Among the great expectations that science fiction cinema has fostered are flying cars and the cryogenicization of human beings. For the cars, we’re going to wait a little longer. But to “freeze” a brain when we have a painful moment to go through and find it in good condition afterwards, we are on the right track, as an article in New Scientist indicates.
Chinese neuroscientists have developed a revolutionary technique to cryogenically freeze human brain tissue without altering its function after thawing. Zhicheng Shao and his colleagues at Fudan University in Shanghai (eastern China) have found the chemical compound that can “wake up” frozen brain tissue without killing it. They published the results of their work on May 13 in the scientific journal Cell Reports.
To carry out these experiments, the researchers cultured organoids, in vitro fabrications of simplified organs, for several weeks. These autonomous organic tissues were then exposed to various products to determine which one or more would allow the cells of these organoids to survive cryogenics in liquid nitrogen.
After twenty-four hours of freezing, the scientists counted the dead cells and measured the growth of neurites, the branches of nerve cells, to assess the health of these organoids. A mixture of chemical compounds (methylcellulose, ethylene glycol, dimethyl sulfoxide and Y-27632) called “MEDY” has shown its ability to interfere with the inevitable process of cell death induced by cryopreservation.
Survival marinade
This sleight of hand achieved by Zhicheng Shao and his team therefore crosses a barrier. Until now, neuroscientists had to deal with the fact that brain cells generally do not survive freezing due to their sensitivity to…
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