Finding which genes are activated or silenced by Arctic ground squirrels during hibernation

Monday, May 12, 2014 - 05:01 in Biology & Nature

(Phys.org) —Saving energy is crucial to the survival of animals living in the cold regions of the world. A small marmot-like rodent from the Arctic is world champion when it comes to energy saving. According to Jun Yan from the Partner Institute of the Max Planck Society and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Shanghai, this makes the Arctic ground squirrel extremely suitable for studying the changes that occur at molecular level during rodent hibernation. Based on this, the scientist and his colleagues aim to discover exactly how the animals can attain such dramatic reductions in their metabolic activity.

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