A research team from Japan has caused a hibernation-like state in mice. Perhaps this is a step towards immersing a person in it.
As you know, mice do not naturally hibernate like some other animal species. In the course of their experiment, the scientists activated groups of neurons called Q-neurons in the rodents' brains, thereby causing them to hibernate for several days.
During this period, all the typical effects of this kind of condition were observed in mice. Body temperature dropped from 36 to 27 degrees Celsius. And the body functioned normally even at a lower temperature of about 22 degrees when the ambient temperature dropped markedly. The mice also had a slowed metabolism and a slowed heart rate, common indicators for hibernating animals. According to one of the leaders of the experiment, Takeshi Sakurai, the mice had all the qualities characteristic of a state of hibernation.
Scientists say that these results are very surprising, since they were only achieved by acting on a specific group of neurons. Now the main question is if it is possible to immerse a person in such a state. But so far, researchers don't know if a person also has such Q-neurons. According to study co-author Genshiro Sunagawa, such an artificial state of hibernation could help, for example, when transporting a patient in critical condition.
It is worth noting that immersion in hibernation is also a dream of science fiction writers. You can recall "A Space Odyssey of 2001" by Arthur Clarke, where the astronauts were in a similar state on their journey.
Author: Ivan Bark