hibernation

18 Stories

Humans Could Potentially Put on a Helmet and Hibernate

Scientists induce short-term hibernation in mice and rats with ultrasonic pulses to the brain

(Newser) - Rats, like humans, don't naturally hibernate. But scientists have figured out a way to induce a torpor-like state in the rodents which, as the Guardian reports, raises the prospect that the same thing can happen in humans, with a host of hard-to-imagine ramifications in fields ranging from space travel...

Man Finds Surprise Guest Hibernating Under His Deck

Connecticut family is letting black bear 'Marty Bearnard' stay until his monthslong rest is over

(Newser) - Looking for a comfy place to hunker down for the winter is the prime goal for many creatures as the temperatures start to dip. For one black bear on the East Coast, the perfect spot emerged in Connecticut—under Vinny Dashukewich's deck. The Plainville man tells the New York ...

Did Hibernation Help Save a Hiker Stranded 24 Days?

CNET delves into the mystery of Mitsutaka Uchikoshi's survival

(Newser) - "What really happened to Mitsutaka Uchikoshi on that mountain in 2006?" It's a question that set Jackson Ryan off on a quest for answers in 2019. As he writes in a lengthy piece for CNET , Ryan has been transfixed by the "why" of Uchikoshi's survival since...

480 Otis Crowned in Fat Bear Week, Again
Fat Bear Week
Has Its Winner
Oct 7, 2021 7:11 AM CDT

Fat Bear Week Has Its Winner

It's 480 Otis, for the 4th time since 2014 in Alaska's Katmai National Park

(Newser) - It's "get ready for hibernation" time in Katmai National Park, which means it's cram your maw full of salmon if you're a bear to put on enough weight to get you through the winter. Which also means it's time for Fat Bear Week, the annual...

Early Humans May Have Acted Like Bears During Winter
Our Ancestors May Have
Slept Through Winter
new study
Dec 21, 2020 8:45 AM CST

Our Ancestors May Have Slept Through Winter

Study suggests early humans hibernated

(Newser) - It's a provocative theory, one that the researchers themselves admit sounds farfetched. But their analysis of ancient bones from a cave in Spain suggests that early humans hibernated—or something close to it—through the winter, reports the Guardian . Scientists poring over skeletal remains dating back 430,000 years...

Tiny Frogs' No. 1 Option: Hold in Pee All Winter
Tiny Frogs' No. 1 Option:
Hold in Pee All Winter
NEW STUDY
May 2, 2018 9:20 AM CDT

Tiny Frogs' No. 1 Option: Hold in Pee All Winter

Behold the wood frog, which literally freezes to 'death' and comes back to life

(Newser) - If you've ever been unable to find a bathroom in a moment of need, you know the gotta-go feeling. That's nothing compared to the wood frog, which doesn't urinate all winter; in Alaska, that's eight months without peeing, reports the AP . Scientists have figured out how...

Squirrels Prove It: Females Do All the Work, Guys Goof Off

Males appear to spend a lot of time basking in the sun: new study

(Newser) - Science has given tired women everywhere their I-told-you-so-moment, and it comes courtesy of the hapless Arctic ground squirrel: The males of the species appear to spend most of their non-hibernating months soaking up the rays above ground while the females are kept busy either nursing their young below ground or...

People With Chronic Fatigue May Be Fighting 'Hibernation'

New research finds a striking similarity

(Newser) - Chronic fatigue syndrome is a debilitating but still mysterious ailment often marked by long-term fatigue, pain, and memory loss. But symptoms of CFS, or myalgic encephalomyelitis, vary considerably and no cause has been determined or diagnostic test developed—leading to the widespread notion that patients are dealing with a mental,...

Grizzlies Waking Up Early in Yellowstone
 Grizzlies 
 Waking Up 
 Early in 
 Yellowstone 
in case you missed it
Feb 21, 2015 3:59 PM CST

Grizzlies Waking Up Early in Yellowstone

Or at least one has, about a month ahead of schedule

(Newser) - Visitors to Yellowstone in February typically don't need to worry about coming across grizzly bears. This year, however, they should be sure to pack the bear spray: Park officials say they spotted a grizzly feasting on a bison carcass on Feb. 9, roughly a month earlier than usual, reports...

Could Hibernation Lead Us to Alzheimer's Drug?

Study offers possibility of finding drugs that could have same effect as body cooling

(Newser) - During hibernation, animals like bears and mice lose as much as 30% of their synapses as the creatures cool; but those brain connections are recreated when they wake back up however many weeks or months later. Synapses are similarly lost (but, of course, not reformed) in the brains of Alzheimer'...

To Eat This 8K-Calorie Breakfast, Sign a Waiver
To Eat This 8K-Calorie Breakfast, Sign a Waiver
in case you missed it
Oct 4, 2014 11:45 AM CDT

To Eat This 8K-Calorie Breakfast, Sign a Waiver

Chef of British cafe says 'the Hibernator' weighs 7 pounds

(Newser) - Think you're a big eater? One breakfast cooked up at the Bear Grills cafe in Congleton, England, is so daunting that only 20 people have tried it—and no one has successfully cleaned their plate. The chef tells the Daily Mail it's called "the Hibernator" because "...

What We Can Learn from Hibernating Bears

They're a 'metabolic marvel,' maintaining bones with calcium from waste

(Newser) - Scientists have for the first time monitored a bear continuously during a six-month hibernation, and they’ve picked up some fascinating—and perhaps medically useful—facts, NPR reports. In the Alaska study, a bear willingly snoozed out the winter in a big box called a hibernaculum. The bear’s temperature...

Mars Rover Goes Missing
 Mars Rover Goes Missing 
Apr 1, 2010 5:30 AM CDT

Mars Rover Goes Missing

May be 'hibernating' to survive Martian winter

(Newser) - The Mars rover is MIA. The machine has failed to make a scheduled communication with the Mars Odyssey spacecraft, and NASA officials are speculating that the aging Spirit may have gone into power-saving "hibernation" mode to survive the red planet's winter. "We may not hear from Spirit again...

No, Those Iguanas Aren't Dead


 No, Those Iguanas Aren't Dead 
COLD, FLORIDA STYLE
Jan 6, 2010 9:37 PM CST

No, Those Iguanas Aren't Dead

They shut down, fall out of trees in chill, but will revive

(Newser) - No, those iguanas plummeting out of trees all over Florida haven’t been killed by the unusual cold, nor are they suicidal over it. In fact, a Miami zoologist tells WPLG-TV , the lizards’ bodies basically turn off when temps dip below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, and they hibernate until things get...

New Fungus Linked to Bat Die-Offs

Scientists probe mass deaths in caves

(Newser) - Scientists have identified a new fungus that might be responsible for the mass deaths of bats in the Northeast. If the findings are borne out, they could help researchers understand and eventually stop the contagion—dubbed white-nose syndrome—that has wiped out entire colonies in their caves, the Los Angeles ...

Bat Deaths Perplex Scientists
 Bat Deaths Perplex Scientists 
Aug 1, 2008 2:50 PM CDT

Bat Deaths Perplex Scientists

Syndrome could devastate population

(Newser) - Experts are still in the dark about what’s causing the deaths of vast numbers of bats in the Northeast, but some theories have emerged, Salon reports. Some scientists believe white-nose syndrome is driven by global warming, while others are looking hard at pesticides. In either case, humans may have...

Deadly Disease Ravaging Bats
 Deadly Disease Ravaging Bats  
Mar 25, 2008 5:57 AM CDT

Deadly Disease Ravaging Bats

Puzzling 'white nose syndrome' may be deadliest ever

(Newser) - A mysterious syndrome is wiping out colonies of hibernating bats and baffling biologists, the New York Times reports. Experts don't know what causes the "white nose syndrome" or how it spreads, but they warn that bat populations in the Northeast are being devastated. Field researchers report bats flying...

Light Wanes, Winter Blues Loom
Light Wanes, Winter Blues Loom
Oct 15, 2007 4:24 PM CDT

Light Wanes, Winter Blues Loom

(Newser) - Utter darkness at 5pm might fan a night owl's flame, but for some 10% to 20% of Americans, autumn's lessening light can trigger a bad case of SAD, or seasonal affective disorder. The "winter blues," caused by leftover mammalian genes that want you to hibernate, can be treated...

18 Stories