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| Happy Groundhog Day! |
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| By Engin Ozertugrul | ||||
| February 2008 | ||||
♦ In 1958, Phil announced that he was a “United States Chucknik,” rather than a Soviet Sputnik or Muttnik that became the first man-made satellite to orbit Earth.
♦ In 1981, Phil wore a yellow ribbon in honor of the American hostages in Iran. ♦ Phil traveled to Washington DC in 1986, to meet with President Reagan. ♦ Phil met Pennsylvania Governor Dick Thornburg in 1987. ♦ In 1993, Columbia pictures released the movie Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray. ♦ Phil appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1995.1 Is this furry weatherman overrated? Perhaps! Especially when one considers a Canadian researcher who did a careful study and found that the groundhog gets it right only about 37 percent of the time.2 However, there is something extraordinary about these furry, burrowing creatures. It is hibernation. During hibernation the groundhog breathes about once every four minutes, its heart beats four times a minute, and its body temperature drops from a norm of about 99 degrees Fahrenheit (about the same as ours) to about 36 degrees, which is just above freezing. Actually, since the groundhog hibernates about eight months of the year, 99 degrees might be called its abnormal temperature. Nearly frozen and nearly dead is a groundhog’s normal state!2 Hibernation is not a constant state but a cycle. The groundhog goes into hibernation, comes out, and goes back again. The cycle, however, does not run six weeks, as in the legend. Groundhogs rouse themselves from hibernation about every two weeks (even if it is for a few minutes) to check the temperature outside of his burrow, which is a groundhog’s main cue for when to start or stop hibernating.2 Why do groundhogs hibernate? In fact, why do some animals hibernate while others do not? If you are looking for a response depicting scientific fact, there is none. There is, however, a good dose of common sense on why some animals hibernate. First, it’s cold; second, there’s nothing to eat; and third, mating season is months away.2 If you are wondering how groundhogs can survive 8 months with no food and water intake, here is the key: Groundhogs gorge before going under, eating a pound a day and doubling their weight (mostly fat). Burning fat produces no urea (converting protein to energy producing urea, which is poisonous, and is excreted by urination), and releases water. So hibernating creatures don’t need to drink or urinate. And since they don’t burn protein, their muscles stay relatively firm. On top of all the above, they’re nearly dead anyway, so they don’t need much energy.2 Hibernation might have far reaching applications that one can readily imagine. It may be a way to send a crew of astronauts to another solar system, a journey that could take centuries. Hibernation might also be useful for transporting injured/wounded patients to hospitals. Wouldn’t it be great if we are able to hibernate a single organ? It would be a way to preserve a heart or a liver for transplantation. And what about a drug that induces immediate hibernation for trapped miners. The list can be endless. Too optimistic? Not necessarily. Scientists at the University of Minnesota have already identified the hibernation gene. This gene produces an enzyme which switches the system from burning carbohydrates to burning fat. Long-term human hibernation, the kind we’d need for space travel, might still be a long way off. However, the technology for short-term human hibernation is around the corner.2 HAPPY GROUNDHOG DAY! References:1 http://www.party411.com/holidays-groundhoghistory.html 2 http://encarta.msn.com/column_groundhogday_tamimhome/The_Secret_Truth_Behind_Groundhog_Day.html |
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