Artificial torpor

[james_davis_nicoll]

Apparently they've induced hibernation in animals that don't normally hiberate.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4469793.stm

Comments

[james-nicoll.livejournal.com]

Hm, would also permit high acceleration, altitudes sufficient to induce near-weightlessness, etc. without concerns about the passengers getting sick all over the cabin.

Or they'd upchuck in their sleep, which couldn't be good.

[rosefox]

I'd think that unlikely if the metabolism is slowed down. A lot of motion sickness has to do with being consciously aware of it.

There's probably the makings of a weight-loss craze somewhere in there.

I wonder whether the brain would still absorb sensory data. What happens if you're torporized and someone plays you recordings of, I dunno, foreign language instruction or meditation guides? It'd be very interesting to find out.

[liveavatar.livejournal.com]

I need to read more. Because your post immediately brought to mind Valley of the Dolls, with Neely's sedation for weight-loss purposes, and of course Demolition Man, where the prison pipes in rehabilitation programs to flash-frozen convicts.