Hibernation research could lead to new weight loss medicines — could it also help astronauts in space?
Hibernation research is one step closer to taking off.
NASA has given a grant to a project from Fauna Bio and the University of Colorado to figure out how to send a hibernating squirrel to space. The researchers want to learn whether hibernation can protect astronauts from health threats they face on long space flights, such as muscle and bone loss, as well as radiation.
The $175,000 grant, which is part of NASA’s early-stage technology program, will enable the researchers to design a vessel that could be put on the International Space Station to study a hibernating squirrel. The project is still in its infancy, but the long-term hope is that the vessel could one day be used to test molecules that can mimic the changes seen in hibernating animals.
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