Cryobiology

One of the most important questions in cryobiology at present is whether the protection afforded during slower cooling can be explained entirely by the time for the cells to shrink during cooling, thus minimizing intracellular ice injury on thawing. One other possibility is, however, that the time in the subzero conditions alters the sensitivity of the cellular membranes in some way so that they become insensitive to injury on subsequent cooling.