Friday, April 22, 2005
The Not-Quite-As-Big Sleep
Hibernation chambers and such have long been mainstays of science fiction, allowing adventurers to bridge huge gaps of space without carrying excess supplies and keeping victims alive until a cure can be found. In the April 22 issue of Science, a team of researchers reports findings that could start turning this fiction into reality. The group found that when mice are exposed to a mere 80 ppm of hydrogen sulfide in air, they quickly dropped into a hibernating state, something mice do not ordinarily do. It doesn't say, but I wonder what the brain activity is in this state - would people similarly treated dream, or simply 'dead-head?' I'm very interested to see more!
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