'Suspended Animation' Induced In Mice With Sewer Gas: Effects Are Reversible

'Suspended Animation' Induced In Mice With Sewer Gas: Effects Are Reversible: "'Hydrogen sulfide is the stinky gas that can kill workers who encounter it in sewers; but when adminstered to mice in small, controlled doses, within minutes it produces what appears to be totally reversible metabolic suppression,' says Warren Zapol, MD, chief of Anesthesia and Critical Care at MGH and senior author of the Anesthesiology study."

Temporary life suspension could radically alter and improve the survival rate of numerous medical procedures. True persistent life suspension will change society in more profound ways than birth control has. Another puzzle piece is coming into view with this study.

I suspect researchers are or will shortly be investigating whether introducing Hydrogen Sulfide into an oxygen-depleted organ would allow for reintroduction of oxygen without causing reperfusion (cell death)[1] which would allow for the treatment of drowning and potentially further pave the way to persistent life suspension.

Docs Change the Way They Think About Death | Newsweek Health | Newsweek.com

Research finds birdsong trigger

BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | Edinburgh, East and Fife | Research finds birdsong trigger: "Birds know to sing in the spring because of hormones triggered by longer days, researchers have found."

Chemical pathways for communication between cells and subsystems have evolved for billions of years before electrically-induced neural networks arose. Understanding the chemical pathways in the brain will prove at least as important, if not more important, than understanding the electrical pathways.

Docs Change the Way They Think About Death | Newsweek Health | Newsweek.com

Docs Change the Way They Think About Death | Newsweek Health | Newsweek.com: "Biologists are still grappling with the implications of this new view of cell death—not passive extinguishment, like a candle flickering out when you cover it with a glass, but an active biochemical event triggered by 'reperfusion,' the resumption of oxygen supply. The research takes them deep into the machinery of the cell, to the tiny membrane-enclosed structures known as mitochondria where cellular fuel is oxidized to provide energy. Mitochondria control the process known as apoptosis, the programmed death of abnormal cells that is the body's primary defense against cancer. 'It looks to us,' says Becker, 'as if the cellular surveillance mechanism cannot tell the difference between a cancer cell and a cell being reperfused with oxygen. Something throws the switch that makes the cell die.'"

Intriguing article on cell death after the reintroduction of oxygen.

St. Jude researchers find key step in programmed cell death (news release)

St. Jude researchers find key step in programmed cell death (news release): "Apoptosis rids the body of faulty or unneeded cells. However, molecular malfunctions that trigger apoptosis may cause some diseases, including Parkinson’s disease. Understanding the biochemical interactions that control the extent of programmed cell death could lead to new treatments."

As discussed previously, in the lack of oxygen doesn't seem to kill cells, but reintroduction of oxygen after a period of oxygen deficit leads to mass apoptosis -- programmed cell death. This study shows progress in understanding how apoptosis works and how cells stave off cell death.