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Sewer Gas-Based Suspended Animation
Suspended animation has been induced in mice with low doses of hydrogen sulfide; that's the gas causing all the stink in sewers everywhere.
According to an article in the April 2008 journal Anesthesiology, Massachusetts General Hospital scientists have seen "what appears to be totally reversible metabolic suppression."
Hey - I'm a larger mammal...
The idea of suspended animation is a long-time staple of science fiction writers. To mention just one example, in Space Seed, Khan Noonien Singh and his genetically-engineered crew are discovered in a state of suspended animation in their drifting spacecraft, the Botany Bay.
"Producing a reversible hypometabolic state could allow organ function to be preserved when oxygen supply is limited, such as after a traumatic injury," says Gian Paolo Volpato, MD, MGH Anesthesiology research fellow and lead author of the study. "We don't know yet if these results will be transferable to humans, so our next step will be to study the use of hydrogen sulfide in larger mammals."
(Ricardo Montalban apparently fully recovered)
Read more in 'Suspended Animation' Induced In Mice With Sewer Gas: Effects Are Reversible. Thanks to Rob for reminding me about this story.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 3/27/2008)
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