Vital interrogation of the science behind cryogenically freezing humans is being stifled because scientists fear being ostracised and ridiculed, according to a leading researcher in the field. The cryobiologist Ramon Risco said scientists risked damaging their careers and being excluded from scientific societies if they worked on cryonics, the controversial science used last month to freeze the body of a 14-year-old cancer victim. “I believe they are selling false hope to those who are frightened of dying, taking advantage of vulnerable people,” he said. “Many young scientists are afraid to hurt their careers,” he said. Clive Coen, a professor of neuroscience at King’s College London, has called for a ban on the marketing of cryonics.

Source: The Guardian November 20, 2016 17:54 UTC