Just heard from TED about Suspended Animation, very interesting stuff. Animation here refers to the movement of any live creatures. An example of suspended animation is say, a plant seed, or a spore, or a polar bear in hibernation. When living creatures are in such a state, their metabolism is slowed down many times, thus prolonging their lifespan or in practicality buying more time before an important medical treatment. To make this possible, hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is used to take over the normal oxygen binding. With less oxygen consumption, less metabolism, thus entering into hibernation.
This sounds like some kind of sci-fi stories, only that it’s true. I never thought medical research can be this interesting. ;)
http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/02/mark-roth-on-mice-and-men/