03-09-2005, 01:18 PM
Tuesday, April 19, 8 to 9 pm ET on PBS
On the lighter side of science, NOVA scienceNOW -- hosted by Robert Krulwich -- introduces viewers to a species of frog that has solved the problem of cryogenics: freezing solid in the winter, then thawing back to
life in the spring. A "frogsicle," cold to the touch and hard as ice,
this little frog in its frozen state has no heartbeat, brain activity, or respiration. Scientists have finally figured out how to recreate this
process of cryopreservation with mammalian organs. They've now successfully frozen, thawed, and transplanted rat livers and pig hearts. The next step: humans. The hope is that lessons learned from a frog will create a new standard for preserving human organs for transplant.
Thought it looked interesting and worth letting everyone know about it!
On the lighter side of science, NOVA scienceNOW -- hosted by Robert Krulwich -- introduces viewers to a species of frog that has solved the problem of cryogenics: freezing solid in the winter, then thawing back to
life in the spring. A "frogsicle," cold to the touch and hard as ice,
this little frog in its frozen state has no heartbeat, brain activity, or respiration. Scientists have finally figured out how to recreate this
process of cryopreservation with mammalian organs. They've now successfully frozen, thawed, and transplanted rat livers and pig hearts. The next step: humans. The hope is that lessons learned from a frog will create a new standard for preserving human organs for transplant.
Thought it looked interesting and worth letting everyone know about it!