Ground squirrel hibernation holds the key to the future human space travel, scientists claim

The ground squirrel hibernates in a unique way, burning almost no energy while it is out for the winter, with no loss of muscle mass, scientists discovered. “Essentially, seeing 13C and/or 15N in metabolites at these various steps indicated that they originated from urea, and thus, that the hibernator was using urea nitrogen salvage,” said biologist Matthew Regan. During the experimental phase, they also found squirrels with depleted gut microbiomes had no evidence of urea nitrogen salvage at any step - confirming that the process depends on the gut's ability to degrade urea. If a way could be found to augment the astronauts' muscle protein synthesis processes using urea nitrogen salvage, they could be able to achieve better muscle health during long voyages into deep space. 'By facilitating muscle protein synthesis late in the hibernation season, urea nitrogen salvage may help optimize the emerging squirrels' muscle function and contribute to their reproductive success during the mating season,' said Regan.