Researchers Are Amazed by Ground Squirrels
No other mammal survives at such low body temperatures—and could provide new insights for medicine.
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No other mammal can survive such low body temperatures as the Arctic ground squirrel. Its unusual state of winter torpor is now providing researchers with new approaches for treating heart attacks, strokes, and brain injuries.
Here’s what it’s all about
- During hibernation, the Arctic ground squirrel can survive even when its body temperature drops below freezing, slowing its metabolism, heart rate, and breathing to an extreme degree.
- Researchers are investigating whether these specific protective mechanisms could help treat heart attacks, strokes, and brain injuries in the future.
- Initial animal experiments and studies provide some evidence, but a benefit for humans has not yet been proven.
- The space industry is also interested in this research. An artificially induced state of dormancy could help astronauts on long missions.
No other mammal can survive such low body temperatures as the Arctic ground squirrel. During hibernation, its body temperature sometimes drops below freezing.
Researchers investigated whether this ability could be used in the future to treat heart attacks, strokes, and brain injuries. This is reported by the “BBC”.
This adorable little animal lives in Alaska, Canada, and Siberia. It spends up to eight months in hibernation, during which time it survives without food or water. During this period, its metabolism, heart rate, and breathing slow down significantly.
Hope for Medicine and Space Exploration
For decades, scientists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks have been studying how animals survive this condition. The goal is to better understand the biological mechanisms involved and, in the long term, to apply this knowledge to medicine.
In animal experiments, researchers have already been able to induce a hibernation-like state in rats. In addition, studies are underway on compounds that could reduce tissue damage caused by oxygen deprivation—such as that resulting from a heart attack. However, it remains to be seen whether these findings can be applied to humans.
The space industry is also interested in this research. In the long term, an artificially induced state of hibernation could help astronauts on long space missions.
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