Sleeping for months, as bears do in winter, may soon cease to be pure science fiction fantasy. A team of researchers from the University of Oregon (United States) has just taken a revolutionary step by demonstrating that it is possible to trigger a state of hibernation in humans. But be careful: this is not a giant nap to escape winter, but a potential medical breakthrough that could save lives and transform space exploration.
Every second counts when a patient suffers a cardiac arrest or stroke. Lack of oxygen can cause irreversible brain damage in just a few minutes. However, in a state of hibernation, metabolism slows down drastically: the brain and organs consume much less oxygen, increasing the chances of survival.
It is precisely this mechanism that American researchers hope to exploit. They identified a kind of “switch” in the brain that controls the regulation of body temperature. Normally, the body reacts to cold by producing heat, notably through shivering or burning fat. But in animals that hibernate, this process is suspended during the winter, allowing a drastic slowdown in metabolism.
By manipulating this switch, scientists were able to induce a state of hibernation in mice, animals that, like humans, do not hibernate naturally. The results, published in the journal Current Biology on January 6, 2025, pave the way for revolutionary medical applications.
-Beyond medicine, this discovery could also revolutionize humanity’s space ambitions. A trip to Mars, for example, takes at least six months. During this period, astronauts are confined to a small space, which can be psychologically and physically taxing.
World
