Data and Mathematics toward Understanding the Mysteries of Hibernation

Body temperature of small mammals during hibernation drops close to the ambient temperature (< 10℃). However, it doesn't stay low throughout hibernation but fluctuates multiple times between this low temperature and their normal body temperature. These significant temperature changes are a crucial part of hibernation, but their physiological significance and control mechanisms are not well understood.

Using high-precision experimental data and mathematical model, an international collaborative research group (including Shingo Gibo and Gen Kurosawa, iTHEMS) has challenged to understand what occurs during these temperature changes. They found a model that simultaneously reproduces data of multiple hibernators.This collaboration includes Yoshifumi Yamaguchi (Hokkaido University), Isao Tokuda (Ritsumeikan University), Elena Gracheva (Yale University), Sviatoslav Bagriantsev (Yale University). Paper was published in npj Biological Timing and Sleep, a new journal from Nature Portfolio.

For more details, please refer to the related link.