Bears uncouple temperature and metabolism for hibernation, new study shows
Thursday, February 17, 2011 - 23:30
in Biology & Nature
New findings show that although black bears only reduce their body temperatures slightly during hibernation, their metabolic activity drops dramatically, slowing to about 25 percent of their normal, active rates. This feat leads researchers to believe that, in the future, the data collected in this study might be applied to a very wide range of endeavors -- from improving medical care to pioneering deep space travel.