Hibernation or exposure?

[paigetheoracle]

Seeing the recent article on a Japanese Mountaineer, who survived with a broken hip, by going into a state of hibernation, made me wonder if other organisms survived harsh conditions through similar methods? (seeds found in Egyptian tombs, cysts created deliberately by small organisms as well as ancient arthropods, sold as Sea Monkeys by novelty companies, desert toads* and Rose of Jericho plants all seem to employ methods of suspended animation - could this explain also the use of mummification (freeze drying a body) by the Egyptians, unconsciously and Cryogenics, consciously as attempts to replicate this natural function/reaction to certain hazardous conditions?).

 

The opposite is 'exposure' and employs actions which are diametrically opposed to it i.e. not conserving energy by staying stationary in one, 'sheltered' place but pushing on in search of 'external' help and exposing yourself to the elements (lost insulation) as well as using up internal reserves of energy. Hibernation allows help to come to you - exposure (panic rather than calm and trust), ensures you kill yourself as a tactic.

 

Next point of interest - could this connect with Wickramasinghe's panspermia theory, in that life might be able to survive in space through a similar form of suspended animation? (cysts/cryogenic hybernation).

 

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* Could the tales of toads found embedded in tree trunks and blocks of concrete etc. actually not be apocryphal but real? Why is it amphibians, that are known to bury themselves in mud to hibernate over the winter, that also come into this particular story and not other life forms? Could there be a connection? (At one time science derided stories of warm rocks falling from the sky - now we know meteriorites are real phenomena).