Ein Schritt in Richtung menschlicher Winterschlaf bei Weltraummissionen? Herbeiführung eines torporähnlichen Zustands mit Ultraschall

> Scientists have now found a way to use ultrasound to focus on a portion of a mammalian brain so as to alter its temperature regulation and induce a state of torpor (mild hibernation) in a rodent that does not do this naturally. Many worlds that could be habitable may have longer seasons and greater season changes wherein the ability to wait out unfavorable conditions has an evolutionary advantage. Sending humans (large mammals) to other worlds could be facilitated by reducing life support requirements.

> Some mammals and birds have a clever way to preserve energy and heat by going into torpor, during which their body temperature and metabolic rate drop to allow them to survive potentially fatal conditions in the environment, such as extreme cold or lack of food. While a similar condition was proposed for scientists making flights to space in the 1960s or for patients with life-threatening health conditions, safely inducing such a state remains elusive.

> “Ultrasound stimulation possesses a unique capability to noninvasively reach deep brain regions with high spatial and temporal precision in animal and human brains.”