American black bears offer surprising clues into the metabolic miracle of hibernation. Řivind Třien, research scientist with the Institute of Arctic Biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, discovered that despite lowering its metabolism by 75 percent, a hibernating bear’s body temperature changed relatively little.

Třien hopes that his findings will contribute to novel clinical therapies. For people who have suffered a stroke or are awaiting a transplant, being put in a hibernation-like state could give them extra time to receive medical care. For people bedridden, astronauts or others contemplating long space travel, say to Mars, hibernation may also offer a way to retain muscle and bone mass.
Třien and collaborators Brian Barnes, IAB director; John Blake, UAF attending veterinarian; and colleagues from Stanford University published their findings in the 17 February 2011 issue of the journal Science. Photograph by Řivind Třien, Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks