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Membership
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The Cell
Every human being begins their biological lives as two distinct cells - an ova and a sperm. Typically these cells meet in the far end of the Fallopian tube near the ovary, and as the united cells travel down the tube, cell division starts. By the time it reaches the uterus (about a week later), the two united cells have become a "hollow ball" or blastocyst, which has about 100 cells. From these cells an embryo and a placenta develop and continue to grow. Once matured a human is made up of billions of cells. The cell is the basis for all life on Earth. The innate need for cell preservation is manifested as the survival instinct. Cells are produced by other cells. Even in some single cell organisms, the innate need for cell propagation is manifested as a sexual drive. This cellular drive to reproduce can sometimes lead to bodily harm. In some insects, for example, the male may be eaten by the female after fertilization takes place. Young men have an excess death rate related to high-risk activities that can improve the chances of propagation of their genes. The love which relatives feel for each other plays a role in ensuring that shared genes will survive. Cellular and bodily needs can conflict. Ancient cultures, hoping for physical resurrection, preserved the body using primitive means, such a drying. These techniques did not preserve the cell, which is the basis of life. Until recently, bodily collapse was accepted as a sign of death. A person with disorganized heart muscle contractions would be considered "dead," even though every cell in their body was still alive. The criterion of "brain death" is now used to determine when treatment of the body remains an option. Patients are now revived routinely after laying "dead" on the operating table for hours, while their hearts or other vital organs are repaired or replaced. In the future, miniature surgical robots will make treatment of individual cells, within the body, possible. The criterion of "information death" will then determine the limits of medical treatment. That is, the loss of memory or personality, which is the result of disintegration of interconnections of nerve cells in the brain, is then the criterion for death. With this criterion, preservation of the body by freezing is not irreversible. Many types of human cells and even complete embryos can already be stored indefinitely at low temperatures. Research on low temperature suspended animation was funded by the American National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) during the space race. The exploration of space was considered to be too limited by human lifespan, because of the vast distances which must be traversed.
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