Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by chromas on Thursday May 03 2018, @03:45AM   Printer-friendly
from the biohacked dept.

Aaron Traywick, a biohacker who once injected himself with an untested herpes therapy on a crusade to expand access to medications, was found dead on Sunday morning in Washington, DC, police confirmed to BuzzFeed News.

Traywick, 28, was found in a spa in Northwest DC, according to police. Staff discovered him in a sensory deprivation flotation tank, according to his colleague Tristan Roberts.

His body was taken for an autopsy, and his cause of death was not immediately known. Their investigation is still ongoing, but the police say they don't suspect foul play.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/stephaniemlee/aaron-traywick-biohacker-died

Also at Newsweek and the BBC.

Previously: "Biohacker" Injects DIY Herpes Vaccine in Front of Audience and Facebook Live (Aaron Traywick)
Biohacker Regrets Injecting Himself With Gene Therapy in Front of a Live Audience (Josiah Zayner reacting to Aaron Traywick)


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 4, Informative) by takyon on Thursday May 03 2018, @04:12AM (24 children)

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Thursday May 03 2018, @04:12AM (#674927) Journal

    Josiah Zayner did a similar stunt [buzzfeed.com] at SynBioBeta SF 2017 [synbiobeta.com], except with a muscular growth experiment instead of a herpes vaccine. His therapy (if it works) would inhibit expression of the MSTN gene and myostatin [wikipedia.org] to produce effects seen in dogs [soylentnews.org] and pigs [soylentnews.org].

    Feb. 7: "Biohacker" Injects DIY Herpes Vaccine in Front of Audience and Facebook Live [soylentnews.org] (Aaron Traywick)
    Feb. 23: Biohacker Regrets Injecting Himself With Gene Therapy in Front of a Live Audience [soylentnews.org] (Josiah Zayner reacting to Aaron Traywick)
    April 29: (this story) Traywick DEAD.

    Keep in mind we don't know what killed Traywick, but if he was found in a sensory deprivation flotation tank, maybe it was related to the tank or he was on some recreational drugs in there.

    --
    [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +2  
       Informative=2, Total=2
    Extra 'Informative' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   4  
  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by maxwell demon on Thursday May 03 2018, @05:11AM (23 children)

    by maxwell demon (1608) on Thursday May 03 2018, @05:11AM (#674945) Journal

    Do you have any indication that he took drugs? If not, why do you bring them in?

    The tank being related with his death is a reasonable assumption, as he was found dead there. Unless you give evidence, the speculation about drug involvement is vastly less justified than the speculation about the death being related to the gene self therapy. For the latter we at least have evidence that it happened.

    --
    The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
    • (Score: 5, Insightful) by takyon on Thursday May 03 2018, @05:31AM (14 children)

      by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Thursday May 03 2018, @05:31AM (#674948) Journal

      The sensory deprivation tank + hallucinogenic drug combo is welllllll known. Even the inventor/developer of the tank [wikipedia.org] did it:

      The isolation tank was developed in 1954 by John C. Lilly, a medical practitioner and neuropsychiatrist.[1][2][3] During his training in psychoanalysis at the US National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Lilly experimented with sensory deprivation. After 10 years of experimentation without taking any psychoactive substances, he tried floating in combination with a psychedelic agent, mostly LSD (at that time LSD was legal in the United States).

      Traywick was reportedly found "face down" in the tank [news2share.com]. So either he committed suicide, had some kind of a panic attack, or was on some kind of drugs that made him disoriented or panic. Unless you can find of some trend of sober people dying in the tank, I'm leaning heavily toward recreational drugs being a contributing factor, although I noted that I want to see the toxicology report. The injection from 3 months earlier is unlikely to have contributed; just injecting yourself with CRISPR+stuff doesn't mean you are going to be totally transformed.

      --
      [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
      • (Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Thursday May 03 2018, @05:54AM (5 children)

        by maxwell demon (1608) on Thursday May 03 2018, @05:54AM (#674954) Journal

        The injection from 3 months earlier is unlikely to have contributed

        I didn't claim that a connection with the gene self therapy is likely. I just said that the evidence for drug involvement is even less than the evidence of a causal relation to the gene self therapy.

        --
        The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
        • (Score: 4, Insightful) by takyon on Thursday May 03 2018, @06:05AM

          by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Thursday May 03 2018, @06:05AM (#674960) Journal

          I just said that the evidence for drug involvement is even less than the evidence of a causal relation to the gene self therapy.

          You've got it reversed. If there was no mention of the tank, I wouldn't have brought up the involvement of recreational drugs, and would be pondering about how untested gene therapy could have fucked this man up instead.

          --
          [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
        • (Score: 5, Informative) by takyon on Thursday May 03 2018, @06:30AM (3 children)

          by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Thursday May 03 2018, @06:30AM (#674968) Journal

          I could have saved us some time if I had seen this earlier:

          https://www.washingtonian.com/2018/05/02/aaron-traywick-dc-spa-says-police-found-drug-paraphernalia/ [washingtonian.com]

          DC police found drug paraphernalia among Aaron Traywick‘s belongings, a spokesperson for the spa in which the controversial CEO died tells Washingtonian. Heather Shaw Menis says the detective who investigated his death told her twice about the paraphernalia. In an email, a spokesperson for the DC police tells Washingtonian the department is unable to confirm that detail.

          [...] Shaw Menis says a detective told her police expect toxicology reports in six to ten weeks.

          Deaths in flotation tanks are rare, but published reports have linked them to drug use in the past. In 2008, a 30-year-old UK man died in a tank after taking the horse tranquilizer ketamine and drowning. A 2010 article from the Journal of Forensic Science states that a 50-year-old woman died after mixing over-the-counter sedating drugs, prescription drugs, and alcohol, leading to “probable environmental hypothermia.”

          So now we have a spa employee claiming that the police found drug paraphernalia. Is this the tipping point for you?

          --
          [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 03 2018, @09:52AM (1 child)

            by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 03 2018, @09:52AM (#674987)

            A spa PR agent says it wasn't their fault, that's all. And what paraphernalia? That could be anything. And how does it take them 2 months to figure out what it was?

            • (Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday May 03 2018, @01:27PM

              by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Thursday May 03 2018, @01:27PM (#675036) Journal

              A spa PR agent says it wasn't their fault, that's all.

              And it's entirely believable.

              And what paraphernalia? That could be anything.

              If a detective asked about it, it may have had something to do with the man's death. Moreso than a pack of chewing gum or his wallet.

              And how does it take them 2 months to figure out what it was?

              Same reason it takes years to get a "rape kit" tested. Backlogs and delays.

              --
              [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
          • (Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Thursday May 03 2018, @05:32PM

            by maxwell demon (1608) on Thursday May 03 2018, @05:32PM (#675163) Journal

            What exactly are those "drug paraphernalia"? I can think of some that would also be used in administering, say, herpes gene therapy.

            --
            The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by jimtheowl on Thursday May 03 2018, @05:57AM (7 children)

        by jimtheowl (5929) on Thursday May 03 2018, @05:57AM (#674955)
        Or it could be that since the tank/drug combo was popularized by the 1980 movie "Altered States", whenever the tank is mentioned there is an association fallacy that drugs are involved.

        After all, the inventor reportedly used the tank for 10 years before trying it with LSD.
        • (Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday May 03 2018, @06:02AM (6 children)

          by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Thursday May 03 2018, @06:02AM (#674958) Journal

          After all, the inventor reportedly used the tank for 10 years before trying it with LSD.

          LSD was A BIT MORE POPULAR AND AVAILABLE in 1964 than 1954.

          Like, come on.

          --
          [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
          • (Score: 2) by jimtheowl on Thursday May 03 2018, @06:59AM (5 children)

            by jimtheowl (5929) on Thursday May 03 2018, @06:59AM (#674973)
            The implication was not that 'he resisted' using drugs for 10 years - just that the tank was quite usable without drugs.

            That was also the least relevant point.
            • (Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday May 03 2018, @07:30AM (4 children)

              by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Thursday May 03 2018, @07:30AM (#674975) Journal

              The implication was not that 'he resisted' using drugs for 10 years

              I didn't offer "resisting" as a reason for the 10 year gap. I implied that the idea to take LSD in the tank didn't occur to him or he couldn't get a hold of LSD until '64. Orders of magnitude more people were interacting with the drug by the end of those 10 years.

              That was also the least relevant point.

              There is no fallacy in the thread. I wouldn't need to mention drugs if he hadn't DIED in the tank. The association I've made is not simply between drugs and the tank, but drugs and dying in the tank. Of which there are known cases. And as it turns out, drug paraphernalia was reportedly found in his belongings at the spa where he died:

              https://www.washingtonian.com/2018/05/02/aaron-traywick-dc-spa-says-police-found-drug-paraphernalia/ [washingtonian.com]

              DC police found drug paraphernalia among Aaron Traywick‘s belongings, a spokesperson for the spa in which the controversial CEO died tells Washingtonian. Heather Shaw Menis says the detective who investigated his death told her twice about the paraphernalia. In an email, a spokesperson for the DC police tells Washingtonian the department is unable to confirm that detail.

              [...] Shaw Menis says a detective told her police expect toxicology reports in six to ten weeks.

              Deaths in flotation tanks are rare, but published reports have linked them to drug use in the past. In 2008, a 30-year-old UK man died in a tank after taking the horse tranquilizer ketamine and drowning. A 2010 article from the Journal of Forensic Science states that a 50-year-old woman died after mixing over-the-counter sedating drugs, prescription drugs, and alcohol, leading to “probable environmental hypothermia.”

              --
              [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
              • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Thursday May 03 2018, @04:36PM (2 children)

                by bob_super (1357) on Thursday May 03 2018, @04:36PM (#675137)

                Ok, we get it. You believe that he died from doing drugs in his isolation tank. You have good reasons to believe that. We . get . it .

                • (Score: 1, Flamebait) by takyon on Thursday May 03 2018, @04:55PM (1 child)

                  by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Thursday May 03 2018, @04:55PM (#675144) Journal

                  I wouldn't need to explain it over and over if there wasn't so much complete ignorance displayed by other users in the thread. And I blame out-of-touch greybeards.

                  --
                  [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
                  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by bob_super on Thursday May 03 2018, @05:10PM

                    by bob_super (1357) on Thursday May 03 2018, @05:10PM (#675152)

                    Having made your point quite convincingly, I'd like to invite you not to dwell on those who have their own reasons to doubt your hypothesis.

                    You might be right,
                    but don't sound obsessive,
                    for this is just schadenfreude news,
                    and the internet doesn't actually give a flying fuck.

              • (Score: 2) by jimtheowl on Thursday May 03 2018, @05:04PM

                by jimtheowl (5929) on Thursday May 03 2018, @05:04PM (#675150)
                "The association I've made is not simply between drugs and the tank, but drugs and dying in the tank"

                You make a fair point there, but keep in mind that the cited known cases are 1) injection with a horse tranquilizer and 2) sedating drugs + ... + alcohol.

                I'm going to at least suggest that things likely went down differently in this case.
    • (Score: -1) by fakefuck39 on Thursday May 03 2018, @05:52AM (2 children)

      by fakefuck39 (6620) on Thursday May 03 2018, @05:52AM (#674953)

      you're absolutely right. did you know you can use that smart logic of yours with the cops when you crash into a pole on an empty road and they give you a breathalyzer? really fight for it too when they ignore your superior logic.

      • (Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Thursday May 03 2018, @06:05AM (1 child)

        by maxwell demon (1608) on Thursday May 03 2018, @06:05AM (#674961) Journal

        Completely different situation. The cops are not claiming drunkenness, they are testing for drunkenness (that's what the breathalyzer is for). The analogy to the situation you describe in this case is those doing the autopsy looking for drugs. Which they will certainly do; it would be a failure for them not to.

        If after an accident like the one you described, someone would claim publicly the driver was clearly drunken, without sufficient evidence, I'd also object to that. Because, you know, there are many reasons a car can end up crashing into a pole on an empty road that are not at all related to alcohol.

        --
        The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
        • (Score: -1) by fakefuck39 on Saturday May 05 2018, @11:42AM

          by fakefuck39 (6620) on Saturday May 05 2018, @11:42AM (#676036)

          OP: "maybe he was on some drugs"
              -now lets change one word-
          Me: "maybe he had some alcohol"
          You: nuh-huh, the cops making you take a breathalyzer aren't saying "maybe he had some alcohol"

          What are you a fucking retard or something? Nah, I got it. Autism, complete loser, likes to be technically correct, ugly as fuck - socially inept at basic normal understanding. why don't you write me some code to recursively prove you're right.

    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by takyon on Thursday May 03 2018, @05:58AM (4 children)

      by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Thursday May 03 2018, @05:58AM (#674956) Journal

      I'll reiterate that none of my comments on this article claim that "he certainly died because of recreational drugs". But what do we know about the guy?

      1. He engaged in risky behaviors.
      2. He SEEMED to believe in individual sovereignty - the right to put what he pleases in his body. I would have to find a quote confirming his views, but using an untested vaccine is much more of an eyebrow-raiser than using recreational drugs these days.
      3. He self-experimented using his own body.
      4. He was found dead in an isolation tank, which many people have used in combination with drugs.

      The isolation tank is designed to mimic a certain mindset without the need for drugs, so perhaps he did die sober, a rare fatality caused by the tank. But the gene therapy seems like an unlikely candidate for causing his death. I wonder if the autopsy will even be able to determine anything about his use of the gene therapy, for example if he had reupped it the day prior (although research notes could be used to deduce that instead). What the gene therapy incident does tell us is that he is the type of person who would use recreational drugs if their use conformed to his views and desires.

      If we want to take a trip into crazy town, we could speculate about who would want to assassinate him (conveniently pinning it on the scary tank he may have regularly used).

      --
      [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]