15 ms·

> a type of frog has 'anti-freeze' in it's makeup so it can freeze and re-thaw Nit: it can't actually recover from freezing solid. It just has lowered the fre

by jefftk 4y ago

> a type of frog has 'anti-freeze' in it's makeup so it can freeze and re-thaw Nit: it can't actually recover from freezing solid. It just has lowered the freezing point of the remaining liquid to below the temperatures it's going to encounter.

toss1 4y ago
Thanks, you provoked me to look it up in more detail, and we're both oversimplifying, and it's even wilder than I thought. From [0]: >> On an organismal level, they are completely frozen to death — their heart stops beating and breathing ceases. Image via Facebook >> The frog’s death-defying trick actually comes down to one simple factor: nucleating proteins. When the frog’s skin begins to freeze, these proteins cause the water within the frog’s blood to freeze first, which in turn serves as a vacuum for most of the water out of the cells. Simultaneously, their bodies pump out large amounts of glucose to serve as stuffing material, which prevents the cells from collapsing. >> Essentially, frogs fill their bodies full of sugar to keep themselves alive through winter. When warm temperatures melt the snow around their hibernacula, frogs slowly thaw back to life. Water melts and returns to the bloodstream, begins circulating, and restarts their heart and breathing. Within an hour or so the frog returns to normal life, completely unscathed. Just wild! [0] https://roaring.earth/frogs-literally-freeze-during-winter-and-thaw-back-to-life-in-spring/ https://roaring.earth/frogs-literally-freeze-during-winter-a...
- jefftk 4y ago
  It's definitely wild! But "completely frozen" isn't quite right: if you slowly lowered the temperature of a "frozen" frog enough the tiny bit of water still within the cells would freeze, and the frog would die.
- pantalaimon 4y ago
  They also froze hamsters and revived them with a microwave https://youtu.be/2tdiKTSdE9Y https://youtu.be/2tdiKTSdE9Y

by jefftk 4y ago

toss1 4y ago

Thanks, you provoked me to look it up in more detail, and we're both oversimplifying, and it's even wilder than I thought. From [0]: >> On an organismal level, they are completely frozen to death — their heart stops beating and breathing ceases. Image via Facebook >> The frog’s death-defying trick actually comes down to one simple factor: nucleating proteins. When the frog’s skin begins to freeze, these proteins cause the water within the frog’s blood to freeze first, which in turn serves as a vacuum for most of the water out of the cells. Simultaneously, their bodies pump out large amounts of glucose to serve as stuffing material, which prevents the cells from collapsing. >> Essentially, frogs fill their bodies full of sugar to keep themselves alive through winter. When warm temperatures melt the snow around their hibernacula, frogs slowly thaw back to life. Water melts and returns to the bloodstream, begins circulating, and restarts their heart and breathing. Within an hour or so the frog returns to normal life, completely unscathed. Just wild! [0] https://roaring.earth/frogs-literally-freeze-during-winter-and-thaw-back-to-life-in-spring/ https://roaring.earth/frogs-literally-freeze-during-winter-a...

jefftk 4y ago
It's definitely wild! But "completely frozen" isn't quite right: if you slowly lowered the temperature of a "frozen" frog enough the tiny bit of water still within the cells would freeze, and the frog would die.
pantalaimon 4y ago
They also froze hamsters and revived them with a microwave https://youtu.be/2tdiKTSdE9Y https://youtu.be/2tdiKTSdE9Y