Rockabye ultrasound…
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
Imagine hibernating like a bear. That’d be great for healing or saving energy on a space flight. Who’s working on this?
Meet Yaoheng Yang and Hong Chen from Washington University, St. Louis. They put ultrasound caps on mice, targeting the hypothalamus’ pre-optic area – or hibernation control center. They hoped this would induce low body temperature and low energy use!
And? Body temps plunged three degrees in minutes! Heartbeats and oxygen use almost halved. A feedback loop kept them in this state for twenty-four hours. Even non-hibernating rats joined in.
From trauma bays to Mars missions, a whisper of ultrasound could press pause on the body.
No earplugs necessary!
Reference: Yang, Y., Yuan, J., Field, R. L., Ye, D., Hu, Z., Xu, K., … Chen, H. (2023). Induction of a torpor-like hypothermic and hypometabolic state in rodents by ultrasound. Nature Metabolism, 5(5), 789-803. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-023-00804-z