Inside the labs that hope to bring people back from the dead

Murray Ballard

Science has been tackling new ways to stop death, which includes diving into the world of cryonics. 

Cryonics is an experimental effort to save lives by freezing a person's body who is so chronically ill that today's medicine could not help. Some scientists believe that cryopreservation could be successful in the future, while others are very doubtful, according to BBC.

Photographer Murray Ballard has spent years photographing cryonics institutions around the UK and the United States. "What I like about cryonics is that it gives us a vehicle to consider questions about the future," Ballard tells Business Insider. "You stand a much better chance of coming back to life if you’re cryopreserved than if you’re buried or cremated." Ballard compiled his photos into a book titled "The Prospect of Immortality." Below, see photos inside the cryonics institutions.

For his series, Ballard visited cryonics institutions in the UK, France, Norway, Arizona, Colorado, and Russia. He visited Alcor Life Extension Foundation, pictured below, in Scottsdale, Arizona the most.

Planning to participate in cryonics must take place before death. As of April 2016, the Alcor institute has 146 patients.

Source: alcor.org

The freezing and preserving process starts immediately after a patient's "legal death" is announced. A person can decide whether to freeze their entire body or just their brain. "Legal death" is when a person is beyond help and dies naturally and can no longer be revitalized by current technology.

Source: alcor.org