Hibernation is a regulated biological process in endothermic animals characterized by prolonged, seasonally induced torpor with profound reductions in metabolic rate, body temperature, heart rate, and respiratory frequency to conserve energy during periods of resource scarcity, typically winter. It is controlled by neuroendocrine mechanisms integrating circannual and circadian rhythms, photoperiod, and environmental cues, and involves shifts in fuel utilization from carbohydrates to lipid oxidation, cytoprotective adaptations, and altered gene expression supporting cellular stress resistance. Hibernation includes multiday torpor bouts interspersed with spontaneous arousals, during which tissue repair, immune function, and neural homeostasis are partially restored, thereby enabling long-term survival under energetically constrained conditions.
Skeletal muscle stem cells in hibernating Syrian hamsters preserve their ability to function by suppressing their activation during the hibernation period, a research team led by Hiroshima University has shown. This insight ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jan 26, 2026
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73
During spring, when queen bumblebees first emerge from hibernation to start their nests, they work incredibly hard foraging for nectar to fuel their new colonies. But then, as soon as their first workers are born, they seem ...
Winter is hard, and for wildlife in Colorado, it's even harder. To survive, many species have developed adaptations over hundreds of thousands of years that allow them to weather the storms, including hibernation, thicker ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 31, 2025
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359
As the days continue to get shorter, scientists have made a significant discovery in understanding exactly what makes mammals exhibit seasonal behaviors like hibernation and migration.
Plants & Animals
Nov 17, 2025
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22
For the first time, brown rats have been filmed actively hunting bats, snatching some from the air and capturing others on the ground. The rodents were caught on camera at bat hibernation sites in northern Germany. According ...
The days are getting shorter, the temperatures are dropping. Numerous animals are migrating south, others are seeking their hibernacula—including bats. However, while hibernation is becoming shorter and shorter for many animals ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 8, 2025
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31
A research team has developed a nanocomposite-modified microelectrode array (MEA) that enables long-term, high-sensitivity monitoring of neuronal activity during hibernation. Their findings were recently published in ACS ...
Bio & Medicine
Sep 29, 2025
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592
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources announced that baby Eastern copperheads will start becoming more active as the weather becomes cooler and milder.
Plants & Animals
Sep 15, 2025
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45
Scientists have discovered that jewel wasps can slow down their biological rate of aging. Their study of jewel wasps, known for their distinctive metallic colors, has shown that they can undergo a kind of natural "time-out" ...
Plants & Animals
Jul 29, 2025
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58
Researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University report that they were able to successfully put tadpoles of Xenopus laevis frogs into a hibernation-like torpor state using donepezil ...
Bio & Medicine
Aug 22, 2024
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