Ice Worms And Frozen Rat Ovaries

Murf-Dawg writes: "I found this article about 'ice worms' by linking from some information on a National Geographic Channel site. Seems like an x-files plot almost... Ice Worms that live in glaciers right around (and below apparently) freezing... Anybody know anything about them? I can't believe anything can live that cold . They say the research could help with organ and tissue storage." And on a related note, Egonis writes "In a world first, researchers in Canada have successfully transplanted the frozen ovaries and Fallopian tubes of rats, raising the possibility donor hearts and kidneys could also be preserved in suspended animation for years."

Seen 'Em

[Perdo]

Yes, ice worms are real. They live between ice crystals on the surface of some glaciers. On summer evenings they come to the surface to feed on red algae and pollen grains. "Ice Worm Safaris" are conducted by forest service people on summer evenings at Portage Glacier. I have seen them on Matanuska glacier just north of Anchorage. Portage Glacier is just west of Anchorage.

Frozen brains!

[freddie]

This is the obviously the biggest thing when it comes to frozen organs. As soon as one could freeze and restore a human brain it will be possible to be 'freezed off' until a far away point in the future, when all ailments have been cured. This may make it possible in the near future for people to actually live forever. The progress that has been shown with transplanting frozen rat ovaries, means that unlimited human lifespans can't be too far off.

Of course ice worms are real

[Eevee]

Else you couldn't make ice work cocktails [ude.net] of them.

Frogs have known about this for years now.

[cyber_rigger]

http://www.ecotarium.org/wildlife/aotm/archive/199 811Toad/ "Frogs and toads in New England have evolved an amazing mechanism for surviving long cold winters-the ability to hibernate. Both aquatic frogs,like leopard and bullfrogs and terrestrial frogs, like wood frogs and toads,have fascinating strategies to cope with temperatures below freezing."

I can't believe anything can live that cold.

[Bitsy Boffin]

Humans and other animals routinely live in environments where the temperature is well below 0C (freezing), Antarctica, Alaska, Siberia, Iceland, Canada...

Oh, unless you mean body temperature less than freezing, in which case, yes, that's pretty _cool_ :-).

Can you guess where the editing took place?

[pubudu]

from the article:

Ice worms are so strange that most people and even some scientists dismiss them as a hoax. They are found only in a region ranging from Washington State to Alaska. At room temperature, they disintegrate in 15 minutes. They live in glaciers, feed on pink algae and creep out only at night in the summer. The JASON project predicts that this will be the first time these almost mythical creatures will be observed in the winter.

The JASON Project, the nation's foremost science distance learning program for middle school students, hopes to change that.

By the way, just in case you don't trust the research of middle school students, google [google.com] returns the following for a search for "ice worms" [google.com].

yum

[doooras]

when i first saw the headline i thought it was going to be the consumed items on the next episode of fear factor.

Jason Project

[Murf-Dawg]

I'm reading up more on the site that had the press release; seems pretty cool. Apparently they take middle school students to different sites each year with Ballard - the guy that discovered the Titanic. Then they do research on the sites and turn it into a school curriculum. This year they happen to be in Alaska - Portage in fact - thanks Perdo!

Actually many forms of life....

[jsimon12]

Survive at extremely low tempetures. All use some type of method to keep ice crystals from forming in their body tissues. Some int he case of a few species of frog that hibernate at or below freezing simple saturate their body tissues with dissolved sugars, which really would work in humans as it would horribly disrupt or body chemistry. Other animals use differnt types of antifreeze, like these iceworms, and assuming we can find one that isn't horribly toxic to human body chemistry we might just be able to freeze people for later or for space hibernation.

hmm

[frostern]

that story is old news my friend! :-) read an article about them a year ago or somthing apperently they are able too survive several 100 meters under the surface of the ice. one of the biggest troubles the scientists had was getting to them.. heh..

Already demand for organs outstrips supply

[almightyjustin]

Maybe I'm missing something, but isn't there far more need for organ transplants than supply? Why on earth would you want to freeze them for later when there aren't enough now?

Re:Already demand for organs outstrips supply

[TheLink]

Because of distribution issues?

e.g. someone dies with X different organs. And you can only get one or two to the recipients in time. Many organs just don't last very long.

Freezing without damage allows you to save the rest for later.

---

Anyway it could open up some more possibilities of food distribution too.

Demolition Man

[Grue]

I just saw Demolition Man this weekend. Before you mod this offtopic:

A) It's fictional.
B) They freeze Sylvester Stallone.

So therefore, it's relevant. Anyways, that's a damn fine movie. You've got the underground fringers living at society's edge, the totalitarian dictator with his Orwellian future, chip implants, memory implant technology. In short, most of the requirements for a good cyberpunk thriller. And, they revere Taco Bell in this future. And a Dennis Leary monologue. What more could you ask for?

Josh