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Human Hibernation on the Horizon?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the sleep-that-sick-away dept.

Mincemeat.net writes "The BBC is reporting that scientists at University of Washington have successfully induced a state of extreme hibernation in mice. The mice suffered no ill effects. Naturally, testing in larger animals will ensue. Humans wouldn't necessarily appreciate the smell of hydrogen sulfide while being placed into suspended animation. However, the applications are numerous if the usage of similar techniques can be applied to us. Cancer treatment, delaying death from injuries, interplanetary expeditions top the lists of possibilities. While it's not a quick freeze, maybe Fry will be able to meet Bender after all."

13 of 511 comments (clear)

  1. Experience is King by A+Boy+and+His+Blob · · Score: 5, Funny
    a chamber filled with air laced with 80 parts per million (ppm) of hydrogen sulphide (H2S) - the malodorous gas that give rotten eggs their stink
    ...
    its possible use in space travel
    Hey NASA, I'm your man, I've been enduring riding the elevator with my gaseous coworkers for YEARS.
    1. Re:Experience is King by gokulpod · · Score: 5, Funny

      No wonder your boss catches you sleeping all the time.

      --
      My mom never taught me to sign.
  2. This is news? by 0x461FAB0BD7D2 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Hibernation has been taking place in people since geeks took to their parents' basements.

    1. Re:This is news? by Skrybe · · Score: 5, Funny

      I think you've got the wrong word there, the one you're looking for is not "hibernation", it's "masturbation".

    2. Re:This is news? by Jeremi · · Score: 5, Funny
      If I could masturbate as long as bears hibernate, I definitely wouldn't be in my parents' basement


      Very true. Most likely you would be in the emergency room, awaiting a skin graft.

      --


      I don't care if it's 90,000 hectares. That lake was not my doing.
  3. Please put me in hibernation by Travoltus · · Score: 5, Funny

    So I'll be alive when Duke Nukem Forever is finally released. :)

    --
    --- Grow a pair, liberals... stop letting the Republicans bully you!
  4. why? by tsioc · · Score: 5, Funny

    why? oh why did it have to be THAT molecule?

    --
    Free electronics!
  5. Olson Twins by Frodo+Crockett · · Score: 5, Funny

    Wake me up when the Olson Twins are legal.

    Wait, nevermind...

    --
    "The newly born animals are then whisked off for a quick run through a giant baking oven." --heard on Food Network
  6. What I expect... by Rie+Beam · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Finally, after being in a constant state of hibernation for the last fifty years, I am ready to greet the future!"

    "Yeah...about that...we all kinda went in after you...so science and technology is about at the same point you left off."

    "So I still have cancer?"

    "Technically, yes. But hey, at least that asteroid never hit...right?"

  7. Welcome to the World of Tomorrow! by janek78 · · Score: 5, Funny



    Hey, I was frozen, I know what guy wants to hear first: the bathroom's that way.

    </end of obligatory Futurama quote>

  8. Re:I can't wait for... by K2Extreme · · Score: 5, Funny
    an instant coast-to-coast flight

    I live in Switzerland, you insensitive clod !

  9. Re:That's nice. by varghan · · Score: 5, Funny

    From what I've heard, the use of certain acetylated opium derivatives induce a state where one needs less sleep (2hrs/day).
    The use has quite some side effects, one of them, in my city at least, seems to be a strong preference for car hifi equipment.

  10. Re:Quite the interesting point by EvilTwinSkippy · · Score: 5, Funny
    It would sure make airliners a lot quieter.

    Actually, as a parent I can think of a few times where a few hours of peace could be a really good thing. Now the question is do I administer it to me or the child...

    --
    "Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
    --Dr.W.Edwards Deming