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Scientists suggest that astronauts may one day go into artificial hibernation when traveling in deep space to Mars and beyond.
From movies such as Aliens to Interstellar, Hollywood has long used suspended animation for its men and women from space as part of a mission in far-flung regions of the galaxy.
But a meeting of scientists suggested that this science fiction staple, once fanciful, becomes a reality.
They meet to understand the physiology and potential of hibernation and the associated process, torpor, to help human health during spaceflight and its return to Earth.
Humans do not hibernate like bears and some other animals when food is scarce and temperatures are low.
These animals survive on hibernation, a physiological process that reduces their normal metabolism to low levels for days or weeks.
These periods of low metabolism, known as torpor, allow the animal's body temperature to drop slightly above the ambient air temperature, thereby preserving energy.
Humans are not naturally subject to torpor, but scientists are interested in producing "synthetic" torpor states for spaceflight and the treatment of serious diseases.
Dr. Matthew Regan, a Postdoctoral Fellow from the University of Wisconsin's Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, explained, "A synthetic torpor could protect astronauts from the health risks associated with space and simultaneously reduce requirements for mass, volume and power of spacecraft.
The theory is that hibernating crews are kept alive over vast cosmic distances, reducing the need to carry huge stocks of food and water.
This means that spaceships do not have to be as big and missions are cheaper, while astronauts do not get bored because they travel long distances.
The symposium in New Orleans will explore how the brain could induce synthetic torpor, its similarities and differences with sleep, and the benefits it could bring to astronauts.
And studying mammalian hibernation, how they can safely reduce their body temperature and their metabolism for long periods of time, could also help treat people who are victims of traumatic medical events, such as? ACV, cardiac arrest and significant blood loss.
Animals that use torpor have natural resistance to various injuries that may occur due to lack of blood circulation.
They are also resistant to radiation damage and the decoding of this resistance would be particularly beneficial for the protection of human beings against space radiation.
Professor Hannah Carey of the University of Wisconsin stated that synthetic torpor based on the biology of natural hibernators was preferable to current medical practices that use hypothermia-based methods to treat traumatized patients.
And studying hibernation could be the key to creating a synthetic sluggishness for traveling in space.
However, it is unclear how the nervous system reduces metabolic activity during torpor.
The Assistant Professor of Physiology, Dr. Matteo Cerri of the University of Bologna in Italy, explained that many metabolic regulating organs are controlled by nerve cells (neurons) located in the raphe pallidus, an area of the brainstem which controls heat production in mammals.
Cerri added, "For an animal to go into torpor, it is necessary to inhibit the neurons of raphe pallidus.
"If the function in these cells is not removed, their activity counteracts the hypothermia induced by the torpor."
He will present the preliminary results identifying the neurons projecting on raphe pallidus and involved in activity related to torpor.
Associate professor of neuroscience, Dr. Vladyslav Vyazovskiy of Oxford University, added that the definition of the relationship between sleep and torpor was controversial.
But the two states seem to be intimately linked because of the neural connections they share.
A lack of available food sources can cause mammals to conserve energy and lower body temperature, two hallmarks of torpor, according to research.
Professor Vyazovskiy said: "We know less about the specific signals related to fasting that initiate the entrance into the torpor.
He will discuss the link between sleep and torpor and why more research is needed to determine how torpor affects brain function in animals.
Some of the physiological adaptations that animals present, such as low oxygen environments that have seals and penguins in deep diving or birds during a high-altitude flight, are impossible to live with.
However, understanding how animals adapt under extreme conditions can play a positive role in human medical science, especially in the "extreme environment of space."
The ever-growing possibility of traveling to Mars, once a mere science fiction story, highlights the need to address the factors that have hindered the feasibility of long-term space flight, including an adequate supply of food , water and breathable air.
Finding a way to induce torpor in humans could help eliminate limiting factors and protect astronauts from harmful radiation.
The symposium was part of the Comparative Physiology: Complexity and Integration conference of the American Physiological Society.
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