Talk:Hibernation

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There is a study that using hydrogen sulfide cause hibernation in mice, can anyone confirm it? Samohyl Jan 11:30, 22 Apr 2005 (UTC)

I added the following paragraph in Aug 2005:
Hibernation has been induced in mice by subjecting them to Hydrogen sulfide at a concentration of 80 ppm. This was discovered by Mark Roth et al. of the University of Washington and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. Since mice do not naturally hibernate, this raises the possibility of inducing hibernation in other mammals that normally lack the capability, including humans.
but it was deleted in Dec 2005 with the comment: (fascinating note, but wikipedia is NOT the place for original research nor for science news. try wikinews for the latter). I am not sufficiently tied in with the Wiki standards to know how long a fact has to be known before it stops being original research or science news and starts being the sort of thing that belongs in an encyclopedia article on the subject. In the interest of avoiding a Wikiwar, I'll let someone more in tune with the zeitgeist decide whether to put it back in. 66.93.220.157 14:56, 26 April 2006 (UTC)

Can somebody add some information about muscle atrophy and animal defication during hibernation?

Do hibernating animals defecate?


Can anyone write expand on the neuroscience of hibernation? How it affects memories and the hippocampus. And also the discovery that hibernating brains accumulate hyperphosphorylated tau (discovered by Thomas Arendt, University of Leipzig, Germany, 2003).


Contents

[edit] hibernate (software)

please see the discussion at talk:hibernate (software) regarding disambiguation of hibernate. Plugwash 16:20, 30 November 2005 (UTC)


Several of the species listed here as hibernators are ancient species; snakes, newts, bats, frogs etc. Questions as to the paleontological history of hibernation are important to ask. The issue could use discussion here.


The geographic distribution of hibernators and extinct hibernators would be important additions to this article.

Hibernation can also occur with satellites. Several current NASA missions can be kept in a low activity orbit or movement for a long period of time in order to conserve fuel.

James T. Struck

[edit] Another question

Do hibernating animals dream, or have REM sleep or whatnot? The article mentions "inhibiting neuronal activity", does that imply that they don't dream like they might if they were normally sleeping? --Interiot

Truly hibernating animals arouse now and then to get some sleep. See last paragraph & ref, Sleep (non-human). Has also been discussed elsewhere. --Hordaland (talk) 16:57, 10 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Frozen Ground Squirrels?

"In contrast, hibernating ground squirrels may have core body temperatures as low as -2° C." This line in the article seems to have a typo "core body temperatures as low as -2° C." would not that be frozen solid, as water freezes at 0° C. Which would seem to make the creature dead and not hibernating. If they really have been found with core tempratures as below 0° C then a source would be in order.

Published in the Journal Science in 1989 see http://users.iab.uaf.edu/~brian_barnes/publications/1989barnes.pdf pcrtalk 17:44, 14 August 2006 (UTC)
Pure water freezes at O° C, but body fluids are not pure water, and so would have a lower freezing point. Some Arctic fish additionally have gylcols in the blood which act as an anti-freeze in the sea water, which can, of course, be colder than O° C because of its salt content. Jimfbleak 10:11, 12 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] bears

they hibbernate —Preceding unsigned comment added by 154.5.6.112 (talk) 23:56, 15 January 2008 (UTC) yo

Polar bears are aggressive and inquisitive, and, as such, potentially dangerous to humans. Unlike most other bears, wild polar bears are poorly habituated to humans and will quickly assess any animal they encounter as potential prey. Males are normally solitary except for mating season, although females are usually social towards one another. The polar bear is often regarded as a marine mammal because it spends many months of the year at sea. Polar bears live along the shore and on sea ice in the icy cold arctic. When ice forms over the ocean in cold weather, many polar bears, except pregnant females head out into the ice to hunt seals. Polar bears have been spotted on Ice Sea hundreds of miles from shore. When the warm weather causes the sea ice to melt, polar bears move towards the shore. Polar bears are a potentially endangered species. Polar bears are well-adapted to severe cold. Winter temperatures in the far north often plunge to -40° F or -50° F and can stay that way for days or even weeks. In January and February, the average temperature in the high Arctic is -29° F. The Arctic stays black and fiercely cold for months on end. In the High Arctic, the sun sets in October and does not rise again until late February. When curled up in a ball, polar bears sometimes cover their muzzles — which radiate heat — with one of their thickly furred paws. On bitterly cold days with fierce winds, polar bears dig out a shelter in a snow bank and curl up in a tight ball to wait out the storm. Polar bears know how to pack on the fat: A single bear can consume 100 pounds of blubber at one sitting. The polar bear's compact ears and small tail also help prevent heat loss. Polar bears have two layers of fur for further protection from the cold. Polar bears have more problems with overheating than they do with cold. Even in very cold weather, they quickly overheat when they try to run. Polar bears live only in the northern Arctic where they spend most of their time on ice floes. They are the largest land meat-eater in the world and the largest of the bear family. They are well suited to the cold Arctic ice and snow. Height: Average adult male 8.5 ft. (2.6 m) Average adult female 6.5 ft. (2 m) Weight: Average adult male 900 lbs. Average adult female 500 lbs. Colour: Off-white fur with black nose, eyes and mouth. Polar bears have fur that is made up of "hollow guard hairs." Sometimes when polar bears live in zoos that are in a warmer climate, they can have algae growing inside the hollow guard hairs of their fur. This makes them have a greenish tint to their fur. These hollow hairs also keep their hair from matting down when they swim in water. Pregnant females den up for winter but do not hibernate. All polar bears may den temporarily to avoid bad weather. They dog-paddle with their head and much of their back above water. Their blubber helps to float them as they swim. They can swim at an average of 6 miles per hour. Polar bears find a seal air hole and sneak up on it slowly and sit there until a seal comes up to breathe and then they scoop him right out of the hole. Polar bears hunt seals, fish, seabirds and reindeer. They will also eat vegetation and berries in the summer. Polar bears do not need to drink water, as they get all the liquid they need from the food they eat. In order for polar bears to stay fat and warm they must eat a lot of food. Polar bears often eat 45 kilograms of seal blubber in one meal. About half of the food polar bears eat is used to keep them warm, which is the same for humans. So the colder the Arctic gets, the more they must eat to keep warm. Polar bears have an amazing sense of smell, which means that they can smell a dead meal 20 miles away and a live seal one metre under the ice. They use their large feet as paddles when swimming and when on the ice, their feet are used as snow-shoes. Polar bear cubs are no bigger than a rat when born. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.190.88.239 (talk) 06:00, 4 April 2008 (UTC)