Used in medical emergency assistance for space exploration scientists to develop human hibernation drugs

Used in medical emergency assistance for space exploration scientists to develop human hibernation drugs

October 25, 2018 Source: Science and Technology Daily Author: Liu Xia

Window._bd_share_config={ "common":{ "bdSnsKey":{ },"bdText":"","bdMini":"2","bdMiniList":false,"bdPic":"","bdStyle":" 0","bdSize":"16"},"share":{ }};with(document)0[(getElementsByTagName('head')[0]||body).appendChild(createElement('script')) .src='http://bdimg.share.baidu.com/static/api/js/share.js?v=89860593.js?cdnversion='+~(-new Date()/36e5)];

Bears will hibernate, marmots, squirrels, sea turtles and other animals will hibernate, but human beings as the spirit of all things will not – at least not now.

However, this situation may be slowly changing. According to a recent report by the National Broadcasting Corporation, scientists who delve into the genes of animal hibernation believe that they may allow humans to release the same biological superpowers. Such miracles are not only expected to improve the level of medical services, but also help astronauts to go to sleep. Mars and other deep space destinations.

Hibernation ability or exist in human genes

Scientists believe that the ability to hibernate first appeared in the first generation of distant mammals, a furry arboreal that lived 65 million years ago, and eventually passed on to most modern mammals, including humans. If this idea is correct, then the secret of hibernation may lurk in the human genome.

Anne Yaode, a biologist who studies hibernation at Duke University in the United States, said: "It sounds like a science fiction story, but it contains absolute biological truth. We use a variety of comparative genomics methods and others. Means to understand the universality of animals. Almost all researchers in the field believe that the ability to hibernate comes from the ancestors of mammals, but most mammals now lose this ability, or just use it."

Not only prolong sleep but also protect

Hibernation is not just about prolonging sleep. Hibernation can cause significant changes in metabolism, including decreased body temperature, decreased heart rate, and slower breathing. During the few weeks of hibernation, the body temperature of some warm-blooded animals will drop from 37 ° C to 3 ° C. The heart rate per minute is only a few times, and the energy consumption of the body will drop significantly.

Of particular interest to scientists is what kind of mechanism helps hibernating animals quickly “resurveate with blood” after waking up, avoiding health problems that may occur after weeks of human bed rest, such as osteoporosis, cardiovascular problems, and Muscle atrophy and so on.

At least since 2002, emergency physicians have begun to explore the protective effects of hibernation: they use ice packs and cooling blankets to temporarily reduce the body temperature of patients with heart disease, brain damage, stroke, and shock. Simply lowering the patient's temperature by a few degrees will slow down the metabolism, relieve swelling, and delay brain cell death, usually caused by insufficient blood supply, to protect the patient's brain.

But according to Hannah Kelly, a professor of comparative biology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the goal of the scientists is to replace the crude cooling techniques with a "natural, safe, reversible" process, because these technologies can cause blood. Coagulates and interferes with the immune response.

Kelly's lab is working with Forna Biopharmaceuticals (Funa) to share hibernation data. Forna is a startup company dedicated to researching human hibernation drugs. The company’s chief executive, Ashley Zend, said: “We are studying the application of human hibernation drugs, which stems from our understanding of how animals survive the hibernation period.”

If such research is successful, Forna hopes to replace the ice pack with a hibernating drug that directly reduces the patient's metabolic level and puts it into hibernation, so that the patient's body naturally cools gently.

Decoding the hibernation secret

To invent hibernating drugs, researchers must first determine which genes are activated during hibernation. To this end, Forna is working with a number of independent hibernation research groups, hoping to combine the biological tissues of different hibernating animals with a new genome sequencing database.

The company's co-founder and chief scientific officer Katie Greybeck analyzed the genome sequence of 13 ground squirrels. It was found that compared with other hibernating animals (such as endangered lemurs and potentially endangered bears), squirrels were more likely to study hibernation, and of course, researchers were studying lemurs and bears.

Will Islaelson, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, is studying the hibernation habits of squirrels. He said that different animals do not necessarily have the hibernating genes that are exclusive to their species. On the contrary, various hibernating animals are likely to have the same hibernating-related genes, but each species uses these genes in slightly different ways. Isla Elson said: "If we can understand the biological mechanisms of these genes and how these animals adjust these genes, we can manipulate them in humans for medical purposes."

Help the universe explore

On Earth, the benefits that hibernation provides to humans and animals can also help space exploration. SpaceWorks is an aerospace engineering company based in Atlanta. The company is currently funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and wants to clarify how hibernation protects astronauts from radiation damage, bone and muscle loss, and other health issues during a six-month mission to Mars.

The company is working on all the research results into a technical manual on how to get the astronauts to sleep in the future based on current emergency medical procedures.

Doug Tork, an obstetrician and chief medical consultant at Space Studios, said that even if modern medical “target temperature management” methods fail to allow astronauts to enter full hibernation, they can still protect astronauts and make future space missions. More economical. By reducing the metabolism of most astronauts, food requirements and space requirements can be reduced, thereby reducing the weight of the spacecraft.

Tolk explained that at present, the cost of sending kilograms per pound (about 0.45 kilograms) to space is about $10,000. Therefore, reducing the load capacity of spacecraft will benefit mankind. "This is an engineering problem." Medical solutions."

The true awakening of human hibernation is still dependent on the theory of ancestral mammals mentioned above. One day in the future, hibernating astronauts wake up and find themselves ready to enter Mars orbit. Then, they should be grateful for the existence of millions of years of biological superpower.

Rapier Loom

We are a supplier of high-speed rapier looms and flexible rapier looms. The company specializes in selling second-hand rapier looms and economical rapier looms. Chinese second-hand rapier looms look for Tianchi.

Second-Hand Rapier Loom,High-Speed Rapier Loom,Flexible Rapier Loom,Rapier Loom

Changzhou Satidi Import and Export Co., Ltd. , https://www.guanjiejts.com