In this episode of The Cryosphere Podcast, hosts Max Marty and Rebecca Ziegler sit down with Mark Woodward, founder of Wake Bio, who's applying cutting-edge AI techniques to solve one of cryonics' most fundamental challenges: developing superior cryoprotectants. With a background in AI/ML at Google Brain and Stanford, Mark explains how he's now using machine learning to rapidly explore the chemical landscape in search of compounds that can protect biological tissue during freezing without the toxicity issues that plague current solutions. He's starting with Zebrafish, but his ultimate goal is full body human reanimation. Topics Discussed: -
* How AI can accelerate cryoprotectant discovery by helping us navigate chemical combinations
* The physics of vitrification and why current cryoprotectants struggle with larger organisms
* Wake Bio's methodical approach: starting with zebrafish before progressing to mammals
* Why warming tissue needs to happen faster than cooling to prevent ice crystal formation
* The debate between biological reanimation versus mind uploading approaches
* The practical challenges of transitioning from lab settings to real-world cryopreservation
* How Wake Bio's research might eventually revolutionize organ preservation and transplantation
* Mark's ambitious five-year goal of successfully preserving adult mice and ten-year vision for human cryopreservation
Links:
* Wake Bio's Website: https://wake.bio
* Contact: mark [at] wake.bio
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