Scientists put Mice in Hibernation-Like StateScientists report the first successful attempts to induce a hibernation-like state in mice, and hope the simple process used will work on larger mammals and even humans. Simply spiking the air with hydrogen sulfide put the mice into a lowered metabolic state, and returning normal air revived them. If this process works on humans it could have numerous medical applications, allowing doctors to 'buy time' in crisis situations. This sounds like something that should have been discovered in the 19th century (hydrogen sulfide has been known since the 1600s). Simply adding 80 parts per million hydrogen sulfide to the air had dramatic effects: Within minutes of breathing the hydrogen sulfide and room-air cocktail, the mice stopped moving and appeared to lose consciousness, their respiration dropped from the normal 120 breaths per minute to fewer than 10 breaths per minute, and their core temperature dropped from the normal 37 degrees Celsius to as low as 11 C, depending on the controlled ambient temperature within the chamber. Hydrogen sulfide not only occurs naturally, it is also used by the body to regulate temperature. It is to be hoped this method will work in humans without negative side-effects. So how does this affect longevity? Any method doctors have to lower mortality rates automatically, by definition, increases longevity. For example, patients with high fevers may suffer brain damage before the pathogen can be discovered -- but if they can be put in hibernation-like sleep for a few hours, the temperature will be lowered while lab workers discover the cause and a treatment is started. Other applications might be to preserve organs for transplant longer, to buy time for patients waiting for transplants, to accelerate would healing in patients such as diabetics, and even to help protect normal cells subjected to incidental radiation in cancer treatments. |
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