hibernation

Animals that wind down in the tropics may take us to new frontiers in organ preservation.

By breaking down urea, the animals’ gut bacteria recycle nitrogen, which can be then used to build new molecules during prolonged fasting.

Two independent teams identify neuron populations in the mouse brain that regulate the physiological changes associated with torpor.

Syrian hamsters and thirteen-lined ground squirrels are tolerant of chilly temperatures, thanks to amino acid changes in a cold-responsive ion channel. 

Gut microbes may help regulate the metabolic changes a bear experiences before and during hibernation, scientists show.

Overwintering ground squirrels survive fluctuations in body temperature that would cause cardiac arrest in nonhibernators.

Visit the lab of Matthew Andrews at the University of Minnesota Duluth, who studies hibernating thirteen-lined ground squirrels to learn how their hearts manage extreme temperature fluctuations.

Authors retract a paper on grizzlies’ metabolism after finding one person made up data.

A genetic switch in hibernating bears keeps the animals from becoming insulin-resistant. 

Hibernation-related proteins are common even in non-hibernating animals, a study shows.

New synthetic hormones can indirectly kill the corn earworm by disrupting its winter sleep habits.