'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise’s disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
New research by a Université de Montréal biologist seeks to explain how squirrels conserve energy when they hibernate, and what implications that information could have on the future of space travel.
Matthew Regan's study of the thirteen-lined ground squirrel found in North America seems to confirm the theory of "urea nitrogen salvage," which suggests that some hibernating animals can pull off a "metabolic trick" in which their gut microbes recycle urea nitrogen – a waste product created in both the ground squirrel and in humans that is usually excreted in urine – and repurpose it to create new tissue proteins.
One of the problems hibernating animals encounter is losing important dietary nitrogen because of their extended fasting period, which can cause protein imbalances. In other animals this could lead to muscle loss, but Regan's research suggests this recycling of nitrogen prevents this damage in hibernators.
Regan's team injected squirrels with urea that was specifically marked to make it easier to track as the squirrels' gut microbes broke it down. They tracked this process during different seasons of the year, and found that the reincorporation of the nitrogen was actually at its highest in late winter, towards the end of the animal's hibernation period. This suggests that the salvaging process is most active just before the squirrel must come out of hibernation in spring, helping to prepare it for an active season of foraging for food and mating.
Regan suggests this same process could have applications for astronauts in space, who commonly experience some muscle loss in space flight.
Currently, astronauts exercise intensely in space in order to reduce these effects on their muscles, but that requires both room in the spacecraft and some equipment.
But if the process of urea nitrogen salvage could be replicated in astronauts, this could help prevent muscle loss in future trips into deep space when spacecraft may need to be smaller and might not be able to carry exercise equipment.
"Because we know which muscle proteins are suppressed during spaceflight, we can compare these proteins with those that are enhanced by urea nitrogen salvage during hibernation," he said. "If there is an overlap between the proteins in spaceflight and the ones from hibernation, then it suggests this process may have benefits to muscle health during spaceflight."
Regan's research began at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It caught the attention of the Canadian Space Agency, which gave Regan a research grant at Université de Montréal to continue his work.
A little closer to home, Regan also suggests his research could be useful in health-care settings to help those in hospitals who are bed-ridden or elderly. He also sees possible applications for those who are malnourished, a condition which currently affects more than 805 million people globally.
“To be clear, these applications, though theoretically possible, are a long way from delivery, and a lot of additional work is needed to translate this naturally evolved mechanism safely and effectively to humans,” Regan said.
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
The fire burning near Fort McMurray grew from 25 hectares to 5,500 hectares over the weekend.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as he begins his fifth term in office.
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Health Canada announced various product recalls this week, including electric adapters, armchairs, cannabis edibles and vehicle components.
English, history, entertainment, math and geography: high school trivia teams could be quizzed on any of it when they compete at the Reach for the Top Nationals in Ottawa in June.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.