http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7588904/

Scientists develop
‘hibernation on demand’
Technique could be used in hospitals
to reduce fevers or buy time
for organ transplants, researchers say
A research team led by Mark Roth, a cell biologist at Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, has found a way to put mice into hibernation for six hours — and the technique could conceivable be applied to human patients as well.

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Using a natural chemical that humans and other animals produce in their bodies, scientists have for the first time induced hibernation in mammals, putting mice into a state similar to suspended animation for up to six hours and then bringing them back to normal life.

The breakthrough suggests that humans along with other mammals might harbor a mostly unused ability to hibernate on demand. Further research into the phenomenon could lead to medical advances, such as buying time for humans awaiting an organ transplant, scientists said.
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