Will astronauts 'hibernate' on the way?

Recently, US media reported that some scientists from the Kanagawa City Technical Research Institute in Japan have discovered that a substance in the brain can cause animals to hibernate. Through many tests, they extracted a special protein, similar to a hormone, which is " hibernation stimulant ".

The results of this study explored the special sleep state of mammals, and in the future, astronauts can hibernate to perform a long interstellar flight.

Hibernation helps animals prolong life

Animal physiological studies have explained hibernation as a ' self-help ' method to maintain the energy state in the body, avoid starvation and adapt to adverse environmental conditions. Through hibernation, animals can avoid cold and torment of disease.

Through monitoring, the study showed that, in the state of hibernation, the animal temperature decreased, the metabolic activity in the body also decreased by 98%. Animals form a ' deep sleep ' state and the entire body physiological activity adapts to external conditions. That is, along with reducing consumption and saving energy, it also prolongs the relative life process, of course the life expectancy of animals will also last.

The study also said that when the animal body is in a state of hibernation, if there is some stimulation from the outside, then the inside of the body immediately creates its own reaction and regulates itself against the disease Dullness exists, which can cause animals to prevent many diseases.

Researchers at the Kanagawa Research Institute said that for mammals, hibernation is both a regulatory process that adapts to external conditions to prolong life, and a process of regulation and creation. adaptation of internal conditions to prevent and treat disease. As for low-level animals (such as snakes), their hibernation has only an important function of adapting to survival conditions.

Some experts say, the great significance, the research results of scientists in Kanagawa, Japan is that, for the first time, the human brain has been able to make adjustments to the body adapting to the External environmental conditions.

" Artificial hibernation " helps people extend their life

Humans are high-class animals, but humans themselves do not have the ability to hibernate. So how to apply hibernation mechanism to make people in hibernation state prevent bad impacts and troubles of external conditions, thereby leading to prolonged life? This is the ' artificial hibernation ' technique that scientists are conducting.

The Medicine industry has been imitating the principle of animal hibernation, creating hibernation techniques for humans; In fact, it is the method of body anesthesia at low temperature . In general, the previous studies were to bring general anesthesia patients, then use ice or cold water strips to make muscle temperature. human body dropped to minus 300oC. In this state, the metabolism of the human body occurs very slowly, the energy consumption is greatly reduced, the body's response to the external environmental impact is also very slow.

Studies also show that hibernating animals have immunity to pathogenic bacteria, are able to resist radiation; especially animals with cancer when hibernating, the growth rate of cancer cells is very slow. So in principle, it is possible to take advantage of hibernating stimulants to coordinate the treatment of human cancer. Obviously, this is good news for people with cancer.

Astronauts sleeping in their pockets (Photo: NASA)

Just like animals in general, human energy consumption during a major hibernation is just a waste of energy accumulated in the body, which has almost no loss of muscle organization.

From the results of the study of extracting ' hibernation stimulant ', scientists are now embarking on the study of the control of hibernation and hibernation synthesis. Once the research has successfully built these substances, combined with the freezing technique . scientists will control the patient to actually step into 'hibernation', waiting for the future to recover from illness, prolonged life expectancy.

The astronauts ' hibernate ' eat very little

The amazing thing is, " artificial hibernation" is not only of medical value but also has great significance in terms of aerospace. On the way into space, it is possible to use " artificial hibernation " technology, which makes the astronaut live in a state of " hibernation ", waiting for the spacecraft to approach the target needed, will automatically Heat up, wake up and perform normal tasks, then you can continue to perform very long and long-distance interstellar flying.

Currently the European Aerospace Department has invested a sizable amount of money, beginning to study the problem of " hibernation " for astronauts, preparing for long, few months or several years in the universe. The problem of food and drink for travelers ' hibernating ' does not consume too much, but the focus of the study is to synthesize hibernation drugs, control substances and dormant control mechanisms as well as ' cavity ' ship dormant '.

Nguyen Mau