Life Lines by Dr. Dolittle

Tag Archive for ‘hibernation’

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Brown adipose tissue: not just a heater or fat-burning machine

Once dismissed as a feature only babies possess, brown adipose tissue (BAT), is widely recognized as the body’s metabolism-boosting, heat-generating fat. This Time Machine episode takes a look back at early research and new discoveries about this metabolism-boosting fat. According to a 2007 paper published in the American Journal of Physiology – Endocrinology and Metabolism, it was the ability for BAT to take up glucose that enabled its discovery in […]

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Brain Power on a Budget: How Bullfrogs Survive Without Oxygen

Did you know that your brain is really greedy? It uses about 5.7 kilograms of ATP every day, which is an incredible amount of energy! To keep up with such demand, the brain depends on an adequate supply of oxygen and nutrients, such as glucose. When oxygen or nutrient delivery are limited, like during a heart attack, stroke or in low-oxygen environments, the brain is unable to produce enough ATP […]

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Celebrating National Squirrel Appreciation Day: Recent discoveries about ground squirrel hibernation

I am thrilled to have come across a calendar of fun and interesting “holidays” for all sorts of occasions, including celebrating nature and the animals around us. In honor of ‘National Squirrel Appreciation Day’, let’s take a moment to marvel at furry survival experts and the incredible science behind winter slumber in ground squirrels.     When temperatures drop, ground squirrels settle down for a long winter’s nap. During hibernation, their […]

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From Hibernation to Healing: Unlocking Genomic Secrets for Human Therapies

I was just cleaning my desk and came across an issue of The Physiologist Magazine from March that had ended up under a pile of papers., some of which were admittedly much older. Clearly, I should clean my desk more often. Anyway, in perusing the issue I came across a gem… The March issue featured Dr. Joanna Kelley, associate professor at the University of California Santa Cruz. Dr. Cruz was […]

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It’s getting cold outside…what’s a squirrel to do?

As the weather cools down, animals must find ways to stay warm. This is especially important for small animals as they lose body heat faster than larger animals. One way to stay warm is by increasing your metabolism to create body heat, although this process requires a lot of energy. That can be a problem in areas where food may be scarce in the winter. Although some animals, like the […]

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Tenrecs may shed light on the evolution of body temperature regulation

The common tenrec (Tenrec ecaudatus) just may be a living representative of ancestral placental mammals and they are very interesting when it comes to body temperature regulation and torpor. Torpor is a complex series of physiological changes that reduce an animal’s physical activity as well as heart, breathing and metabolic rates, which also results in decreases in body temperature than can be as low as their surrounding environment. Many mammalian […]

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What can hibernators teach us about obesity? Q&A with Dr. Courtney Kurtz, University of Wisconsin

We are pleased to talk with Dr. Courtney Kurtz, Associate Professor of Biology at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh about her research on hibernation and how her research might lead to treatments for obesity. Ground squirrels are a natural model organism for many physiological processes. Can you tell us why you use ground squirrels in your research?  ​Ground squirrels are hibernators.  They spend the majority of the winter in a […]

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Extreme Fasting

While giant pandas roll in horse manure to stay warm in the winter (that’s a different story), other animals spend up to 8 months hibernating to conserve energy during times of reduced food availability and freezing temperatures. During their long winter’s nap, animals such as the Arctic ground squirrel and 13-lined ground squirrel go without food or water while at the same time avoiding muscle wasting – a rather impressive […]

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Rapid switches in metabolism of hibernating animals

  In a new study published in the American Journal of Physiology – Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, researchers examined how changes in metabolism during torpor are regulated in 13-lined ground squirrels (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus). During hibernation, these animals cycle between bouts of torpor (about 2 weeks each) when their metabolism is reduced by 95% and body temperature can drop to 5degC and short states of interbout euthermia when both temperature […]

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Working towards prolonged spaceflight

Spaceflight has always fascinated me. While long distance spaceflight looks so routine in science fiction shows, the reality is much different as we have yet to conquer the complications surrounding long duration deep-space flight. One issue is how to feed astronauts traveling long distances as we do not yet have replicator technologies. If we did, I would have coffee whenever I wanted it. In a new article published in Physiology, […]

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