Scientists develop ‘hibernation on demand’
Technique could be used in hospitals to reduce fevers or buy time for organ transplants, researchers say.

Using a natural chemical that humans and other animals produce in their bodies, scientists have for the first time induced hibernation in mammals, putting mice into a state similar to suspended animation for up to six hours and then bringing them back to normal life.
The breakthrough suggests that humans along with other mammals might harbor a mostly unused ability to hibernate on demand. Further research into the phenomenon could lead to medical advances, such as buying time for humans awaiting an organ transplant, scientists said.
"We are, in essence, temporarily converting mice from warm-blooded to cold-blooded creatures, which is exactly the same thing that happens naturally when mammals hibernate," said lead researcher Mark Roth of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.
During the induced hibernation, cells virtually stopped working, reducing the rodents' need for oxygen.
"We think this may be a latent ability that all mammals have — potentially even humans — and we're just harnessing it and turning it on and off, inducing a state of hibernation on demand," Roth said.
The results are detailed in Friday's issue of the journal Science.
Humans already hibernate
Squirrels, bears, snakes and many other animals hibernate naturally, some more deeply than others. Humans have been known to hibernate by accident, Roth and his colleagues point out.
A Norwegian skier was rescued in 1999 after being submerged in icy water for more than an hour. She had no heartbeat and her body temperature was 57 degrees Fahrenheit (normal is 98.6). She recovered.
Canadian toddler Erika Nordby wandered outside at night and nearly froze to death in 2001. She wore only a diaper and T-shirt. It was minus 11 Fahrenheit (-24 Celsius). When found, her heart had stopped beating for two hours and her body temperature was 61 degrees F. She suffered severe frostbite but required no amputations and otherwise recovered.
"Understanding the connections between random instances of seemingly miraculous, unexplained survival in so-called clinically dead humans and our ability to induce — and reverse — metabolic quiescence in model organisms could have dramatic implications for medical care," Roth said. "In the end I suspect there will be clinical benefits, and it will change the way medicine is practiced, because we will, in short, be able to buy patients time."
Back from the dead?
Already there are companies that will gladly freeze the dead in hopes some way of curing and reviving them might develop in the future. The field is called cryonics. So far, no one has been brought back.
The trick with the mice didn't require freezing. Instead, the rodents breathed air laced with hydrogen sulfide, a chemical produced naturally in the bodies of humans and other animals. Within minutes, they stopped moving, and soon their cell functions approached total inactivity.
Humans use hydrogen sulfide to "buffer our metabolic flexibility," Roth explained. "It's what allows our core temperature to stay at 98.6 degrees, regardless of whether we're in Alaska or Tahiti."
In extreme doses, the hydrogen sulfide is thought to bind to cells in place of oxygen. The organism's metabolism shuts down. Upon breathing normal air again, the mice "quickly regained normal function and metabolic activity with no long-term negative effects," the researchers report. They plan to test the technique on larger mammals next.
Practical uses
Hibernating humans and space travel aside," Roth told LiveScience, "we hope that 'metabolic flexibility' can be used to enhance trauma care, surgical outcome and organ transplant."
Among the first applications in humans might be to reduce severe fevers, when a patient is near death. Clinical trials for such a procedure could begin in five years, the scientists say.
"We believe we know how to flip the breaker on the patient's furnace," Roth said. "If they have a fever, we believe we know how to stop it on a dime."
For cancer patients, Roth speculated that temporarily eliminating oxygen dependence in healthy cells could make them less vulnerable targets to radiation and chemotherapy.
"Right now in most forms of cancer treatment, we're killing off the normal cells long before we're killing off the tumor cells," he said. "By inducing metabolic hibernation in healthy tissue we'd at least level the playing field."
Eric Blackstone, a graduate research assistant in Roth's laboratory, was lead author of the journal paper.
© 2005 LiveScience.com. All rights reserved.

Sasquatch and Hydrogen Sulfide
Astonishing Possibilities 

US Researchers at the Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center in Seattle, WA announced a discovery last week. They revealed that mice forced to breath 80 parts per million of hydrogen sulfide went into a hibernation-like state. Within five minutes of the hydrogen sulfide exposure, the oxygen consumption of the mice dropped 50 percent, and their carbon dioxide output dropped by over 60. When left in this environment for six hours, the researchers found the metabolic rate of the mice decreased 90 percent - much like hibernation. In essence, researchers converted the mice from warm to cold-blooded animals. In humans, hydrogen sulfide is the agent that allows the body temperature to stay at 98.6 degrees regardless of the environment.

Researchers hope to develop a way to lower the metabolic rate in humans to treat cancer. Mark Roth, a biochemist at the center, suggested this may be an ability all mammals have; potentially even in humans. Scientists around the world were excited at the news as it might provide a way of reducing the amount of normal cells killed through cancer treatment. Currently, normal cells are being killed before tumor cells. In the future it might also be possible to buy humans time while waiting for organ transplants, prolong life in space travel, or benefit during operating rooms procedures.

Research in this field has yielded a host of new possibilities for Bigfoot field researchers. Specifically, hydrogen sulfide is found in a variety of environments, including natural springs, swamps where vegetation is decomposing, seepage from oil deposits, and caves around volcanic areas or oil. It is also created in areas where the ocean meets freshwater and is a byproduct some people produce when their body lacks the enzymes needed to breakdown sulfur. Better known for its rotten egg smell, hydrogen sulfide is lethal in large doses.

We know Neanderthal man is believed to have resided in caves for shelter. It is the opinion of the Russian Academy of Sciences that Sasquatch is an evolved branch or descendent of Neanderthal man. It is entirely possible Neanderthal man was exposed to hydrogen sulfide for millions of years and might have used it as a last defense in refuge from predatory animals such as saber tooth lions, bears, cougars, wolves, or attacks by men who pushed their physical tolerances in times of danger. Over time and prolonged exposure over countless generations over possibly millions of years, Neanderthal man evolved to have a higher immunity to hydrogen sulfide. This allowed them to dwell deeper and deeper in the caves where hydrogen sulfide would have been present.

Two things could have happened. One, it could have served as a buffer against predatory animals. Second, it could have lowered their metabolism during sleep, conserving energy. While Neanderthal man went extinct, perhaps starving through rough winters, Ice Ages, and attacks by Homo sapiens, Sasquatch evolved with the capability to go long periods without food after developing a unique form of energy conservation.

What we know about sleep is that the body uses the time to rebuild tissue. A prolonged sleep would guarantee a strong healthy animal. In addition, we know the average height of mankind has grown in the past several hundred years due to more nutrients found in the soil. The belief that Sasquatch harvest deer liver for vitamin A leads some to prospect they may exist on a very high nutrient diet which allowed them to evolve into larger sizes. A larger size would make them better hunters and safer from predatory attacks. However, they would be defenseless while sleeping. Hydrogen sulfide would guarantee their safety. While Homo Sapiens were developing fire, Sasquach evolved independently in the explosive environment where hydrogen sulfide permeated the air. There are no accounts on record of Sasquatch building fires.

Prolonged exposure to dark places might be the reason Sasquatch developed nocturnal vision. Lets consider this in more detail. It is widely known that more animals are active at night. So, if hunters reside in caves and hunt at night, then it would make sense that Sasquatch would evolve to be a noctournal hunter with the capability to see in dark environments. Experienced Sasquatch hunters might know the importance of vitamin A while hunting and living in darkness, which is why deer livers are being almost intelligently harvested.

We know that with most chemicals, such as drugs, larger doses are needed to create the same affect on large animals. Could such an immunity have evolved?

A large number of Bigfoot sightings are accompanied by a rotten odor, in fact, 30 percent. In Florida this figure is over 50 percent. Hydrogen sulfide is the odor most commonly associated with sightings. The odor is described as strong enough to make a person vomit. Researchers have concluded there is a direct correlation between Sasquatch sightings and fault lines where an abundance of hydrogen sulfide levels can be found in caves and springs. Previously noted in another article, The Royal Forum suggested a link between sightings around swamps and springs as observed through reports in the BFRO website.

Previous theories have suggested Sasquatch, or Skunk Apes, release an odor as a defense mechanism when threatened like other primates. However, with new possibilities weighing on the subject some are beginning to question the possibility that Sasquatch could be using natural sources of hydrogen sulfide to lower metabolic rates as an evolved form of energy conservation.

There are a variety of organisms that have developed natural immunity or high tolerances to hydrogen sulfide including fish, spiders, worms, bacteria, and bats. In the ocean, specific vents have displayed a previously undiscovered variety of animals living off of hydrogen sulfide. They use it as energy in environments where there is no sunlight. So, animals can develop tolerances.

Research from the BFRO suggested there is no correlation to fat vs. skinny Sasquatch sightings with the change of seasons, which would indicate the animals are storing fat for a winter sleep when food might be in short supply. However, research in Ohio suggested the animals where specifically harvesting deer livers, which were a super-enriched source of nutrients, such as vitamin A, used by nocturnal animals to see better in darkness. It is presumed that when animals lower their metabolic rate and have a diet high in nutrients they can survive longer periods without eating. Likewise, it would be possible they would not have a need to store up fat for the winter. From these presumptions, Sasquatch could live longer as most lower metabollic animals do. In addition, a slower metabolic rate might allow time to evade dangerous situations before succumbing to the full effects of life threatening injuries. The unique combination would buy time for Sasquatch to fight off predators. This would also be parallel to reports that Sasquatch often appear unaffected by guns.

Regionally there appears more sightings across Washington, Oregon, California, Ohio, and in Eastern Texas and Oklahoma, along with another pocket in Florida. The Pacific Northwest is loaded with lots of hot springs and caves. Many are also hosts to hydrogen sulfide. Likewise, there are swamps in Ohio such as famous Black Swamp, oil field deposits and fault lines in Texas, and Florida boasts the everglades.

Another possibility proposes that Sasquatch could naturally release hydrogen sulfide causing certain animals metabolic rates to lower, causing them to become disoriented and easier to capture. This would require a diet with high concentrations of sulfur and would mean the animals lack enzymes necessary to oxidize sulfur. Onions and garlic are two plants which are high in sulfur. It could be possible that Sasquatch might ingest high concentrations of sulfur through a variety of minerals, as well.

Each theory proves to be a unique form of adapted energy conservation and should be explored by researchers exploring this phenomenon.

http://www.theroyalforum.com/article.php?id=62 

I could really use that at some of our corporate meetings.

What are they going to do with their new drug? Make people work 24/7 in December?

The technique could be used in hospitals to buy time for someone waiting for an organ transplant.

"We believe we know how to flip the breaker on the patient's furnace," Roth said. "If they have a fever, we believe we know how to stop it on a dime."

For cancer patients, Roth speculated that temporarily eliminating oxygen dependence in healthy cells could make them less vulnerable targets to radiation and chemotherapy.

"Right now in most forms of cancer treatment, we're killing off the normal cells long before we're killing off the tumor cells," he said. "By inducing metabolic hibernation in healthy tissue we'd at least level the playing field."

If this hibernation-like state "could be replicated in humans, it could help buy time for critically ill patients on organ-transplant lists and in operating rooms, ERs and battlefields," said lead researcher, Mark Roth, a cell biologist at Fred Hutchinson.

The researchers report their overall metabolic rate dropped by 90 percent, which resulted in a reduced need for oxygen.

Roth believes if the technique could be replicated in human, it could be used used to treat people suffering from severe fevers of unknown origin within five years.