Scientists Trigger Hibernation In Mice, Could Astronauts Be Next? (upi.com) 51
"Scientists in Japan successfully triggered a hibernation-like state in mice by activating a specific group of brain cells," reports UPI, which points out that entering a hibernation-like state "could help astronauts conserve food and water, as well as avoid the ill-effects of microgravity, on long journeys through space."
The research, published this week in the journal Nature, suggests even animals that don't naturally sleep through the winter are capable of hibernation...
Hibernation isn't simply prolonged sleep. When food gets scarce and winter approaches, hibernating animals begin to slow down their metabolism and drop their body temperature. During their prolonged slumber, hibernating animals quiet their brains and slow their heart rate and breathing. As a result, bears, snakes, turtles and other hibernating species are able to conserve energy. When spring arrives, the animals wake having lost a little weight, but are otherwise healthy.
Mice don't hibernate in the wild. But in the lab, researchers were able to coax mice into a hibernation-like state by activating a type of brain cell called Q neurons... During their approximately weeklong hibernation, the mice had slower heart rates, reduced oxygen consumption and slower respiration.
Hibernation isn't simply prolonged sleep. When food gets scarce and winter approaches, hibernating animals begin to slow down their metabolism and drop their body temperature. During their prolonged slumber, hibernating animals quiet their brains and slow their heart rate and breathing. As a result, bears, snakes, turtles and other hibernating species are able to conserve energy. When spring arrives, the animals wake having lost a little weight, but are otherwise healthy.
Mice don't hibernate in the wild. But in the lab, researchers were able to coax mice into a hibernation-like state by activating a type of brain cell called Q neurons... During their approximately weeklong hibernation, the mice had slower heart rates, reduced oxygen consumption and slower respiration.
Mice astronauts? (Score:5, Funny)
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Tiny Capsules (Score:5, Informative)
At this point, even the SpaceX Grain Silo is likely too small to accommodate the necessary equipment infrastructure to house, monitor, and maintain people in hibernation. I's not like yo can drug them up and stuff them in a closet.
More interesting applications could be in slowing disease progression or assisting in recovery from injuries.
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> It's not like yo can drug them up and stuff them in a closet.
Why not? That's pretty much *exactly* what hibernating species do through the winter, and a big part of the appeal of hibernation for space travel. Besides, if something goes wrong it's not like you're going to have the equipment and specialists on hand to do much to to help anyway. Just keep everyone in their own capsule/sack so you can seal off any bodies to reduce the stench and risk of disease. Still safer and more pleasant than the
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Compared to the equipment required to keep an astronaut active while bringing along enough food stuffs to keep the astronaut alive while being fully alert?
Depending on what is needed, reducing muscle loss, reducing food storage, and easing the mental stresses of having to be in isolation for so long, this might be a better option overall. Just keeping food safe from spoilage will be an adventure in new technology. The more food required, the more complicated the mission becomes.
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"and *that*, children, is how a small pac of feral cats ended space exploration . . ." :)
hawk
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It already happened as shown in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v... [youtube.com]. :P
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So, they are saying that we may have mice astronauts next?
What they're saying is that astronauts might be the next people to trigger hibernation in mice, after the scientists.
Your still aging (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:You're still aging (Score:5, Insightful)
It probably slows down aging just like it slows down heart rate and metabolism, but we obviously won't know the full effects until we try and study it.
Obviously if we want to send people to other star systems without generation ships, we need to go further than this and freeze people. There is research into this for other reasons, such as preserving patients in critical condition to give doctors time to repair damage.
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the large organs would slow down because they're told to. however, can you control how many cells divide and produce something like your hair? external factors and stres can affect hair growth, but one would be unconscious and not able to respond to the stimulus that would cause slowed hair growth or even hair loss
Cells already replicate at different rates and abnormal cells, like cancer and psoriasis (I have the latter), can replicate much faster. I imagine slowing the metabolism would slow the replication rate for cells in general and that introducing some extra artificial trigger could help even more.
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You're thinking of something theistic. Otherwise completely impossible.
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Despite vast industries promoting quasi-medical cosmetics and supplements, there is one, and only one scientifically supported means of slowing aging: calorie restriction. Solid scientific support notwithstanding, it's not very popular.
The mechanism of life extension by caloric restriction hasn't been conclusively explained, but there are some suggestive changes in people who are fasting. Their bodies respond by becoming more efficient; for example when sleeping their metabolism slows more than someone wh
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Hmm... so we have two techniques that should slow the aging process - one of which is unpleasant, and the other of which renders you unconscious.
I can't help but wonder how well they might complement each other - hibernate while on an optimally reduced caloric drip (possibly enriched with nutrients and pharmaceuticals).
Wake me up when 2020 is over (Score:1)
Good not only for astronouts, ER would benefit too (Score:4, Interesting)
Here [arstechnica.com] is a more detailed article, for those, who don't have access to the "Nature" article.
It's a very interesting development, not only for space exploration, also all the ER cases would benefit greatly from induced (even temporarily) hibernation like state. The linked above article mentions that the certain brain regions control this state and another group in Japan developed a drug inducing it. It's been hypothesized for some time now that all (at least most) mammals inherited such an ability, would be great if it worked for humans.
Re:Good not only for astronouts, ER would benefit (Score:5, Interesting)
Yeah I think the medical uses are probably more interesting at this stage. Putting patients into longer Comas is a thing we have to do for various things, particularly where theres extensive damage to the body and keeping someone awake for it is just inhumane. But protracted Comas are very very bad for the brain. A natural Coma, if someones out for more than a few weeks, brain damage is all but guaranteed. So to be able to put someone into something thats got more of a protective functionality than "brain broken, cant wake up", would be a god send for intensive care patients for whom consciousness would be a torment.
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If a prisoner is unconscious you've pretty much completely voided both the punitive and rehabilitative aspects of imprisonment - so what exactly would be the point? May as well just build a time machine and send all the criminals a few years into the future. I'm sure that'd work out wonderfully.
How? (Score:2)
as well as avoid the ill-effects of microgravity
Someone more well versed in physiology can hopefully explain how putting someone in hibernation alters the fact their body is still being subjected to microgravity. Wouldn't muscles still atrophy since they wouldn't be subject to stress and strain? Wouldn't stomach contents still decide to float around? Wouldn't the flow of blood still be affected, possibly moreso, without the body moving for extended periods of time in a gravity rich environment? Am I mi
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Probably not. If you stay in bed for four months you're going to have a decent amount of muscle atrophy. Hibernating animals don't. Muscle atrophy is a response by your body to save and repurpose resources that aren't being used. Hibernation seems to put all that on hold.
What stomach contents? If you're hibernating you're not eating.
Assumption? (Score:4, Interesting)
"...could help astronauts conserve food and water, as well as avoid the ill-effects of microgravity..."
Do we actually know that hibernating creatures are resistant to musculature atrophy from a lack of gravity? I mean, sure, we know that they're resistant to the sort of muscle atrophy one might get from being bedridden, but is that the same thing, or only apparently similar?
https://www.mnn.com/earth-matt... [mnn.com]
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I don't know of any studies that have actually tested hibernation in micro-gravity, so at this point nothing can be said with certainty.
However, muscle atrophy doesn't "just happen" - it's not an effect of the environment upon the body like rust on iron. Instead it's the result of your body actively reclaiming "wasted" body mass. So even with nothing else going on, just slowing down cellular metabolism through hibernation should slow down the process. And it seems reasonable to assume that whatever happe
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Thanks for the informative reply, I didn't realize that atrophy was a reclaimative process, so it does make sense that likely the PROCESS is the same regardless of causes.
No humans are not next (Score:2)
But maybe a rabbit, then a monkey then a human
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Just give it to CowboyNeal!
And if it works, we can preserve him to be studied by future generations.
Unconclusive and scary (Score:2, Troll)
The study isn't very conclusive and rather frightening. These researchers run a current through a small region of a mice's brain and because the symptoms are similar to hibernation do they call it a "hibernation-like" state. That this state may well be associated with a half-comatose-like or a near-death-like state doesn't seem to occur, nor would it sound nearly as peaceful as "hibernation". Instead do they jump straight ahead and suggest it as an emergency treatment for "severe pneumonia", or lets call it
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The summary jumping to a fanciful SF trope as its "next application" is ridiculous and is prone to bias one against this work. But consider this - what if it is used as a lifesaving technique for a gravely ill or injured patient? We employ brain surgery to save lives, or correct serious problems. We employ drug-induced comas to facilitate medical care. A technique like this could have valuable medical application.
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It isn't about jumping ahead or having a dream. It's what has been skipped. Scientists get paid to do the work and to deliver answers. All we have now are more questions, but not an answer. Note, they only call it a "hibernate-like" state, the emphasises is on "-like", meaning they haven't proven it to actually be hibernation and they know it.
What they should have done is, they should have experimented on an animal, which actually hibernates. Then they should have compared the result not to a textbook's def
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...reminds me of the electro-shock methods used in psychiatry during the last century, only now performed on a smaller scale and yet still as crude - apply shock, watch what happens and from there draw happy conclusions and sell it for a gain in popularity. ...WTF?!
You are referring to Electro-Convulsive Therapy (ECT), which I think is like an electrical lobotomy. Used mostly for schizophrenic patients, but it is even also used to treat major depression instead of drugs. It is archaic and destructive, but it often does make the patient more manageable, just like lobotomy. But not always, some patients will be impulsive and uncontrollable. The result of ECT is the myelin on every nerve in the body is obliterated, and brain damage occurs eliminating higher cognitive fun
No, astrochimp or astrodog are next (Score:3)
Scientists Trigger Hibernation In Mice, Could Astronauts Be Next?
No, astrochimp or astrodog are next. Be sure to pack extra food rations just in case.
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I'm hoping for cats. We could do some novel studies.
Ugh. (Score:2)
Would the victims of this procedure also be required to supplement their bodies with 40% of their normal body weight in fat to last them over the hibernation stage?
I'll pass. I'd rather spend the time playing solitaire on the computer.
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But the computer will cheat against you. You will not suspect this at first, but as the months pass, all alone, playing solitaire hour after hour, the realization will come and then it will grow and grow, obsessing you, you will start planning revenge.
Mental health is important on long space missions. Your plan has flaws.
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If you don't think you can spend a few months alone with yourself without losing it...maybe that's something you should think about addressing?
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I imagine some sort of syrup drip might be the most effective way to handle it - essentially move the sugar stores outside the body rather than stored assembled into body fat. Enriched with whatever nutrients and pharmaceuticals are beneficial.
Maybe even engage in caloric restriction to slow the aging process further - you're unconscious anyway so it's not like you'll be hungry. Might even become a dieting fad - take a nice long nap and wake up completely ripped.
Sign me up for a trial now (Score:1)
... and wake me in a couple of years. 5 ideally.
This finding will light up social media (Score:2)
...researchers were able to coax mice into a hibernation-like state by activating a type of brain cell called Q neurons...
I never expected actual scientific evidence that "Q" is the opposite of "woke".
Could Astronauts Be Next? (Score:4, Funny)
I expect that more mice will be next.
Sounds like PowerPoint. (Score:2)
We've known for some time that the hibernation region of the brain could be activated by having a staff meeting with the boss showing us the PowerPoint presentation he's been working on all week.
Replacement for induced comas (Score:2)
Many COVID-19 patients and other have been placed in induced comas as a treatment. This seems like it could have potential to be less harmful and easier on the body. Hopefully this will pan out and be useful.
Then we can add to the ever increasing list of benefits from space exploration! Tang, velcro, pens that write upside down, hibernation...