
Peter Lyon, JD Candidate at the University of Minnesota Law School and Research Assistant supporting the Ethics & Public Policy component of the NSF-supported ATP-Bio project with the Consortium on Law and Values, has published an analysis of the legal and policy issues that would be raised by future whole-human cryopreservation. Cryopreservation of human beings might prove useful in future space travel or medical care. The article entitled, “Let’s Be Cool About It: Anticipating Proper, Whole-Human Cryopreservation and the Necessary Oversight for Adequate Consumer Protection,” appears in the current issue of the Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology. Lyon describes advances in longer-term cryopreservation, noting that while the necessary technology to cryopreserve and then reanimate humans is years away, the knowledge gap is closing. He makes the case that the ethical, legal, and societal issues related to human cryopreservation require analysis to prepare for this disruptive new technology. Lyon also draws a distinction between poorly regulated practices in cryonics and future research-based and properly regulated application of cryopreservation.