coming fast, and with it the thought of tax time and another matching grant for Alcor research. Last year, the Bina and Martine Rothblatt Matching Grant was a resounding success, raising $200,000 for research and development related to whole body vitrification. Now we have another opportunity for our supporters to help us in our quest for better cryopreservations. But first, I want to say a little about what was achieved with last year’s grant.
Earlier this year, Alcor engaged in some long-term organizational planning. The result was the drafting of a three-year plan for development. Our plan broke operations into four main categories: membership, clinical readiness, research and technical development. It considered strategic positioning and facility improvements that would be necessary to transitioning Alcor from a small start-up into an organization that is capable of surviving successful outreach and mass marketing.
During the development of this plan, technical aspects had to be looked at in detail, because they affected nearly every department. Dr. Mike Perry, Alcor Patient Caretaker, prepared an analysis of the current membership and mortality statistics in an attempt to estimate the requirements for performing cryopreservation procedures at various membership growth rates. (See Cryonics, Spring 2006, for a brief summary of that analysis.) Dr. Perry’s analysis told us that we would face significant challenges if the membership grew faster than the technical capability could handle. His results encouraged us to hone our commitment to improving the foundations of our emergency response capability, in terms of both equipment and personnel. Once that infrastructure is in place, then we can consider improving the membership aspects and engaging in directed marketing.
Though the three-year plan itself will not be released in full because it was intended as an internal planning document (and will likely be subject to significant modification as time passes), we intend to update our members and supporters on elements that have been implemented or are being implemented in the near-term.
Progress continues to be made with the new whole body vitrification system. Our metal contractor has completed work on the operating table cold stage, and more equipment has been interfaced to the computer system.
Robert A. Freitas Jr., who will be speaking at our upcoming conference, has just published with three co-authors the most comprehensive analysis of the hydrogen abstraction tool (for diamond mechanosynthesis) ever written. It is published in the current issue of the Journal of Physical Chemistry, a prestigious mainstream chemistry journal of the first rank. The abstract at the ACS website is here. BerhaneTemelso, the lead author and PhD graduate student at Georgia Tech, won the Foresight Distinguished Student Award for his work on this paper. Alcor's support is proudly acknowledged at the end of the paper and helped make this fine work possible. They also have a second paper in progress, with the same co-authors (which include David Sherrill and Ralph Merkle), probably to go to the same journal, analyzing the hydrogen donation tool.
Today we took a major step in improving patient care, in that we filled our new 900-gallon bulk tank for the first time. This poor tank had been neglected for several years for several years before we spotted it on the web; it had even been exposed to the elements since before our purchase in July, 2003. When we finally rescued it in November, 2005, it had rust spots, broken valves, and a large layer of dust.
Betty cost $12k when newly-used and can hold 900 gallons. She cost more than $3k for shipping and off-loading, and $2500 for repair and restoration. When new, these tanks go for $45k, not including shipping/off-loading. We like the price, and we like the added comfort of additional nitrogen on-site.
Hugh Hixon has been working hard to restore it to operational status. He changed the vacuum valve and modified the tank to accommodate nitrogen (originally configured for oxygen); and though we’re still working on plumbing the patient care bay for the patients, we decided it was time to partially fill the tank. I won’t comment on how we watched the wrong gauge, and filled nearly-full as opposed to part-way. …