Tomorrow.Bio, a German cryonics start-up, offers the dream of a second life for the cost of a sports car. Is cryogenics an achievable breakthrough or just an unrealistic hope?
A Cryonics Vision in Berlin
A small, toy-like ambulance with an orange stripe and tangled wires parked in Berlin marks Tomorrow.Bio’s mission. This is Europe’s first cryonics lab, aiming to freeze deceased patients and one day revive them. The procedure costs $200,000 (£165,000).
Emil Kendziorra, Tomorrow.Bio’s co-founder and a former cancer researcher, leads the efforts. Dissatisfied with slow progress in cancer cures, he shifted to cryonics. Since the first cryonics lab opened in Michigan nearly 50 years ago, the field has sparked fierce debates. Kendziorra, however, believes interest in cryonics is growing.
Tomorrow.Bio has cryopreserved three or four people and five pets, with nearly 700 individuals signed up. By 2025, they plan to expand their services across the US. Despite this, no one has yet been successfully revived from cryopreservation, raising concerns about brain damage and feasibility. Clive Coen, a neuroscience professor at King’s College London, calls the idea “preposterous” due to the lack of proof for restoring complex brain structures.
How Tomorrow.Bio Works
When a patient nears death and opts for cryonics, the company dispatches an ambulance to their location. Once legally declared dead, the procedure begins. The body is cooled to sub-zero temperatures and treated with cryoprotective fluids to prevent ice crystal damage.
Kendziorra explains the process: replacing water in the body with a cryoprotective agent made of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and ethylene glycol. The body is then cooled rapidly to -125°C (257°F) and gradually to -196°C (384.8°F). Finally, the body is transferred to a storage facility in Switzerland to wait for future medical advancements.
The hope is that future technology will cure the initial cause of death and reverse the cryopreservation. Kendziorra believes timeframes could range from decades to centuries but sees the indefinite preservation as a viable option.
Debates and Ethical Questions
Critics see cryonics as either unrealistic or ethically questionable. Kendziorra acknowledges resistance, comparing it to the initial skepticism about organ transplants. He finds encouragement in studies, such as roundworms restored after cryopreservation and rat kidneys successfully transplanted after being cryogenically stored.
Cryonics remains a niche field with limited funding, leaving many unanswered questions. Kendziorra argues that more trials could reveal potential breakthroughs or disprove the concept entirely.
While cryonics fits within the broader trend of life-extension research, its cost and uncertain outcomes raise concerns. Clive Coen criticizes it as a misunderstanding of biology and death. Decomposition after death, he explains, resumes once the body is rewarmed, posing significant challenges. He advocates focusing on cryogenics for preserving tissues and organs instead.
The Future of Cryonics
Tomorrow.Bio’s clients—mostly under 60—fund the $200,000 procedure through life insurance. For Louise Harrison, 51, the idea of cryonics felt like a form of time travel. Despite skepticism, she values the chance of revival over none at all.
Reports suggest the COVID-19 pandemic has heightened interest in cryonics. Tomorrow.Bio aims to preserve neural structures tied to memory and identity within a year. By 2028, they hope to achieve reversible cryopreservation, their ultimate goal.
Kendziorra acknowledges uncertainty but sees cryonics as a better option than cremation. For those curious about the future, investing in cryonics offers a chance, however slim, at another life.
