Suspended Animation of Life 中科大信息学院2012级英才班讲座课件.pdf

Suspended Animation of Life Fiction, Science and Informatics Wendell Sun （孙文全） wendell.q.sun@ November 30, 2012 What is Suspended Animation? Slowing down of life processes without termination (close to dying, but not dead) Grimms Fairy Tale Sleeping Beauty “Your daughter shall not die, but instead shall fall into a deep sleep that will last one hundred years. The Moon Goddess Chang-Er (嫦娥) 《淮南子·览冥训》 譬若羿请不死之药於西王母，窃以奔月，倡然有 丧，无以续之。何则？不知不死之药所由生也。 Anhydrobiotic Animals Tardigrade First animal known to survive the harsh space environment (vacuum, cosmic rays, freezing cold and solar UV rays) without a space suit. (August 2008) Anhydrobiotic Animals African chironomid Anhydrobiotic Animals Artemia Rotifer Deinococcus radiodurans name derived from the Ancient Greek meaning terrible grain’ Astronauts for Apollo mission ~ 1 mGy 5 Gy kills a human. No viability loss of Deinococcus after 5000 Gy radiation discovered in 1956 by Arthur W. Anderson its complete DNA sequence published in 1999 the most radio-resistant extremophilic bacterium capable of repairing both single- and double-stranded DNA Capable of surviving cold, dehydration, vacuum and acid Lake Vida, Antarctica