Is hibernation possible for humans? Few people with untreatable sickness really do make the choice to be deeply frozen (Cryogenic chamber) , in hope, that in the future there will be cure for them (And mainly a way to unfreeze them safely:dubious:).
Scientists found, that we humans have the same gene, as the animals that hibernate.
So, in theory we can do it too. The problem is that we were too active the last several hundreds of thousands years and the gene is blocked, or we just forgot how to turn it ON and OFF.
Deep-space flights would also be possible if we find out how to go in “STAND-BY MODE” and survive for a far longer period than our actual lifespan. Can the genetic engineering hold the answer? Or we will never sleep 500 years and wake up in another solar system…
The big hope was H[sub]2[/sub]S induced hibernation - this had been shown to trigger hibernation in mice. However, it does not seem to work the same in larger mammals, and I suspect that too many of our biochemical systems cannot be slowed down. However, some individuals have survived extreme hypothermia, in some cases involving extended periods without oxygen. Again, this cannot (yet) be reliably induced, but research is continuing.
And such techniques only slow metabolism, not stop it completely. The concept of people sleeping for a 500 year journey to another star system is sci-fi.
Si
Wouldn’t actual freezing of the body create crystals that would then destroy cells?
That’s a big problem, yes. That’s why people are very interested in certain frogs and other creatures that are able to be frozen and then come back to life. Their bodies synthesize a proteinaceous natural antifreeze - proteins that seem to coat nascent ice crystals, limiting their size, and therefore their damage.
I worked with some guys who went down to Antarctica to research fish that also produce antifreeze proteins - this was for the meat industry, looking at ways to reduce freezing damage in frozen meat. Captive Atmosphere Packaging put paid to that, really. You can keep fresh meat chilled for weeks in the right atmosphere.
Si
I though we do have that ability as infants. Infants don’t shiver when cold, but turn brown fat into heat directly, if left in this state for a while I though infants will enter a hibernation state where their metabolism slows down a lot, sometimes panicking parents because the infant does not move, cry very much.
I have often thought that “SAD” (seasonal affective disorder) might be an evolutionary remnant of hibernation.