Hibernating bears could hold the key to long-distance space travel

[mr blur]

This has nothing to do with atheism, per se, but it's such a fantastic headline.

And, hey, Science, eh? Gotta love it.

Astronauts could protect themselves against bone wastage by harnessing a unique biological process that allows black bears to maintain their skeletons during hibernation.

A study has revealed that bears protect their bones from degrading, despite hardly moving for up to six months, by suppressing the usual constant release of calcium from the bones into the blood. Such a lengthy period of inactivity in humans would lead to a severely weakened bone structure.

“This could be the basis for a new therapy for astronauts, or people with a bone-related chronic illness,” said Meghan McGee-Lawrence, assistant professor in cellular biology and anatomy at Georgia Regents University in Augusta, and an author of the study.

<snip>

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jul/09/hibernating-bears-could-hold-the-key-to-long-distance-space-travel

[PoliticAverse]

1. What a bear astronaut might look like...

[Duppers]

2. So cute!

[AlbertCat]

3. This has nothing to do with atheism

All bears are atheists.

[onager]

4. Thanks, this is interesting.

And any minute now, some right-wing pundit or Congress-critter will be mocking this research as a waste of money. They do that all the time, with just about any research that doesn't immediately benefit American business. Unless it involves studying evolution, which is always automatically wrong because Jesus.

The area where I live now has a lot of black bears. Earlier in the spring they were coming out of hibernation and getting themselves in trouble. Especially the young males, pushed out by Mom to fend for themselves. Two of the poor critters were run over and killed on the local highways.

Another young black bear woke up and went wandering around a university campus. He ended up in the back yard of the university president's house. The Bear Police just kept an eye on him and he eventually ran off into the woods. And is still at large, AFAIK.