Experiment Gone Awry Suggests Novel Way to Combat Hypoxia

While exploring suspended animation in mice, scientists discover how an enzyme can protect the brain from dangerously low levels of oxygen.

Written byPhil Jaekl

| 4 min read

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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. . . . ...

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Meet the Author

Phil Jaekl
Phil's writing has been featured in The Atlantic, Aeon, Knowable, The Guardian, and Nautilus magazine. He authored the book Out Cold: A Chilling Descent into the Macabre, Controversial, Lifesaving History of Hypothermia.
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