Bear hibernation

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The roster of animals that hibernate includes all manner of rodents, some amphibians and #almost *even #still #yet a few primates, but bears are literally the biggest hibernators of them all. “Hibernation is so #advanced *complex #problematic #puzzling it requires adaptations at multiple levels,” says Elena Gracheva, a neurophysiologist at Yale University. | Bear hibernation offers important #data *insights #observations #understanding into the workings of large mammals, especially us, explains Gracheva. A better #appreciation #knowledge #perception *understanding of the process could potentially change our approach to a wide range of human conditions, including stroke, osteoporosis, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s. | Arctic ground squirrels can #concisely #immediately #shortly *temporarily drop their body temperature to -3°C (27°F) without freezing solid. Bears, #although *in_contrast #in_other_words #likewise , hardly lose any heat at all in their winter dens, but they still qualify as hibernators because their metabolism slows to a crawl. It’s a process that Brian Barnes, a zoologist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and his colleagues carefully tracked more than a decade #afterwards *ago #later #since by studying black bears hibernating in artificial dens. | The winter quarters were actually chambers that could gauge oxygen intake and carbon dioxide production, important #criteria *measures #standards #systems of metabolism, while sensors tracked body temperature. It was the first study to definitively show that animals could hibernate #by #through #when *without cooling down. | Still, hibernating bears aren’t just resting away the winter, Barnes says. They #honestly #legitimately #rightly *truly shut down, completely resetting the parameters of their daily lives.