Sub-Zero Squirrels

DesertFalcon writes "There's a Wired article about squirrels in the Arctic whose body temperatures drop below freezing when they hibernate. Scientists have the goal of applying this to humans in the long run. Could this be the answer to problems with long-distance space travel?" We had a previous story on this.

Comments

Re:Temperature is not an issue

[curious.corn]

No, the problem is that solid water has a larger volume that it's liquid form. Freeze an organism containing water and you'll rip cellular stuctures apart. There wouldn't be any problem if the extreme cold ground matabolism to a halt because given decent enough thermal conditions some reactions would occour naturally and provide enough heat to provide for the more delicate ones. Unfortunately you can't just shut down before anoxia because water crystals destroy those delicate biochemical reactors that keep you alive (that's the reason frozen fruit looses it's consistency and taste when frozen).