X-Message-Number: 26065 Date: Thu, 21 Apr 2005 18:51:18 -0400 From: Joseph Bloch <> Subject: [Fwd: [>Htech] [GRG] Mice sent into hibernation-like state by hydrogen I saw this posted on the Transhumantech list and thought it might have some application to cryonics. I was thinking (assuming that this effect works in humans as it is described to work in mice), might it not benefit the preservation process if this low-oxygen-demand state were initiated in a patient immediately prior to cryopreservation? It could reduce oxygen-loss related damage to the brain. Just a notion from a layman. Joseph Enhance your body "beyond well" and your mind "beyond normal": http://www.humanenhancement.com New Jersey Transhumanist Association: http://www.goldenfuture.net/njta PostHumanity Rising: http://transhumanist.blogspot.com/ (updated 4/19/05) -------- Original Message -------- Subject: [>Htech] [GRG] Mice sent into hibernation-like state by hydrogen sulfide gas (fwd from ) Date: Fri, 22 Apr 2005 00:24:10 +0200 From: Eugen Leitl <> Reply-To: To: The science news outlets are reporting the discovery that mice exposed to low concentrations of hydrogen sulfide gas go in to a hibernation-like state, with body temperature dropping and breathing and heart rate slowing dramatically. Here is a report from Nature. http://www.nature.com/news/2005/050418/full/050418-13.html News Published online: 21 April 2005; | doi:10.1038/news050418-13 Eggy smell sends mice into hibernation Jessica Ebert Suspended animation technique could prove a boon for surgery. It seems that mice can be coaxed into a hibernation-like state by a whiff of hydrogen sulphide, the gas found in rotten eggs. The discovery could improve the preservation of organs or tissues for transplants, and could lead to more effective treatments for illnesses as diverse as cancer and stroke. Hydrogen sulphide can be deadly in high concentrations, causing burns and interfering with respiration. But it is also produced in small quantities by animals, in which it is thought to play a vital role in controlling body temperature and metabolism. Mark Roth, a biochemist at the University of Washington, Seattle, and his colleagues tried exposing mice to air laced with relatively low concentrations of the gas: within minutes, the mice seemed to fall unconscious. Their core body temperature dropped by some 20?C, and their breathing slowed from about 120 breaths a minute to fewer than 10, the team reports in Science1. When re-exposed to clean air after six hours, the mice bounced back without any evident side-effects, says Roth. "This indicates that it's possible to decrease metabolic rate on demand," says Roth. Oxygen delivery By shutting down metabolism, the body's need for oxygen diminishes, which could "revolutionize treatment for a host of human ills", says Roth. In conditions such as stroke, cardiac arrest and other traumas, healing can be limited by the amount of oxygen that can be supplied to damaged tissues. This could be helped by reducing the body's overall need for oxygen, says Samuel Tisherman, professor of surgery and critical-care medicine at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. "Decreasing total oxygen demand during that period of time is of interest," Tisherman says. And inducing a state of suspended animation would buy doctors more time to address the trauma. Roth says the gas may also help with cancer treatments. Radiotherapy works best when the target cells are well supplied with oxygen, but it can be detrimental to healthy cells. Inducing hibernation reduces oxygen demand in healthy cells and so should help to protect them. "A lot of work needs to be done to determine how to use the treatment, when to use it, and what kind of benefits you get," cautions Tisherman. To that end, Roth and colleagues are working to induce a state resembling suspended animation in larger animals. *References* 1. Blackstone E., Morrison M. & Roth M. B. /Science/, *308*. 518 (2005). -- Preston (Pete) Estep III, Ph.D. President and CEO Longenity, Inc. 1484 Main St. Waltham, MA 02451 Email: Web: www.longenity.com Work: 781-209-0249 Fax: 781-209-0175 IMPORTANT/CONFIDENTIAL: This message contains information, which may be privileged, confidential, or exempt from disclosure under applicable laws. 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