Zombie Dogs From Another Dimension

Turns out that hibernation (or suspended animation, or whatever you want to call it) is getting better and better understood. In the SA article, researchers determined that cells remain viable in high oxygen and low oxygen environments. It was the transition stage that caused all the damage. So they took dogs, exsanguinated them (took out all their blood) and pumped them full of a saline solution. The dogs had no heartbeat and no breathing. They were, based on all measurements, scientifically dead.

Then the researchers took part of the group and operated on them. A few hours later, they revived all of the dogs. All of the un-operated dogs looked and acted perfectly normal. The group that had surgery, however (removing a spleen), didn't fair so well: half showed some sign of neurological problems. However, the other dogs did just fine, showing no ill-effects from the surgery (which would usually include swelling and other side effects) The scientists speculate that this is because the cells were hibernating when the operation took place and was not able to be damaged.

But the simple fact of something being "dead" for hours and then coming back with no ill-effects is incredible. I wonder how long they can keep something dead and bring it back? A day? A week? A year? Add to that the ability to operate on an organism without having to worry about bleeding or swelling, and we've got a major new breakthrough in medicine on the way. The web article quotes a scientist as saying its ten years out. I'll put my money on twenty years, but still it will be a incredible thing to witness when it happens.