Big Picture Science: Hot to Cold
There are
benefits to chilling out. When we cool superconductors to 460℉ degrees below
zero, they acquire extraordinary properties that help run quantum computers.
Can artificially cooling human bodies also provide profound benefit? Some
cryonics startup companies say yes, promising “life after death” through
cryogenic freezing. While it’s one thing to freeze all the cells in a body, it
is another to revive them. What happens, for instance, to memories when brains
thaw? While we gauge how low human body temperatures can go, new research
suggests another form of life could find home in the cooler temperatures of
Jupiter’s moon Europa. Find out how NASA’s Europa Clipper mission will
investigate whether that moon could support alien microbes.
Guests:
- Steve Austad – Distinguished Professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Scientific Director of the American Federation for Aging Research
- Olivia Lanes – Global Lead for Quantum Content and Education at IBM Quantum
- Austin Green – Planetary Scientist, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
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