Ahibernating ground squirrel wouldn’t look like much, even if you could spot it. But curled into furry balls from October to April, these pint-sized mammals have genetic adaptations that could be applied to next-generation therapeutics for humans.
When ground squirrels hibernate, which they do for about six months each year, their heart rates drop, and their only brain activity is that required for essential function — essentially, they’re brain dead. But squirrels can survive periods of low oxygenation, or hypoxia, during massive, biweekly shifts in their body temperature. Those same conditions in a person would cause heart attacks, strokes, and even death. Yet, ground squirrels recover from these damaging episodes dozens of times each winter during hibernation.