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Biological Miracle – Wood Frog

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503 points thunderbong | 4 comments | 15 Nov 24 18:16 UTC | HN request time: 0.621s | source
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metalman ◴[15 Nov 24 19:08 UTC] No.42149862[source]▶
cant even call that hibernation. There are other knock on advantages to bieng frozen solid, it would slow down and even kill a lot of infectious microbes.It may convey a certain life extension benifit. And threre is not much behavioral adaptation needed,frog gets chilly, snuggles under a leaf,freezes solid, gets defrosted 8 months later and wakes up hungry and horny, not bad.
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1. duskwuff ◴[15 Nov 24 19:46 UTC] No.42150199[source]▶
> it would slow down and even kill a lot of infectious microbes

I wouldn't count on it killing them. The cryoprotectants in the frog's body don't discriminate; they'll protect foreign bacteria just as well as the frog's cells.

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2. metalman ◴[15 Nov 24 20:37 UTC] No.42150710[source]▶
I should of elaborated, many of the issues associated with,"conventional hibernation" have to do with lethal infections aquired externaly while hibernating, damp, cold, ....mold as to the cryoprotectants ,side protecting microbes, clearly gut microbes and other internal flora ,would benifit......but ,big but, would a sneeky cryosuspension routine also include a freeze and clense cycle?, why not! and easy enough to verify,right!
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3. seesaw ◴[16 Nov 24 06:37 UTC] No.42154858[source]▶
I wonder what happens to the gut bacteria ? Do they also freeze and get thawed ? If so, are those bacterium also having a special adaptation, or is it a function of the host ?
4. m463 ◴[16 Nov 24 07:06 UTC] No.42154976[source]▶
I would imagine the frog's internal ecosystem has co-evolved with lots of bacteria that can also be frozen solid.