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hibernation  noun - the condition or period of an animal or plant spending the winter in a dormant state

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Hibernation is more than just a nap through the winter. Many animals use it as a means of survival. It is so efficient that it is unusually common in nature. At the moment, there are 200 species hibernating we know of. Until very recently, we thought only animals in colder regions were hibernating but now we know of animals doing so in desert and tropical areas.

Hibernation is a condition where animals slow their metabolism and heartbeat and also suppress their breathing. Some animals can slow their breathing to the impressive one breath every 10-20 minutes. For this purpose, they need to store enough energy in the form of fats during the warmer months. 

More and more efforts are directed into researching hibernation as we think its better understanding might have some significant effects on us. A lot of genes in charge of hibernation are presented in humans, and we believe we can control our weight with them, for example. Patients with heart attacks and strokes can be treated much better if we can control the rate of the heart and the amount of blood in the brain. 

And also, someday we hope we will be able to hibernate during space journeys thousands of years long.

What is hibernation?