1 00:00:03,080 --> 00:00:06,000 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind from how Stuff 2 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:14,120 Speaker 1: Works dot Com. Hey there, welcome to Stuff to Blow 3 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:16,960 Speaker 1: your mind. This is Julie Douglas and I am vibrating 4 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:19,600 Speaker 1: the stereo celia in your ear. Robert is out this 5 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:21,919 Speaker 1: week with his son who has undergone surgery and is 6 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:25,560 Speaker 1: doing well and recuperating. So we decided to rerun one 7 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:30,240 Speaker 1: of our favorite topics, hibernation and suspended animation. Now, whether 8 00:00:30,360 --> 00:00:32,879 Speaker 1: this is the Winter of your discontent and you'd like 9 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:36,360 Speaker 1: to look into the possibility of human hibernation, or you're 10 00:00:36,360 --> 00:00:39,240 Speaker 1: planning on entering into a state of torpor for future 11 00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:48,880 Speaker 1: travel to Mars, this is your podcast episode. Hope you enjoy. Julie, 12 00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:52,960 Speaker 1: we are both warm blooded creatures, and as we know, 13 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:57,080 Speaker 1: warm warm bloodedness comes with a certain price. It's a 14 00:00:57,160 --> 00:01:01,040 Speaker 1: high level of energy consumption. So what do we what 15 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:03,040 Speaker 1: do we do if we don't have energy to consume 16 00:01:03,160 --> 00:01:06,720 Speaker 1: to feed our body? Well take it down, yeah? Or 17 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:10,440 Speaker 1: or will we die? That's all possibility. The idea behind 18 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:14,280 Speaker 1: hibernation itself is that you have to cut the cost. 19 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:16,720 Speaker 1: You have to spiral down, like like a business that 20 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:19,000 Speaker 1: tested the lay off a bunch of people and close 21 00:01:19,080 --> 00:01:22,080 Speaker 1: one of its stores to survive a recession. Or the 22 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:24,000 Speaker 1: example that always comes to my mind when I was 23 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:25,959 Speaker 1: younger and I was living in Tennessee, I found myself 24 00:01:25,959 --> 00:01:28,560 Speaker 1: in a car a lot and I would often listen 25 00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:30,800 Speaker 1: to I think the guy's name was Dave Ramsey, who 26 00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:33,520 Speaker 1: is this kind of like local locally here in Atlanta, 27 00:01:33,520 --> 00:01:36,640 Speaker 1: we have Clark Howard, who's like the the economic guru 28 00:01:36,760 --> 00:01:38,520 Speaker 1: that tells you how to get out of credit and 29 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:41,400 Speaker 1: how to fine tune your financial situation. He's wonderful, by 30 00:01:41,440 --> 00:01:43,920 Speaker 1: the way. Yeah, yeah, he is Clark how It's wonderful. 31 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:46,479 Speaker 1: But I remember listening to the Dave Ramsey Show at 32 00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:48,960 Speaker 1: this point, and he was always advising people on how 33 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:50,480 Speaker 1: to get out of credit card debt. And he would say, 34 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:52,120 Speaker 1: all right, you're just gonna eat rice and beans for 35 00:01:52,120 --> 00:01:53,920 Speaker 1: a year, so you can do. You can eat rice 36 00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:56,280 Speaker 1: and beans and cancel cable. And that is kind of 37 00:01:56,280 --> 00:02:01,760 Speaker 1: what hibernation is about. Are personally, Yeah, it's it's about 38 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:04,880 Speaker 1: cutting down that the energy consumption, cutting down the level 39 00:02:05,240 --> 00:02:08,280 Speaker 1: of life that is being lived by the organism so 40 00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:12,720 Speaker 1: that it can survive conditions that would otherwise be legal. Well, 41 00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:15,000 Speaker 1: and I've actually read before too that there are certain 42 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:18,000 Speaker 1: places in the world before the advent of electricity and 43 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:21,959 Speaker 1: so on technology that say you were in Siberia, winter 44 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:26,160 Speaker 1: comes and a family of five probably will have a 45 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:29,240 Speaker 1: sort of hibernation period. Of course, they're going to have 46 00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:32,360 Speaker 1: food available to them that they've stalked away, but there's 47 00:02:32,360 --> 00:02:35,280 Speaker 1: not a lot of reason to go outside for months. 48 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:38,120 Speaker 1: And it always reminds me of the Charlie and Chocolate 49 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:41,680 Speaker 1: Factory movie where you see the family, the entire family 50 00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:44,440 Speaker 1: in the bed because you know, they're all trying to 51 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:48,160 Speaker 1: keep warm it's winter, they're trying to conserve resources. So 52 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:51,639 Speaker 1: this idea of hibernation, at least in humans. Yes, we 53 00:02:51,639 --> 00:02:54,000 Speaker 1: we don't completely close down our heartbeat, or I'm sure 54 00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:56,720 Speaker 1: those people didn't back in the day in Siberia, but 55 00:02:56,760 --> 00:02:59,519 Speaker 1: there's a version of it in which we have tried 56 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:02,640 Speaker 1: to batten down the hatches when it comes to energy consumption. 57 00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:06,000 Speaker 1: It sounds like it's a great opportunity for board games 58 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:08,200 Speaker 1: and families of board games. Maybe that's why they have 59 00:03:08,200 --> 00:03:10,040 Speaker 1: far better board games in Europe and all the great 60 00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:12,200 Speaker 1: board games come out of Europe. I don't know, I 61 00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:14,000 Speaker 1: don't know. I mean, you would think like Siberia would 62 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:19,160 Speaker 1: would well no when they're well no, no, but but literally, 63 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:21,639 Speaker 1: let's talk about these animals who do it right, who 64 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:24,360 Speaker 1: do it straight up right. One of the most important 65 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:27,600 Speaker 1: things to realize is that hypernation is not sleep. In fact, 66 00:03:27,680 --> 00:03:31,720 Speaker 1: according to zoo physiologist Brian Barnes, it's kind of the 67 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:35,400 Speaker 1: opposite of sleep. He argues that instead of a blissful slumber, 68 00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:38,000 Speaker 1: because let's face it, sleep is pretty much the best, 69 00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:40,360 Speaker 1: right if you can, if you can actually achieve it 70 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:42,920 Speaker 1: and you don't have any issues getting there, you're not 71 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:46,520 Speaker 1: plagued by nightmares in which dogs all your face then, 72 00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:49,080 Speaker 1: or you're you're back in college and you didn't know 73 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:51,200 Speaker 1: you had an exam. You thought you'd canceled the class 74 00:03:51,240 --> 00:03:53,440 Speaker 1: all that. If you can actually achieve good old sleep, 75 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:56,200 Speaker 1: it's the best. It's like being in Nisconsin, a cozy, 76 00:03:56,200 --> 00:03:59,480 Speaker 1: warm cloud, right. So the idea of like this winter sucks, 77 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:01,360 Speaker 1: be nice if I could just sleep through and wake 78 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:03,880 Speaker 1: up when it's warm or whole. I really don't want 79 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:06,520 Speaker 1: to travel all the way across country. It wouldn't it 80 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:07,880 Speaker 1: be great if I could just go to sleep and 81 00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:11,080 Speaker 1: wake up and be there. But Barnes argues that it's 82 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:14,400 Speaker 1: not like this so hibernating squirrels, for example, would be 83 00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:18,160 Speaker 1: stuck in something that would be more like months of insomnia, 84 00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:20,920 Speaker 1: so it would feel like long stretches, he says, of 85 00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:25,520 Speaker 1: icy stupor punctuated by short, costly naps. Like. The idea 86 00:04:25,560 --> 00:04:28,720 Speaker 1: here is that their energy level is down, their metabolism 87 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:30,880 Speaker 1: is down. Everything is taken down to the level to 88 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:34,479 Speaker 1: where sleep isn't even possible. They have to power things 89 00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:36,560 Speaker 1: up a bit to actually sleep. They have to start 90 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:39,479 Speaker 1: turning on the lights in the abandoned wings of the 91 00:04:39,560 --> 00:04:42,080 Speaker 1: hotel just to get to that level where that the 92 00:04:42,080 --> 00:04:44,800 Speaker 1: animal can rest well, isn't there. I believe I read 93 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:47,560 Speaker 1: something to you about um after bears come out of 94 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:50,000 Speaker 1: hibernation that there's a very long period where they have 95 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:53,599 Speaker 1: a sort of sleep hangover, and they it's almost like 96 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:56,800 Speaker 1: sleep deprivation, same thing, right, like, you're not you're not 97 00:04:56,839 --> 00:04:59,719 Speaker 1: necessarily having a nice, big, cozy sleep. You're kind of 98 00:04:59,720 --> 00:05:03,119 Speaker 1: coming out of the fog and re entering yet another fog. 99 00:05:03,279 --> 00:05:05,039 Speaker 1: And it cost energy to come out of that. The 100 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:09,240 Speaker 1: ground squirrels, for example, they undergo cyclical rewarmings during this 101 00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:13,360 Speaker 1: hibernation process, and it costs more than the squirrels stored 102 00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:15,600 Speaker 1: body fat to do that, of course, worth noting, even 103 00:05:15,640 --> 00:05:18,320 Speaker 1: though we're talking mostly about warm blooded animals, and indeed 104 00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:21,560 Speaker 1: we are warm blooded animals. Hibernation also occurs in reptiles, 105 00:05:21,640 --> 00:05:24,560 Speaker 1: cold blood creatures, where it's called brumation. It differs from 106 00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:28,479 Speaker 1: the mammalian hibernation because reptiles, again are cold blooded. They 107 00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:31,240 Speaker 1: can't control their own body temperature, so they need to 108 00:05:31,279 --> 00:05:34,640 Speaker 1: spend the winter in a place where they'll stay reasonably warm. 109 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:39,040 Speaker 1: It's not always a situation of something surviving cold temperatures. 110 00:05:39,320 --> 00:05:42,080 Speaker 1: There's also something called estivation, and this is where an 111 00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:46,320 Speaker 1: animal enters a hibernation like state during the summer, often 112 00:05:46,360 --> 00:05:50,159 Speaker 1: in situations where there's less available water and moisture. Yeah right, 113 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:54,080 Speaker 1: because conditions become really hot and dry. So that's in 114 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:56,719 Speaker 1: addition to maybe your food supply dwindling in that area 115 00:05:56,720 --> 00:05:59,720 Speaker 1: as well. But for the most part, hibernation, and as 116 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:02,400 Speaker 1: we understand it is considered a torporse state. That's basically 117 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:04,880 Speaker 1: an umbrella term to describe all the various types of 118 00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:09,760 Speaker 1: temperature and metabolism reducing functions that are involved in hibernation. Yep, 119 00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:13,240 Speaker 1: that's right. So think about torpor in terms of oxygen consumption, 120 00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:15,880 Speaker 1: which can fall as low as one percent of resting 121 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:19,600 Speaker 1: metabolic rate, and core body temperatures to near or below 122 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:22,680 Speaker 1: freezing temperatures. Heart rate drops who as little as two 123 00:06:22,720 --> 00:06:25,480 Speaker 1: point five percent of its usual level of Chipmunk's heart 124 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:28,159 Speaker 1: rate flows to five beats per minute from the usual 125 00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:30,680 Speaker 1: two hundreds. Like you said, breathing rate drops by fifty 126 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:34,760 Speaker 1: to a hundred percent, which is just crazy. So you know, 127 00:06:34,880 --> 00:06:39,400 Speaker 1: you have reptiles out there that goes hibernation period without breathing. Yeah, 128 00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:41,679 Speaker 1: and then in many cases we're also talking to about, 129 00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:45,919 Speaker 1: consciousness is greatly diminished. So even though this for instances 130 00:06:45,960 --> 00:06:49,159 Speaker 1: squirrel is in this weird and insomnia state, uh, it 131 00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:52,360 Speaker 1: doesn't mean it's just completely conscious either, so which I 132 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:55,440 Speaker 1: don't think necessarily sweetens the deal. It's kind of this 133 00:06:56,279 --> 00:07:00,599 Speaker 1: uncomfortable semi conscious state, which is a far from the 134 00:07:00,760 --> 00:07:02,520 Speaker 1: oh I'm going to have a long winner snap and 135 00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:04,680 Speaker 1: wake up. Yeah. Yeah, I mean it does kind of 136 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:07,039 Speaker 1: feel like, oh man, I am trapped in this body 137 00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:10,560 Speaker 1: and I don't get any of the great benefits here. 138 00:07:10,560 --> 00:07:14,920 Speaker 1: Of course, you know we're from fising a little bit here. 139 00:07:14,960 --> 00:07:18,080 Speaker 1: Another thing that's happening is the body fat, which we 140 00:07:18,120 --> 00:07:20,600 Speaker 1: know is packed with energy, is burned off to provide 141 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:24,680 Speaker 1: energy that an animal needs to maintain levels of body functions, 142 00:07:25,240 --> 00:07:27,920 Speaker 1: and this can be really efficient. Then again, we've got 143 00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:30,800 Speaker 1: our Arctic ground squirrels and they live entirely off a 144 00:07:30,840 --> 00:07:33,640 Speaker 1: stored body fat for as long as it nine months. 145 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:36,240 Speaker 1: So you have glands in the body that are altering 146 00:07:36,240 --> 00:07:39,160 Speaker 1: the amounts of hormones that are released to control just 147 00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:44,239 Speaker 1: about every physiological aspect of hibernation. And and when a 148 00:07:44,280 --> 00:07:47,400 Speaker 1: mammal warm blooded animal inters hibernation, it's essentially becoming like 149 00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:50,640 Speaker 1: a cold blooded animal. It cranks down the temperature, but 150 00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:53,120 Speaker 1: it has a set point in mind, and you can 151 00:07:53,120 --> 00:07:55,800 Speaker 1: think of this like a setting on your thermostatic Right, 152 00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:59,160 Speaker 1: let's say you're cutting energy consumption during the winter. You're 153 00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:01,520 Speaker 1: only willing to the house gets so cold because if 154 00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:03,520 Speaker 1: you know, if it gets colder than this set point, 155 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:06,840 Speaker 1: it's going to start getting uncomfortable and and you'd rather 156 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:09,840 Speaker 1: not not live that way. So in this case, there's 157 00:08:09,840 --> 00:08:12,160 Speaker 1: a set point because if things get much lower, the 158 00:08:12,200 --> 00:08:14,600 Speaker 1: creature may not be able to live. So the set 159 00:08:14,640 --> 00:08:16,960 Speaker 1: point will be there and is things that get colder 160 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:19,080 Speaker 1: if it starts to drop below that set point, then 161 00:08:19,120 --> 00:08:21,000 Speaker 1: the energy will crank up. It will use some of 162 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:24,120 Speaker 1: those fat reserves to keep it at a tolerable level. Right, 163 00:08:24,160 --> 00:08:27,320 Speaker 1: So each animal has its own little thermostat essentially. And 164 00:08:27,640 --> 00:08:32,600 Speaker 1: you're probably wondering what about defecation. I was wondering that, yes, yeah, yeah, well, 165 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:34,920 Speaker 1: no fecal matter is produced because nothing is passing through 166 00:08:34,920 --> 00:08:37,679 Speaker 1: the digest Shut that wing of the operation down. That's right, 167 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:40,800 Speaker 1: talking too much money, using too much energy. We haven't 168 00:08:40,800 --> 00:08:43,160 Speaker 1: got it. Shut it down. No pooping, no pooping. But 169 00:08:43,760 --> 00:08:45,959 Speaker 1: the body is always producing urea, which we know is 170 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:49,000 Speaker 1: a waste by product of urine and hibernating animals, bodies 171 00:08:49,040 --> 00:08:52,880 Speaker 1: are able to recycle the urea. Whoa, So that's that's 172 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:56,680 Speaker 1: pretty cool, right, because yeah, I mean have you ever 173 00:08:56,720 --> 00:08:58,439 Speaker 1: like in the middle of nights, man, I really don't 174 00:08:58,440 --> 00:09:00,040 Speaker 1: want to get up and get at bath room, and 175 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:02,400 Speaker 1: that would be a good feature. I wish I could 176 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:05,320 Speaker 1: just I mean, you know, we do you actually try either, Like, 177 00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:08,240 Speaker 1: let me just try and focus and recycle my urine. 178 00:09:09,040 --> 00:09:13,160 Speaker 1: I do idea trying to lucid dream it. Bears don't 179 00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:15,120 Speaker 1: urinate at all in the winter, but they break the 180 00:09:15,240 --> 00:09:19,240 Speaker 1: urea down into amino acids. And even though they don't 181 00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:22,360 Speaker 1: drink any water, they don't get dehydrated either. They're able 182 00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:25,000 Speaker 1: to extract enough water from their own body fat to 183 00:09:25,040 --> 00:09:27,520 Speaker 1: stay hydrated. And here's another really cool thing. This is 184 00:09:27,559 --> 00:09:30,080 Speaker 1: specific to black bears. They have a unique feature and 185 00:09:30,120 --> 00:09:34,480 Speaker 1: that they actually continue to reform bones by keeping their 186 00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:39,040 Speaker 1: calcium levels calibrated in their blood levels. And researchers believe 187 00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:41,960 Speaker 1: that it's the secretion of a hormone called a paraphor 188 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:45,400 Speaker 1: morn and that's the reason why the calcium is recycled. 189 00:09:45,800 --> 00:09:48,560 Speaker 1: And there are a bunch of clinical trials in which 190 00:09:48,600 --> 00:09:51,480 Speaker 1: they are using the human version of that hormone and 191 00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:56,000 Speaker 1: giving it to patients with osteoporosis. So that's that's something 192 00:09:56,040 --> 00:09:57,960 Speaker 1: that they're trying to crack there with those black bears, 193 00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:00,240 Speaker 1: Like whine the world would they be actually for ring 194 00:10:00,240 --> 00:10:04,000 Speaker 1: new bone while they are hibernating. They're not ating or anything, right, right, 195 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:06,280 Speaker 1: I mean think about ourselves. I think if we've ever 196 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:08,880 Speaker 1: been waylaid by something and you're in the hospital for 197 00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:12,040 Speaker 1: two weeks with a cast on, your body loses bone 198 00:10:12,080 --> 00:10:16,600 Speaker 1: in calcium. So yeah, just from that little bit of atrophy, 199 00:10:16,920 --> 00:10:19,720 Speaker 1: you have other species that basically enter this toper state 200 00:10:19,800 --> 00:10:24,040 Speaker 1: on a daily basis, which is always amazing. Hummingbirds, for example, 201 00:10:24,320 --> 00:10:28,360 Speaker 1: like hummingbirds are are huge energy users. Who discussed before, 202 00:10:28,400 --> 00:10:31,120 Speaker 1: I think just just how much energy a hummingbird uses, 203 00:10:31,520 --> 00:10:34,440 Speaker 1: and that's why flapping wings are really not that that 204 00:10:34,520 --> 00:10:38,400 Speaker 1: economic of a system. But nature cannot make a propeller, 205 00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:41,320 Speaker 1: so it's stuck with flapping wings. Yeah, the heartbeats, but 206 00:10:41,400 --> 00:10:44,880 Speaker 1: it's per seconds. Yeah, it's crazy. It's in saying because 207 00:10:44,880 --> 00:10:46,760 Speaker 1: they have the use an immense amount of energy, and 208 00:10:46,880 --> 00:10:49,560 Speaker 1: if they can't get the energy they need on a 209 00:10:49,640 --> 00:10:52,720 Speaker 1: daily basis, they will just shut it down every day 210 00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:55,160 Speaker 1: for a little bit. So they'll shut things down like 211 00:10:55,200 --> 00:10:58,760 Speaker 1: temperature will drop in a hummingbird on a regular basis, 212 00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:00,839 Speaker 1: just to maintain Think of it as a business as 213 00:11:00,880 --> 00:11:03,400 Speaker 1: an energy consumption has become more of an issue. You 214 00:11:03,440 --> 00:11:06,960 Speaker 1: have various buildings that will say on weekends only have 215 00:11:07,080 --> 00:11:10,480 Speaker 1: a certain portion of the office that is air conditioned, 216 00:11:10,559 --> 00:11:12,200 Speaker 1: and if you're coming into work on the weekends, you 217 00:11:12,240 --> 00:11:14,600 Speaker 1: need to relocate to a certain portion of the building 218 00:11:15,120 --> 00:11:17,400 Speaker 1: every day. Even it's saying all right, well during this time, 219 00:11:17,400 --> 00:11:18,960 Speaker 1: we're gonna have to shut it down a little because 220 00:11:18,960 --> 00:11:21,880 Speaker 1: we cannot maintain the energy costs involved in keeping this 221 00:11:22,120 --> 00:11:24,199 Speaker 1: level of consumption up minute to minute. But that is 222 00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:27,520 Speaker 1: an incredible ability to have. And you know is joking 223 00:11:27,559 --> 00:11:30,440 Speaker 1: saying that we're morphizing this, but we can't help it. 224 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:33,240 Speaker 1: To project our own ideas onto this and say could 225 00:11:33,280 --> 00:11:36,680 Speaker 1: could we actually harness this for ourselves? And we're gonna 226 00:11:36,679 --> 00:11:38,600 Speaker 1: take a quick break and when we get back, we'll 227 00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:52,280 Speaker 1: talk about this possibility of humans hibernating. All right, we're back, 228 00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:55,720 Speaker 1: So human hibernation. There are two huge areas where we 229 00:11:55,720 --> 00:11:59,880 Speaker 1: could use this. One, of course, is space travel, because 230 00:12:00,320 --> 00:12:03,280 Speaker 1: space is huge, takes a long time to get anywhere. 231 00:12:03,360 --> 00:12:06,319 Speaker 1: With our current understanding of how physics work and how 232 00:12:06,559 --> 00:12:09,520 Speaker 1: space propulsion can work, they're very shortcuts in mind. But 233 00:12:09,559 --> 00:12:11,920 Speaker 1: for the most part, we're looking at long travels, travels 234 00:12:11,960 --> 00:12:14,000 Speaker 1: in most cases that are longer than the span of 235 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:18,480 Speaker 1: human lifetime. So is there a way to suspend animation? 236 00:12:18,559 --> 00:12:21,160 Speaker 1: Is there a way to shut things down and preserve 237 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:23,760 Speaker 1: human life across these vast distances, Because again, it's not 238 00:12:23,840 --> 00:12:25,480 Speaker 1: only a situation of like, oh, I don't want to 239 00:12:25,480 --> 00:12:28,440 Speaker 1: sit there and play take that toes for you know, 240 00:12:28,480 --> 00:12:30,360 Speaker 1: the length of a journey. Again, hopefully they would have 241 00:12:30,400 --> 00:12:34,280 Speaker 1: some quality European board games aboard that space ship. But uh, 242 00:12:34,320 --> 00:12:36,719 Speaker 1: but then also, do we have the energy required and 243 00:12:36,760 --> 00:12:40,520 Speaker 1: the resources to keep people engaged in an everyday level 244 00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:43,320 Speaker 1: of activity in life over the course of a long voyage. 245 00:12:43,480 --> 00:12:47,360 Speaker 1: Cheaper better to turn them into low energy cargo for 246 00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:51,720 Speaker 1: that duration. The other huge area, of course is healthcare. 247 00:12:51,720 --> 00:12:54,120 Speaker 1: All right, so we have somebody who has a disease 248 00:12:54,240 --> 00:12:57,280 Speaker 1: that cannot yet be cured or an injury that needs 249 00:12:57,320 --> 00:12:59,559 Speaker 1: to be addressed. Say someone's injured out in the middle 250 00:12:59,559 --> 00:13:01,000 Speaker 1: of no Are and you need to get them to 251 00:13:01,200 --> 00:13:04,160 Speaker 1: a quality medical facility, and it's going to be a 252 00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:06,520 Speaker 1: day's journey or more. You need to put them in 253 00:13:06,559 --> 00:13:09,640 Speaker 1: a hibernated state, and potentially you could take this low 254 00:13:09,720 --> 00:13:12,800 Speaker 1: energy cargo move it to the facility where they can 255 00:13:12,800 --> 00:13:15,440 Speaker 1: actually treat the injury and take care of things there. 256 00:13:15,920 --> 00:13:19,840 Speaker 1: Another example is, say someone suffered oxygen starvation to the 257 00:13:19,880 --> 00:13:23,480 Speaker 1: brain through a stroke or heart attack. They could actually 258 00:13:23,520 --> 00:13:27,160 Speaker 1: be put into the suspended animation and lower their oxygen 259 00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:30,040 Speaker 1: to man and prevent brain damage. Right time is of 260 00:13:30,120 --> 00:13:32,400 Speaker 1: the essence and in these situations, so if you could 261 00:13:32,400 --> 00:13:35,080 Speaker 1: shut things down and sort of contain the situation just 262 00:13:35,160 --> 00:13:37,080 Speaker 1: long enough to get in there and do something about it, 263 00:13:37,120 --> 00:13:39,319 Speaker 1: and that would be huge. So it's one of those 264 00:13:39,320 --> 00:13:42,320 Speaker 1: things where one of the ideas is very far reaching 265 00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:45,760 Speaker 1: and super future of mankind and our most cosmic visions, 266 00:13:45,760 --> 00:13:48,480 Speaker 1: and the other is every day people having strokes every 267 00:13:48,559 --> 00:13:50,960 Speaker 1: day and then what could we do to mitigate that? Yeah, 268 00:13:50,960 --> 00:13:54,920 Speaker 1: and at the crux of this is our metabolic right, right, 269 00:13:55,040 --> 00:13:58,280 Speaker 1: our basimonomolic right, which is pretty standard in humans. We 270 00:13:58,360 --> 00:14:01,760 Speaker 1: don't have these tip offs in our circadian rhythms to say, hey, 271 00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:03,840 Speaker 1: guess what, we're taking it down to the steps today, 272 00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:07,520 Speaker 1: go in your cave. Um. We're pretty regular when it 273 00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:10,320 Speaker 1: comes serve as a basal metabolic rate unless you're like 274 00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:13,600 Speaker 1: a super yogi, right, and you can you can tinker 275 00:14:13,679 --> 00:14:16,040 Speaker 1: with it a bit. You could do some parlor tricks 276 00:14:16,080 --> 00:14:19,800 Speaker 1: and opportun you're dead for eighteen hours or something would 277 00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:22,040 Speaker 1: in fact you were not, but you had again taken 278 00:14:22,040 --> 00:14:24,920 Speaker 1: down your breathing and your heart rate. Okay, so beyond 279 00:14:24,920 --> 00:14:27,200 Speaker 1: the Yogi, what are we thinking about here? Well, they're 280 00:14:27,240 --> 00:14:31,080 Speaker 1: basically looking at ways to either use temperature or chemicals 281 00:14:31,120 --> 00:14:35,240 Speaker 1: to force a hybernative state on human beings and we 282 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:37,680 Speaker 1: are certainly not there yet but that but a number 283 00:14:37,720 --> 00:14:41,040 Speaker 1: of experiments have been conducted. Mostly these are involving animals, 284 00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:43,720 Speaker 1: and we're looking at ways, all right, can we take animals, 285 00:14:43,800 --> 00:14:47,000 Speaker 1: either hibernating animals or non hybernating animals, tinker with them 286 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:50,600 Speaker 1: either with temperature or chemicals and force a Hybernative State 287 00:14:50,800 --> 00:14:54,600 Speaker 1: biologist at the Institute of Arctic Biology and Fairbanks, Alaska 288 00:14:54,720 --> 00:14:56,800 Speaker 1: are particularly interested in this. They do a lot of 289 00:14:56,880 --> 00:15:00,960 Speaker 1: inquiries into how Arctic ground squirrels behave and hibernate. They 290 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:04,080 Speaker 1: point out that Arctic ground squirrels, like us, like all animals, 291 00:15:04,200 --> 00:15:08,440 Speaker 1: produce a molecule called a denazine which slows nerve cell activities. 292 00:15:08,760 --> 00:15:12,240 Speaker 1: So when a squirrel begins to hibernate, even when you 293 00:15:12,360 --> 00:15:15,280 Speaker 1: or I feel drowsy, right, that's what it is. That's 294 00:15:15,320 --> 00:15:17,640 Speaker 1: what's going on. So they devised a number of experiments 295 00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:20,680 Speaker 1: where they took non hibernating Arctic ground squirrels and they 296 00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:24,400 Speaker 1: gave them a substance that stimulated a denazine receptors in 297 00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:26,720 Speaker 1: the brain. And then they also gave a substance similar 298 00:15:26,760 --> 00:15:30,560 Speaker 1: to caffeine to arouse other squirrels. And I mean to 299 00:15:30,920 --> 00:15:34,680 Speaker 1: rouse them from there, not to yeah, not to arouse 300 00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:38,160 Speaker 1: them sexually. So in the same way that a denazine 301 00:15:38,280 --> 00:15:41,200 Speaker 1: is involved in that drowsy feeling you're getting, we're also 302 00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:44,000 Speaker 1: counteracting it when we run for that cup of coffee 303 00:15:44,160 --> 00:15:47,440 Speaker 1: or that discussing energy. That's right, I mean that splits 304 00:15:47,520 --> 00:15:49,720 Speaker 1: the binding point, right. It basically says, I guess what 305 00:15:49,760 --> 00:15:52,400 Speaker 1: you're not going to bind here, I'm caffeine. I'm waking 306 00:15:52,400 --> 00:15:54,480 Speaker 1: this person back up, which I thought was fascinating. I mean, 307 00:15:54,520 --> 00:15:57,600 Speaker 1: we know, obviously, we know that caffeine perks us up, 308 00:15:57,600 --> 00:16:00,680 Speaker 1: but to know that it works that specifically, and these experiments, 309 00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:03,920 Speaker 1: they were able to activate a denizine receptors in sufficient 310 00:16:04,040 --> 00:16:07,760 Speaker 1: enough manner to induce this hibernative state in these Arctic 311 00:16:07,760 --> 00:16:10,680 Speaker 1: ground squirrels during our hibernation season. The small experiment in 312 00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:13,080 Speaker 1: some senses, you know, they're not certainly it's not the 313 00:16:13,080 --> 00:16:15,320 Speaker 1: same as say, oh, we put a human into hibernative state. 314 00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:17,320 Speaker 1: In this case, we took the ground squirrel and we 315 00:16:17,320 --> 00:16:20,440 Speaker 1: were able to induce hibernation. And it's actually read a 316 00:16:20,480 --> 00:16:22,040 Speaker 1: big I mean, it's one of the steps that could 317 00:16:22,040 --> 00:16:24,920 Speaker 1: conceivably lead us to being able to create this effect. 318 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:29,600 Speaker 1: In humans. Right. Another really good example is I keep 319 00:16:29,640 --> 00:16:31,920 Speaker 1: thinking of it as pet cemetery. I have to say 320 00:16:32,400 --> 00:16:36,640 Speaker 1: the zombie dogs. Yes, this is from the Safar Center 321 00:16:36,720 --> 00:16:40,040 Speaker 1: for Resuscitation Research at the University of Pittsburgh. They put 322 00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:43,000 Speaker 1: dogs in a state of suspended animation by flushing out 323 00:16:43,040 --> 00:16:46,520 Speaker 1: their bodies of blood, taking out their bood and replacing 324 00:16:46,560 --> 00:16:50,520 Speaker 1: it with forty five degree fahrenheit saline solution that contained 325 00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:54,200 Speaker 1: oxygen and glucose. The dogs went into cardiac arrest and 326 00:16:54,240 --> 00:16:58,640 Speaker 1: they clinically died right after three hours. The team withdrew 327 00:16:58,720 --> 00:17:02,359 Speaker 1: the solution so they were verse this process. They reintroduced 328 00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:05,520 Speaker 1: the blood and then applied to gentle electric shock and 329 00:17:05,680 --> 00:17:08,360 Speaker 1: while the dogs were raised from the dead. Yeah, there 330 00:17:08,440 --> 00:17:11,120 Speaker 1: was a similar experiment that was conducted by surgeon at 331 00:17:11,119 --> 00:17:13,840 Speaker 1: the Messagusetts General Hospital in Boston, Like I'm in the 332 00:17:13,920 --> 00:17:16,680 Speaker 1: name of Hassan Alam, and he tested the technique about 333 00:17:16,680 --> 00:17:20,240 Speaker 1: two times on pigs with a success rate, and it 334 00:17:20,320 --> 00:17:23,720 Speaker 1: basically involved putting the animal under draining out some blood. 335 00:17:23,880 --> 00:17:26,240 Speaker 1: In this case, he used cuts and major veins to 336 00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:28,960 Speaker 1: stimulate the multiple gunshot wounds, so he was he was 337 00:17:28,960 --> 00:17:33,000 Speaker 1: trying to create the situation of fatal or life threatening injury. 338 00:17:33,480 --> 00:17:35,760 Speaker 1: And then as the pig rapidly loses about half its 339 00:17:35,760 --> 00:17:38,560 Speaker 1: blood and there's a state of shock, Dr Alam would 340 00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:42,200 Speaker 1: drain the blood store it before pumping this chilled organ 341 00:17:42,280 --> 00:17:45,119 Speaker 1: preservation fluid into its system. Then the animal's temperature falls 342 00:17:45,119 --> 00:17:48,359 Speaker 1: to about kindegrees celsius until it injures this state of 343 00:17:48,480 --> 00:17:51,440 Speaker 1: profound hypothermia. And then later they were able to put 344 00:17:51,480 --> 00:17:54,640 Speaker 1: the blood back in and restore the pig to life. Yeah, 345 00:17:54,680 --> 00:17:57,800 Speaker 1: and again it's not about terrorizing dogs and pigs. It's 346 00:17:57,800 --> 00:18:02,080 Speaker 1: about trying to create these trauma situations that might happen 347 00:18:02,080 --> 00:18:04,960 Speaker 1: in a hospital and giving doctors an alternative in terms 348 00:18:04,960 --> 00:18:08,120 Speaker 1: of trying to extend the life period and be able 349 00:18:08,160 --> 00:18:09,919 Speaker 1: to take out all the tools in the arsenal to 350 00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:12,800 Speaker 1: help that person. And it speaking about thermia, it just 351 00:18:12,880 --> 00:18:15,600 Speaker 1: made me think about cell biologist Mark Roth. He has 352 00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:19,560 Speaker 1: a great ted talk about this about suspended animation. He 353 00:18:19,760 --> 00:18:22,800 Speaker 1: may be the furthest along I think in trauma medicine 354 00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:26,440 Speaker 1: in terms of looking at ways that we can play 355 00:18:26,480 --> 00:18:30,280 Speaker 1: with hibernation. He was inspired by a skier in Norway 356 00:18:30,320 --> 00:18:32,959 Speaker 1: who was trapped in an icy waterfall for two hours 357 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:36,480 Speaker 1: before she was extracted. She had no heartbeat, and she 358 00:18:36,560 --> 00:18:39,840 Speaker 1: was thought to be frozen dead. Seven hours later, still 359 00:18:39,880 --> 00:18:42,679 Speaker 1: without a heartbeat, they brought her back to life and 360 00:18:42,760 --> 00:18:44,800 Speaker 1: she went on to be the head and radiologist at 361 00:18:44,800 --> 00:18:50,240 Speaker 1: that hospital. Later on. Roth was always amazed by this, 362 00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:53,480 Speaker 1: and he wondered, if there's some agent in our bodies 363 00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:55,919 Speaker 1: that we make ourselves, that we might be able to 364 00:18:55,920 --> 00:18:59,119 Speaker 1: regulate our own metabolic rate. Okay, So he was like, 365 00:18:59,200 --> 00:19:01,639 Speaker 1: is there some sort of flexibility here that we don't 366 00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:07,600 Speaker 1: know about that the skier unwittingly tapped into. And normally 367 00:19:07,840 --> 00:19:09,600 Speaker 1: you would say this would be a fool's erranty even 368 00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:12,480 Speaker 1: try to mess with our metabolic rate in this way, 369 00:19:12,760 --> 00:19:14,800 Speaker 1: but he just kept picking up the problem, picking up 370 00:19:14,800 --> 00:19:17,920 Speaker 1: the problem. And he was watching like Nova or something 371 00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:21,120 Speaker 1: one night and they were talking about hydrogen sulfide and 372 00:19:21,240 --> 00:19:23,600 Speaker 1: he had that kind of dinging moment where he's like, yes, 373 00:19:23,680 --> 00:19:26,760 Speaker 1: that's the thing in our body that we actually do produce, 374 00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:31,320 Speaker 1: albeit in small amounts. And he started to think, could 375 00:19:31,359 --> 00:19:35,439 Speaker 1: it cause oxygen to not bind like a kind of 376 00:19:35,640 --> 00:19:40,600 Speaker 1: game of musical chairs, leading to uh to not consume 377 00:19:40,680 --> 00:19:44,200 Speaker 1: that oxygen and then by reducing our demand for oxygen. 378 00:19:45,320 --> 00:19:50,840 Speaker 1: So he decides to start administering hydrogen sulfide to mice 379 00:19:51,160 --> 00:19:53,080 Speaker 1: and then again put it in the cold environment because 380 00:19:53,119 --> 00:19:55,000 Speaker 1: he thinks that there's something key to this coold environment 381 00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:58,520 Speaker 1: that happened with the skier. And indeed, then Mike started 382 00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:03,480 Speaker 1: stopped moving up here to dead, oxygen consumption rate fell 383 00:20:03,600 --> 00:20:06,679 Speaker 1: by tenfold. So this again, this is really important, right 384 00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:09,480 Speaker 1: because we don't have brains to starve from lack of oxygen. 385 00:20:09,920 --> 00:20:12,160 Speaker 1: But he says, this is the real kicker, that hydrogen 386 00:20:12,200 --> 00:20:15,959 Speaker 1: sulfide is rapidly metabolized. So if you were dosed with 387 00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:19,040 Speaker 1: us after six hours of d animation, all you would 388 00:20:19,080 --> 00:20:21,200 Speaker 1: have to do is be put out into room air 389 00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:24,240 Speaker 1: and warm up, and you would be, in his words, 390 00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:28,320 Speaker 1: none the worse for wear. So and one model of 391 00:20:28,359 --> 00:20:31,119 Speaker 1: heart attack animals were given the hydrogen sulfide and they 392 00:20:31,119 --> 00:20:34,359 Speaker 1: showed a seventy percent reduction and heart damage compared to 393 00:20:34,400 --> 00:20:37,719 Speaker 1: those who got the standard of care that you and 394 00:20:37,760 --> 00:20:40,000 Speaker 1: I were to receive if we were to have a 395 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:42,399 Speaker 1: heart attack here today. And the same is true for 396 00:20:42,560 --> 00:20:44,520 Speaker 1: organ failures. So when you have a loss of function 397 00:20:44,600 --> 00:20:47,399 Speaker 1: by going to pour profusion of kidney or liver, you 398 00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:51,160 Speaker 1: have damage that suffered. So in he started human trials, 399 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:54,120 Speaker 1: and he says that we're on the path of really 400 00:20:54,200 --> 00:20:58,480 Speaker 1: understanding this metabolic flexibility, and the not too distant future 401 00:20:58,480 --> 00:21:00,679 Speaker 1: we could have E m T s actually giving people 402 00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:06,399 Speaker 1: this hydrogen sulfide and extending the their lives possibly. You know, 403 00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:09,200 Speaker 1: you know, if you were in an emergency situation, you're 404 00:21:09,200 --> 00:21:11,359 Speaker 1: being transported, you might be able to be put under 405 00:21:11,359 --> 00:21:14,960 Speaker 1: in the suspended animation and not have any ill effects 406 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:17,080 Speaker 1: to your tissue. Well, that one of the take homes 407 00:21:17,119 --> 00:21:20,440 Speaker 1: here for me is that suspended animation induced human hibernation. 408 00:21:20,600 --> 00:21:22,760 Speaker 1: It may look easy in some of our sci fi visions, 409 00:21:22,760 --> 00:21:24,600 Speaker 1: many of our sci fi visions where it's just kind 410 00:21:24,600 --> 00:21:26,560 Speaker 1: of a plot something to move the plot around long 411 00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:30,520 Speaker 1: and somehow make vast distances traversible by humans. You know, 412 00:21:30,560 --> 00:21:32,320 Speaker 1: it's just a matter of Sigourney Weaver putting on your 413 00:21:32,320 --> 00:21:37,080 Speaker 1: sexiest underwear and climbing into a pod. Right. But but 414 00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:39,800 Speaker 1: but like the idea that it wouldn't just be Sigurney 415 00:21:39,840 --> 00:21:42,359 Speaker 1: Weaver in sexy underwear, it would be Sigorney Weaver in 416 00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:46,720 Speaker 1: a psomniatic state, uncomfortably semi conscious for this long stretch 417 00:21:46,720 --> 00:21:49,199 Speaker 1: of time, you know, or or the possibility that you 418 00:21:49,200 --> 00:21:52,040 Speaker 1: would have to take Sigourney Weaver's blood out and put 419 00:21:52,160 --> 00:21:55,280 Speaker 1: some sort of saline chill solution in there instead. So 420 00:21:55,320 --> 00:21:58,159 Speaker 1: it's a it's it's a less attractive scenario when you're 421 00:21:58,160 --> 00:22:00,800 Speaker 1: talk about Sigourney, where you're talking about the Highley character 422 00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:07,439 Speaker 1: and not that's I don't don't, don't, don't ring bullets 423 00:22:07,480 --> 00:22:10,720 Speaker 1: upon me with your eyes. But no, no Ripley in 424 00:22:11,080 --> 00:22:14,920 Speaker 1: an alien it's it is. It is early in the morning. Now, 425 00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:17,400 Speaker 1: there have been some other there are just as many 426 00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:20,680 Speaker 1: sci fi visions of induced hibernation that are far more 427 00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:25,000 Speaker 1: than a centuralistic but certainly Nightmarrick. For instance, Dan Abnett 428 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:28,760 Speaker 1: had a novel called Zenos. It's forty K novels he did, 429 00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:31,040 Speaker 1: but there was a situation in that where he describes 430 00:22:31,119 --> 00:22:33,600 Speaker 1: the planet that during the course of its orbit, it 431 00:22:33,720 --> 00:22:36,040 Speaker 1: enters a stage where it's just too frigid on the 432 00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:39,480 Speaker 1: planet for people to live, you know, energy consumption wise 433 00:22:39,600 --> 00:22:42,000 Speaker 1: in terms of the civilization, but also on a personal level, 434 00:22:42,280 --> 00:22:45,719 Speaker 1: so most of the population goes into a state of hibernation. 435 00:22:46,160 --> 00:22:48,119 Speaker 1: In this book, it opens with this action scene in 436 00:22:48,160 --> 00:22:51,720 Speaker 1: which a villain has woken everyone up prematurely, and so 437 00:22:52,160 --> 00:22:55,280 Speaker 1: like thousands of people are dying in their hibernation pots 438 00:22:55,320 --> 00:22:59,199 Speaker 1: because it's such a medically tinkered state that if you 439 00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:01,440 Speaker 1: come out of it, about the ave of physician, you're 440 00:23:02,040 --> 00:23:05,200 Speaker 1: you're kind of boned. So so that that comes to mind. 441 00:23:05,359 --> 00:23:07,679 Speaker 1: Another title that comes to mind is the Worthing Saga 442 00:23:07,760 --> 00:23:10,480 Speaker 1: or the Worthy Chronicle by Orson Scott Card, the author 443 00:23:10,520 --> 00:23:13,000 Speaker 1: of Ender's Game, and this was material that was based 444 00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:15,240 Speaker 1: on an earlier novel he put out called Hot Sleep, 445 00:23:15,800 --> 00:23:18,240 Speaker 1: And in this he has this concept of what they 446 00:23:18,240 --> 00:23:21,639 Speaker 1: call hot sleep because the individuals are traveling across vast 447 00:23:21,680 --> 00:23:24,720 Speaker 1: distances and to do so, they are put into the 448 00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:27,720 Speaker 1: state of artificial hibernation by the use of this drug 449 00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:30,520 Speaker 1: called stomach as it turns out that they call it 450 00:23:30,560 --> 00:23:34,720 Speaker 1: hot sleep because the individual actually undergoes this very uncomfortable 451 00:23:34,960 --> 00:23:38,800 Speaker 1: like heated, sweaty, increased temperature situation. I'm not sure how 452 00:23:38,800 --> 00:23:40,920 Speaker 1: that would work science wise, but the idea is that 453 00:23:41,240 --> 00:23:44,199 Speaker 1: the hibernation process is very uncomfortable and lasts for a 454 00:23:44,280 --> 00:23:47,200 Speaker 1: very long time. So they actually have to wipe your 455 00:23:47,200 --> 00:23:50,120 Speaker 1: memory before you go into it, store that memory digitally, 456 00:23:50,359 --> 00:23:53,399 Speaker 1: and then put it back into your head after erasing 457 00:23:53,520 --> 00:23:56,600 Speaker 1: the trauma. Of the Hot Sleep experience. If you haven't 458 00:23:56,600 --> 00:23:58,560 Speaker 1: read those, and certainly if your fanom Inder's game and 459 00:23:58,560 --> 00:24:01,920 Speaker 1: haven't explored other Orson's goot card books, I highly recommend 460 00:24:01,920 --> 00:24:03,880 Speaker 1: the Worthing story because he does all sorts of interesting 461 00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:07,520 Speaker 1: things with the concept of of so much induced hibernation, 462 00:24:07,600 --> 00:24:10,840 Speaker 1: and you have individuals in society who can afford it, 463 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:15,720 Speaker 1: who start using this artificial hibernation technology to leap frog 464 00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:19,200 Speaker 1: across the centuries, so they can't actually extend human life. 465 00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:22,640 Speaker 1: But you're only able to live a certain amount of days, 466 00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:25,840 Speaker 1: but you can spread those days out through even century 467 00:24:25,880 --> 00:24:29,160 Speaker 1: long periods of artificial hibernation. Well, that's what Mark Roth 468 00:24:29,320 --> 00:24:31,920 Speaker 1: is pointing to. He is actually saying that suspended animation 469 00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:35,680 Speaker 1: is tapping into immortality, which is really interesting. Of course, 470 00:24:35,720 --> 00:24:39,080 Speaker 1: in the way we've described it here, we're talking about hours, 471 00:24:39,119 --> 00:24:41,560 Speaker 1: but who knows what the promises in the future for 472 00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:44,639 Speaker 1: extending that out for days years. I don't know. And 473 00:24:44,680 --> 00:24:47,159 Speaker 1: I was actually thinking about Aubrey de Gray again, the 474 00:24:47,200 --> 00:24:50,960 Speaker 1: bearded one who the bio gerontologists who talks about how 475 00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:54,480 Speaker 1: the first person to live to be five years has 476 00:24:54,520 --> 00:24:58,920 Speaker 1: already been born, and that we can basically maintain ourselves 477 00:24:58,920 --> 00:25:02,399 Speaker 1: like a good vintage car, and we have the technology 478 00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:04,840 Speaker 1: to do it. If you're going to do that, then hey, 479 00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:07,080 Speaker 1: maybe you want to take five years out in your 480 00:25:07,119 --> 00:25:10,640 Speaker 1: five hundred years of living. Hey, go ahead, suspend animation 481 00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:17,840 Speaker 1: and animate me for five years. That's fine, all right. 482 00:25:17,840 --> 00:25:20,040 Speaker 1: I hope this episode gave you a new view of 483 00:25:20,119 --> 00:25:24,480 Speaker 1: hibernation and the idea of metabolic flexibility, which may be 484 00:25:24,600 --> 00:25:26,840 Speaker 1: something we will all add to a resumes one day. 485 00:25:26,880 --> 00:25:29,159 Speaker 1: You never know. If you want to check out the 486 00:25:29,280 --> 00:25:32,360 Speaker 1: lifeblood of Stuff to Blow your Mind, I'm talking about videos, 487 00:25:32,440 --> 00:25:35,600 Speaker 1: blog entries, and more podcast episodes. Make sure to visit 488 00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:38,080 Speaker 1: stuff to Blow your Mind dot com and if you 489 00:25:38,119 --> 00:25:40,560 Speaker 1: want to send us a high coup with the two 490 00:25:40,640 --> 00:25:44,679 Speaker 1: field wide open fill in below the mind at Discovery 491 00:25:44,920 --> 00:25:52,000 Speaker 1: dot com for more on this and thousands of other topics. 492 00:25:52,119 --> 00:25:59,560 Speaker 1: Does it how stuff works dot com