Curious by Nature | Dr. Siniša Hrvatin – What Can Humans Gain from Hibernation Research
Every winter, countless animals enter hibernation, dramatically slowing their metabolism, lowering their body temperature, and surviving for weeks or even months without food. Some can preserve their muscles despite prolonged inactivity, while others tolerate temperatures that would be life-threatening for humans. Scientists believe these remarkable abilities may hold the key to solving some of medicine’s biggest challenges.
Dr. Siniša Hrvatin, Assistant Professor of Biology at MIT and a member of the Whitehead Institute, studies hibernation and torpor to understand how animals naturally protect their organs, muscles, and brains during these extreme states. His research explores how these biological mechanisms could improve organ preservation for transplantation, reduce muscle loss in aging or bedridden patients, and help protect the brain after injuries such as stroke or oxygen deprivation.
His lab is also developing new tools to understand how the brain controls hibernation and has successfully induced a hibernation-like state in animals that don’t naturally hibernate, opening exciting new directions for future research.
The latest episode of Curious by Nature, “What Can Humans Gain from Hibernation Research,” featuring Dr. Siniša Hrvatin, is now available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
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