Out Cold

May 1, 2021
An enthusiastic pop-science account of extreme cold, especially as it applies to humans. Writer and neuroscientist Jaekl reminds readers that until a few centuries ago, cold was considered a mysterious entity, perhaps a fluid, inherent in living matter. Once it was explained through atomic theory (and thermometers were invented in the early 1700s), experiments began in earnest. Today, "we continue to use cold to explore the nature of our very existence; it remains instrumental in shaping our definitions of life, death, and consciousness." Everyone, the author included, loves stories of individuals who survive after apparently freezing to death. Aware that tiny worms return to life after being frozen, scientists in the 18th and 19th centuries froze innumerable higher animals, including dogs and monkeys, but none survived. In the 20th century, researchers developed techniques to chill patients, allowing surgeons to stop circulation during a long operation without causing brain damage. This usually works, but heart-lung machines work better. Chilling also allows isolated organs to survive longer before being transplanted. Pop-science fans will especially enjoy Jaekl's discussion of modern high-tech fascinations, including cryonics, suspended animation, and human hibernation during space travel. Cryonics involves freezing and storing a corpse, hoping that future, technologically advanced humans will develop the means to revive it. The author delivers a fascinating yet often ghastly history of early cryonics, now a mature industry, although revival remains a long shot. Readers may roll their eyes as Jaekl discusses head transplants, a procedure investigated by a few serious scientists with unimpressive results, but the author concludes with an endorsement of therapeutic hypothermia. While it is still considered experimental, the procedure is often employed as a last resort to treat strokes, asphyxia in newborns, and severe seizures and to provide neuroprotection after a cardiac arrest. A pleasing mixture of oddball and solid science, perfect for fans of Mary Roach and Sam Kean.

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July 1, 2021

With this debut, science writer Jaekl traces humanity's confrontation with death by freezing, as well as the intriguing non-lethal effects of hypothermia. He recounts the long history of intentionally induced hypothermia; for instance, ancient peoples used cold compresses therapeutically to relieve symptoms of disease, although the use of cold in medicine was hampered by the difficulty of producing low temperatures on demand, as well as controlling the effects. Early cold therapies for "moral and mental disorders" amounted to torture, and true scientific applications did not arrive until the 20th century, Jaekl explains. The academic field of cryobiology explores what happens to animals at progressively lower internal body temperatures; it has yielded benefits for surgery, resuscitation from hypothermia, and possibly for space travel through pseudo-hibernation and lowered metabolic state. Efforts to freeze the body (in effect, to stop time) for future reanimation have thus far resulted only in modern-day horror stories, Jaekl writes; however, he sees theoretical promise in the idea of transferring the brain's neural connection patterns to an artificial intelligence. Jaekl delights in the juicy details of his subject--the intriguing, the improbable, the macabre--and delivers a multifaceted exploration of the effects of cold on the human body and mind. VERDICT Fans of medical history or unexplained phenomena might enjoy Jaekl's book, given our still-limited understanding of hypothermia.--Wade Lee-Smith, Univ. of Toledo Lib.

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