Talking About Stuff, with Mike and Christiana

Ladies and Gentleman, I am in the state commonly referred to as "buggin'".

According to this news story, scientists have successfully reanimated dogs after several hours of being "scientifically dead".

That means no breathing, no heartbeat, and no brain activity.

During the procedure blood is replaced with saline solution at a few degrees above zero. The dogs' body temperature drops to only 7C, compared with the usual 37C, inducing a state of hypothermia before death.

Although the animals are clinically dead, their tissues and organs are perfectly preserved.

Damaged blood vessels and tissues can then be repaired via surgery. The dogs are brought back to life by returning the blood to their bodies,giving them 100 per cent oxygen and applying electric shocks to restart their hearts.

Tests show they are perfectly normal, with no brain damage.

Now, a few months ago, they announced that they had induced hibernation in mice, but this is such a dramatic breakthrough that frankly, I have some doubts about whether the story is even real.

After doing a little digging, I found that the place that has supposedly done this is real. The Safar Center For Rescusitation Research, and also check this out. It's old, but it seems to be talking about exactly this sort of thing.

So if it is real, it's pretty fookin' amazing!

P.S. Also have to laugh at the picture they chose for that story.

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No, seriously!



According to this Nature.com article:

Sponge-using dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) were first described in 1997 in Shark Bay, 850 kilometres north of Perth, Australia. Since then, all dolphins known to use this tool have come from the same bay, and the vast majority have been female. Direct observations have been rare, but researchers think the dolphins use the marine sponges to disturb the sandy sea bottom in their search for prey, while protecting their beaks from abrasion.

And since the only dolphins that seem to do this are the ones living in this particular area, that strongly suggests a learned behavior, rather than an instinctive one.

Pretty cool, but I wonder what the other dolphins think. Swimming around with a sponge on your nose. Is that the dolphin equivalent of bling or is it a porpoise pocket protector?