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Cryoprotectant
A cryoprotectant is a substance used to protect biological tissue from freezing damage (i.e. that due to ice formation). Arctic and Antarctic insects, fish and amphibians create cryoprotectants ( antifreeze compounds and antifreeze proteins) in their bodies to minimize freezing damage during cold winter periods. Cryoprotectants are also used to preserve living materials in the study of biology and to preserve food products. For years, glycerol has been used in cryobiology as a cryoprotectant for blood cells and bull sperm, allowing storage in liquid nitrogen at temperatures around −196 °C. However, glycerol cannot be used to protect whole organs from damage. Instead, many biotechnology companies are researching the development of other cryoprotectants more suitable for such uses. A successful discovery may eventually make possible the bulk cryogenic storage (or "banking") of transplantable human and xenobiotic organs. A substantial step in that direction has already occu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cryopreservation
Cryopreservation or cryoconservation is a process where biological material - cells, tissues, or organs - are frozen to preserve the material for an extended period of time. At low temperatures (typically or using liquid nitrogen) any cell metabolism which might cause damage to the biological material in question is effectively stopped. Cryopreservation is an effective way to transport biological samples over long distances, store samples for prolonged periods of time, and create a bank of samples for users. Molecules, referred to as cryoprotective agents (CPAs), are added to reduce the osmotic shock and physical stresses cells undergo in the freezing process. Some cryoprotective agents used in research are inspired by plants and animals in nature that have unique cold tolerance to survive harsh winters, including: trees, wood frogs, and tardigrades. The first human corpse to be frozen with the hope of future resurrection was James Bedford's, a few hours after his c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cryonics
Cryonics (from ''kryos'', meaning "cold") is the low-temperature freezing (usually at ) and storage of human remains in the hope that resurrection may be possible in the future. Cryonics is regarded with skepticism by the mainstream scientific community. It is generally viewed as a pseudoscience, and its practice has been characterized as quackery. Cryonics procedures can begin only after the "patients" are clinically and legally dead. Procedures may begin within minutes of death, and use cryoprotectants to try to prevent ice formation during cryopreservation. It is not possible to reanimate a corpse that has undergone vitrification, as this damages the brain, including its neural circuits. The first corpse to be frozen was that of James Bedford, in 1967. As of 2014, remains from about 250 bodies had been cryopreserved in the United States, and 1,500 people had made arrangements for cryopreservation of theirs. Even if the resurrection promised by cryonics were pos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cryobiology
Cryobiology is the branch of biology that studies the effects of low temperatures on living things within Earth's cryosphere or in science. The word cryobiology is derived from the Greek words κρῧος ryos "cold", βίος ios "life", and λόγος ogos "word". In practice, cryobiology is the study of biological material or systems at temperatures below normal. Materials or systems studied may include proteins, cells, tissues, organs, or whole organisms. Temperatures may range from moderately hypothermic conditions to cryogenic temperatures. Areas of study At least six major areas of cryobiology can be identified: 1) study of cold-adaptation of microorganisms, plants ( cold hardiness), and animals, both invertebrates and vertebrates (including hibernation), 2) cryopreservation of cells, tissues, gametes, and embryos of animal and human origin for (medical) purposes of long-term storage by cooling to temperatures below the freezing point of water. This usually requir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dimethyl Sulfoxide
Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is an organosulfur compound with the formula . This colorless liquid is the sulfoxide most widely used commercially. It is an important polar aprotic solvent that dissolves both polar and nonpolar compounds and is miscible in a wide range of organic solvents as well as water. It has a relatively high boiling point. DMSO is metabolised to compounds that leave a garlic-like taste in the mouth after DMSO is absorbed by skin. In terms of chemical structure, the molecule has idealized Cs symmetry. It has a trigonal pyramidal molecular geometry consistent with other three-coordinate S(IV) compounds, with a nonbonded electron pair on the approximately tetrahedral sulfur atom. Synthesis and production Dimethyl sulfoxide was first synthesized in 1866 by the Russian scientist Alexander Zaytsev, who reported his findings in 1867. Its modern use as an industrial solvent began through popularization by Thor Smedslund at the Stepan Chemical Company. Dimeth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glycerol
Glycerol () is a simple triol compound. It is a colorless, odorless, sweet-tasting, viscous liquid. The glycerol backbone is found in lipids known as glycerides. It is also widely used as a sweetener in the food industry and as a humectant in pharmaceutical formulations. Because of its three hydroxyl groups, glycerol is miscible with water and is Hygroscopy, hygroscopic in nature. Modern use of the word glycerine (alternatively spelled glycerin) refers to commercial preparations of less than 100% purity, typically 95% glycerol. Structure Although chirality, achiral, glycerol is prochirality, prochiral with respect to reactions of one of the two primary alcohols. Thus, in substituted derivatives, the Glycerophospholipid#Nomenclature and stereochemistry, stereospecific numbering labels the molecule with a ''sn''- prefix before the stem name of the molecule. Production Natural sources Glycerol is generally obtained from plant and animal sources where it occurs in triglycerides, est ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Formamide
Formamide is an amide derived from formic acid. It is a colorless liquid which is miscible with water and has an ammonia-like odor. It is chemical feedstock for the manufacture of sulfa drugs and other pharmaceuticals, herbicides and pesticides, and in the manufacture of hydrocyanic acid. It has been used as a softener for paper and fiber. It is a solvent for many ionic compounds. It has also been used as a solvent for resins and plasticizers. Some astrobiologists suggest that it may be an alternative to water as the main solvent in other forms of life. Formamides are compounds of the type RR′NCHO. One important formamide is dimethylformamide, (CH3)2NCHO. Production Historical production In the past, formamide was produced by treating formic acid with ammonia, which produces ammonium formate, which in turn yields formamide upon heating: : HCOOH + NH3 → : → HCONH2 + H2O Formamide is also generated by aminolysis of ethyl formate: :HCOOCH2CH3 + NH3 → HCONH2 + CH3 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Freezing
Freezing is a phase transition in which a liquid turns into a solid when its temperature is lowered below its freezing point. For most substances, the melting and freezing points are the same temperature; however, certain substances possess differing solid-liquid transition temperatures. For example, agar displays a Hysteresis#Liquid–solid-phase transitions, hysteresis in its melting point and freezing point. It melts at and solidifies from . Crystallization Most liquids freeze by crystallization, formation of crystal, crystalline solid from the uniform liquid. This is a first-order thermodynamic phase transition, which means that as long as solid and liquid coexist, the temperature of the whole system remains very nearly equal to the melting point due to the slow removal of heat when in contact with air, which is a poor heat conductor. Because of the latent heat of fusion, the freezing is greatly slowed and the temperature will not drop anymore once the freezing starts but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antifreeze
An antifreeze is an additive which lowers the freezing point of a water-based liquid. An antifreeze mixture is used to achieve freezing-point depression for cold environments. Common antifreezes also increase the boiling point of the liquid, allowing higher coolant temperature. However, all common antifreeze additives also have lower heat capacity, heat capacities than water, and do reduce water's ability to act as a coolant when added to it. Because water has good properties as a coolant, water plus antifreeze is used in internal combustion engines and other heat transfer applications, such as HVAC chillers and solar water heaters. The purpose of antifreeze is to prevent a rigid enclosure from bursting due to expansion when ice, water freezes. Commercially, both the ''additive'' (pure concentrate) and the ''mixture'' (diluted solution) are called antifreeze, depending on the context. Careful selection of an antifreeze can enable a wide temperature range in which the mixture remain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antifreeze Protein
Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) or ice structuring proteins refer to a class of polypeptides produced by certain animals, plants, fungi and bacteria that permit their survival in temperatures below the freezing point of water. AFPs bind to small ice crystals to inhibit the growth and recrystallization of ice that would otherwise be fatal. There is also increasing evidence that AFPs interact with mammalian cell membranes to protect them from cold damage. This work suggests the involvement of AFPs in cold acclimatization. Non-colligative properties Unlike the widely used automotive antifreeze, ethylene glycol, AFPs do not lower freezing point in proportion to concentration. Rather, they work in a non colligative manner. This phenomenon allows them to act as an antifreeze at concentrations 1/300th to 1/500th of those of other dissolved solutes. Their low concentration minimizes their effect on osmotic pressure. The unusual properties of AFPs are attributed to their selective affini ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cryptobiosis
Cryptobiosis or anabiosis is a metabolic state in extremophilic organisms in response to adverse environmental conditions such as desiccation, freezing, and oxygen deficiency. In the cryptobiotic state, all measurable metabolic processes stop, preventing reproduction, development, and repair. When environmental conditions return to being hospitable, the organism will return to its metabolic state of life as it was prior to cryptobiosis. Forms Anhydrobiosis Anhydrobiosis is the most studied form of cryptobiosis and occurs in situations of extreme desiccation. The term ''anhydrobiosis'' derives from the Greek for "life without water" and is most commonly used for the desiccation tolerance observed in certain invertebrate animals such as bdelloid rotifers, tardigrades, brine shrimp, nematodes, and at least one insect, a species of chironomid ('' Polypedilum vanderplanki''). However, other life forms exhibit desiccation tolerance. These include the resurrection plant ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toxicity
Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacteria, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a substructure of the organism, such as a cell (biology), cell (cytotoxicity) or an organ such as the liver (hepatotoxicity). Sometimes the word is more or less synonymous with poison#Poisoning, poisoning in everyday usage. A central concept of toxicology is that the effects of a toxicant are Dose (biochemistry), dose-dependent; even water can lead to water intoxication when taken in too high a dose, whereas for even a very toxic substance such as snake venom there is a dose below which there is no detectable toxic effect. Toxicity is species-specific, making cross-species analysis problematic. Newer paradigms and metrics are evolving to bypass animal testing, while maintaining the concept of toxicity endpoints. Etymology In Ancient G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rejuvenation Research
''Rejuvenation Research'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Mary Ann Liebert that covers research on rejuvenation and biogerontology. The journal was established in 1998. The current acting editor-in-chief is Ben Zealley. It is the official journal of the European Society of Preventive, Regenerative and Anti-Aging Medicine as well as PYRAMED: World Federation and World Institute of Preventive & Regenerative Medicine. The journal exhibited unusual levels of self-citation and its journal impact factor of 2019 was suspended from ''Journal Citation Reports'' in 2020, a sanction which hit 33 journals in total. However, the journal's 2020 impact factor was made available again in June 2021. History The journal was established in 1998 as the ''Journal of Anti-Aging Medicine'' with Michael Fossel (Michigan State University) as editor-in-chief. It obtained its current title in 2004, when Aubrey de Grey took over as editor-in-chief. The current acting editor- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
