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In a lab in Massachusetts General Hospital, mice lie in cages in a state of hypothermic suspended animation induced by a low dose of hydrogen sulfide gas (H2S). These chemically incapacitated animals have aged less than normal, effectively experiencing a slowing of time.
These lab mice are experiencing a condition similar to that induced by anesthesia. The setup is part of a series of experiments exploring suspended animation, headed by physician and anesthesiologist Fumito Ichinose of Massachusetts General and Harvard Medical School, and the premise for what would turn out to be a serendipitous discovery with potential applications for protecting the brain from hypoxia. Such dangerously low levels of oxygen can result from cardiac arrest or other medical problems that cause a restriction in blood flow.
We thought that repeating hydrogen sulfide inhalation might prolong suspended animation in mice, so we tested that. . . . ...
