Suspended Animation In Mice Without Freezing

Predictions Market writes "Low doses of hydrogen sulfide, the toxic gas responsible for the unpleasant odor of rotten eggs, can safely and reversibly depress both metabolism and aspects of cardiovascular function in mice, producing a suspended-animation-like state that does not depend on a reduction in body temperature and include a substantial decrease in heart rate without a drop in blood pressure. The researchers measured factors such as heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, respiration, and physical activity in normal mice exposed to low-dose (80 ppm) hydrogen sulfide for several hours. In all the mice, metabolic measurements such as consumption of oxygen and production of carbon dioxide dropped in as little as 10 minutes after they began inhaling hydrogen sulfide, remained low as long as the gas was administered, and returned to normal within 30 minutes of the resumption of a normal air supply. 'Producing a reversible hypometabolic state could allow organ function to be preserved when oxygen supply is limited, such as after a traumatic injury,' says the lead author of the study. 'We don't know yet if these results will be transferable to humans, so our next step will be to study the use of hydrogen sulfide in larger mammals.' The full report is available online."

Yeah but...

[Xyde]

after inhaling hydrogen sulfide for 30 minutes, trust me, you'll wish you were dead.

I declare this year of the mouse!

[n3tcat]

We can clone mice. We can cure mice cancer. We can put them into suspended animation, allowing them to live on into future generations (meaning they will probably be the first organic space pets). Something tells me that the rats of NIMH are already in the execution phase of some higher level plans with all the work we've managed to accomplish on their genetics.

Remember this next time you buy a curry..

[cheros]

Premature pressure loss can result in a whole room full of people in suspended animation.

"All I can remember was this overpowering stink" .. :-)

Re:I declare this year of the mouse!

[MindKata]

"We can clone mice. We can cure mice cancer. We can put them into suspended animation"

Looks like we can do more for mice, than for humans ... Its not just the rats of NIMH, Douglas Adams was right about the mice!

thats great!

[apodyopsis]

Thats great, now all we need is a heuristic computer with a suitable monitoring alogrithm to look after them whilst they are sleeping/hibernating. Still, good luck looking for volunteers for those trials.

Best cure for a suspended mouse

[LiquidCoooled]

If you have a suspended mouse, just check the ball hasn't got fluff on it.
For wireless mice, check the battery level and ensure its paired correctly with its base station.

Linux

[MortenMW]

They can suspend a mice, but making Ubuntu suspend on my laptop and work afterwards; that they can't do. It's a strange world

Re:True but...

[$RANDOMLUSER]

I'm suddenly beginning to realize why married men live longer...

So does this mean...

[thrill12]

...I am doing something good to people when I fart [wikipedia.org] in a room ?

prrrrtttttttttttttttt......
"Ok, who left the fart ?"
"It was me ! I wanted to prolong your lives !"
"That's a kind of frank boldness I haven't seen before...."

Re:So does this mean...

[LiquidCoooled]

Hey, you are right of course.
I don't know about you, but whenever anyone farts nearby my metabolism slows right down and I practically stop breathing.
(of course running for the door/window is another alternative)

Freezing mice?

[Wowsers]

If I put my "Tom And Gerry" DVD on pause, I too can create "suspended animation" of a mouse without freezing a mouse.

Re:Old News

[Auraiken]

However, a 2008 study failed to reproduce the effect in pigs, concluding that the effects seen in mice were not present in larger mammals. [9] [pccmjournal.com]

Maybe pigs are just used to smelling bad? :D

Re:thats great!

[MichaelSmith]

Thats OK. Large scale software projects never have conflicting requirements.

Re:Linux

[tcdk]

... it will work great in Beta Centauri...

Re:True but...

[MalHavoc]

Suspended animation because of hydrogen sulfide? This is probably why I feel sleepy after letting a big one rip in my office.

Quit getting in the way of science...

[AnotherUsername]

Wow, this is really new [slashdot.org] and interesting stuff. I can't quite put my finger on it, but reading it gives me the strangest sense of deja vu [slashdot.org].

Obviously, those articles were in suspended animation, and were just reawakened today. Jeesh...Don't you realize that they need experiments like this to see what will and will not work?

Re:True but...

[aplusjimages]

Imagine that playing out in a sci fi movie.
Captain: Crew we are low on hydrogen sulfide to go into suspended animation during our light speed jump.
Crew: What's that mean captain?
Captain: Well, we have to eat these burritos and then pass this jar around.

Enough!

[Fear the Clam]

Enough of this fake "science" funded by corporations like Taco Bell.

Maybe it wasn't the sermons

[HikingStick]

At the Lutheran church I attended as a child, the well water came up through a sulferous layer of rock. Every time the water ran, the place reeked of rotten eggs. Maybe it wasn't the sermons that put us to sleep all those years...

Obligatory HG2G

[dkleinsc]

This whole suspended animation thing would be wholly unnecessary if they had just supplied the cruise liner with the full complement of lemon-soaked paper napkins from the beginning.

Re:I declare this year of the mouse!

[grahamd0]

Sure mice are making strides in the educational and scientific markets, but while you mouse people have been declaring it the "year of the mouse" for the last 10 years, squirrels have continued their predatory and monopolistic domination of both business and home rodent segments.

Re:I declare this year of the mouse!

[dpilot]

Heck, I'll bet we could even come up with flying cars for mice, and it wouldn't take 40+ years!