Hypersleep in Aliens, torpor in animals
Hypersleep in Aliens, torpor in animals
Slowing your metabolism, energy conservation, and other metabolic marvels
Stepping metabolic rates down in a reliable way by modulating a deep brain region is now real. On the way, we’ll explore a few parallels with the ‘hypersleep’ technology in science fiction. Read on…
Key Takeaways
In Aliens, crewed missions take place over decades using ‘hypersleep’ technology.
Crewmembers hypersleep in specialised pods that lower body temperature and slow down metabolism to allow lengthy interstellar journeys.
A new brain stimulation technology induces torpor in animals for 24+ hours.
Torpor and hibernation both involve reduced activity and metabolism in animals but they differ in duration, frequency, and geographical distribution.
Torpor is a short-term response to low food availability or environmental conditions, while hibernation is a long-term adaptation to cold temperatures.
Hypersleep, torpor, and space travel: there are a few intriguing possibilities.
Aliens and hypersleep
Aliens is a brilliantly-realised 1986 science fiction action movie, directed by James Cameron. It is a sequel to the 1979 film Alien, and follows the story of Ellen Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver. To my mind, it is one of the greatest movie sequels of all time, far outdoing the original, and it is certainly one of the greatest action movies of all time. Sigourney Weaver’s performance is utterly iconic, and Aliens is still analysed for themes ranging from survival and perseverance; to the powerful bonds of motherhood and the maternal instinct through Ripley's protective relationship with Newt; to corporate greed and exploitation; to the reversing of traditional gender roles with a strong female protagonist combating another female – the Alien Queen. There are even themes revolving around trust in AI systems: the robot Bishop (who prefers the term ‘artificial person’), and whether he can be trusted or not.
And the movie itself is utterly edge-of-the-seat, hands-over-eyes, terrifying, non-CGI movie making.
The crew are attacked by xenomorphs - creatures almost beyond human experience: utterly pitiless, ravenous, predatory hunters, combining the worst things that hunt you in your nightmares with all-too-real characteristics drawn from numerous species here on earth.
Aliens on Earth
While the aliens seem, well, utterly alien, in many ways, they are not: certain Earth species exhibit similarities to them. Parasitoid wasps lay eggs inside living hosts, reminiscent of the xenomorphs' reproductive behavior (remember the ‘facehuggers'?). Cordyceps fungi control the behavior of infected insects, paralleling the xenomorphs' ability to manipulate their victims. Velvet worms capture prey with sticky jets, similar to the xenomorphs' immobilisation tactics. Some deep-sea creatures share visual traits resembling the xenomorphs' appearance. And there’s so much more – this piece is wonderful, must-read of further examples of aliens among us right here on our pale, blue, dot.
Aliens follows Ellen Ripley, the only survivor of an encounter with a deadly alien creature on her previous mission. Her long-range spaceship is accidentally intercepted, and Ripley is awakened from a long hypersleep. She learns a human colony has been established on the same moon where she first met the alien. Ripley reluctantly agrees to join a team of marines investigating why the colony has gone silent. They find all the colonists have been killed or captured by a horde of aliens that have built a massive hive in one of the nuclear-powered terraforming units. Ripley and the marines must fight their way out of the alien-infested colony, while also dealing with a treacherous corporate agent who wants to bring back alien specimens for research. It’s an absolutely rip-roaring ride.
There are no amazing warp drives or hyperdrives or other physics-bending technologies for space travel in Aliens. Instead, crewed missions can take place over a period of years to decades. Crewmembers are placed in ‘hypersleep’: they lie in specialised pods to lower body temperature and slow down metabolism. The pods (seemingly) administer drugs to induce deep sleep and prevent muscle loss, and presumably the pods are connected to life support systems, monitor vital signs and protect against radiation and other hazards. In at least one scene, the chamber windows are frosted over - presumably, they are also cryogenic chambers used maintain to help maintain the state of hibernation.
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Hypersleep technology is crucial in Aliens, as it allows for extended space exploration and colonisation. Characters wake up well into the future, creating an unpleasant disconnect between the time they leave and the time they arrive at their far-off destination. Ripley is adrift for 57 years, for example. Don’t expect people you know to be around when you eventually get back to home.
Are such states possible? Can you administer drugs, or stimulate the brain in some way to induce extended hibernation-like states? If this were possible, then extended travel for decades in space might become feasible at some distant point. Amazingly, a new technology has become available that induces - in animals, at least - a state of torpor, with decreased metabolism which lasts, seemingly without ill-effects, for at more than 24 hours.
Magic? No.
Targeted brain stimulation? Yes.
Previous Brain Pizza pieces on metabolism:
Too hot to handle: Thermal strain - are you cool-headed or warm-hearted?
Burn, baby, burn: Metabolism Matters - Eating, Exercise, and Evolution Impact Our Energy Burn
Below the break: lots more on torpor, hibernation, metabolism, hypersleep, and aliens… if you like what I do, then you know what to do!
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