Human Hibernation

[Atellus]

The following link leads to a page on the CBS network's Quirks & Quarks website from which you can download the mp3 file of the piece on hibernation research. The page also includes a written synopsis of the piece detailing each of the main points in brief.

 

http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/archives/05-06/feb11.html

 

It is all very interesting and potentially revolutionary stuff. A very great many questions have occured to me whilst studying this page and the links to the various laboratories mentioned at the end. Some questions are only fit for a theology or more philosophically oriented forum, but I have two which I will pose here:

 

1. The methods described range from activating a dormant genetic pathway in humans and using a drop in exterior temperature to trigger a hibernation response, to draining quantities of blood and replacing this with a cooling fluid, to inhaling a gas such as hydrogen sulphide or carbon monoxide in order to rapidly shut down oxygen metabolism to prevent the build up of waste products. Examples of naturally occuring hibernation given are Arctic Ground Squirrels and Couch's Spadefoot Toad. Both animals effectively freeze during hibernation. Examples of artificially induced hibernation or extreme torpor are pigs, mice and nematode worms; the former induced using cooling fluid and the latter two induced by hydrogen sulphide respiration and simple reduction in oxygen tension respectively.

 

In all examples, great emphasis is placed on the fact that cells shutdown rapidly and, to all intents and purposes, completely. One phrase used is "frozen in time".

 

Question: what effect does this total shutdown have on the various processes associated with aging?

 

2. Naturally, as with any report on hibernation research, there was some comment on the possibilities of space exploration.

 

Question: how would cells in such a state be affected by radiation? Would they be more or less resistant, or would there be no change in their susceptibility to damage?