Hannah Jahal

“The Crossing” Biology Article Response

This article goes over how we, as mere humans--scientists-- can now almost redefine how life and
death work in some cases. It explains that there are experiments going on where scientists are conducting
tests on patients to see if death can be reversed. The article starts with the story of Karla Pérez and how
she had a stroke. However, the baby she was carrying survived and they were only able to keep her body
alive for the baby. This leads into how ideas came up in regards to the experiment and how they planned
for it. The article explained how people were killed temporarily, in hopes of reviving them later in the
future through the use of cryonics. It explains that the 130 people involved in the cryonics experiments in
Arizona are still in a “stasis” of sorts. It then goes into accounts and quotes from people who either
survived, or had some stake in these experiments. For instance, there’s a woman in the article that says if
she basically would have regretted listening to the doctors, because her daughter would be in a cemetery
at this point. Hearing accounts like that really helps to back this article up. It also explained things that
people have heard while they were deceased, but then came back. These are the type of accounts that keep
the scientists working towards their goal. The article also hits hard on the fact that patients have come
back hours after death without real penalties and such. It then goes into the specifics of how brain death
works. It goes into the specifics of disintegration. It explains how people that worked alongside Pérez had
issues calling her “dead” because of how much they had been around her and catered to her, to keep the
baby alive. That hope is part of what drives scientists to find a way to revive people through their
experiments.

When I first read this article, I was instantly intrigued. The idea of “cryo-stasis” has always been
in the science fiction world, in my point of view. The stories of people trying to save loved ones by
putting them into suspension, almost, is a very risky thing in the minds of people in our society today. I
find it extremely interesting that people are willing to give this a try, considering the risks and how
unlikely it may be that they ever wake up again. The fact that science is trying to find a way to save
people after death, though, is an appealing idea to me. I think if there’s any chance of finding a way of
this working in the future, experimentation has to happen. If it does end up working out, many lives could
be saved because of it.

Works Cited
Henig, Robin Marantz. “The Crossing.” Ebscohost, Ebscohost, 6 June 2018,
web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=17&sid=7a9b2983-914a-4163-a29f-
2cd2a1345dd1%40sessionmgr102&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWNvb2tpZSxpcCx1aWQmc
2l0ZT1laG9zdC1saXZlJnNjb3BlPXNpdGU%3d#AN=114162229&db=sch.