Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Hydrogen Sulfide for suspended animation

lordmagnus - 24-1-2006 at 19:58

Hydrogen sulfide appears to work great at inducing a reversible suspended animation state, it has been tested on mice so far, 80 PPM binds to the hemaglobin safely, and lowers metabolism to about 10% of normal, allowing body temp to drop as well, this is easily reversed by removing the hydrogen sulfide mix and using regular air, the mice recovered in 4 hours with no discernable side effects, they are moving up to primates soon.

http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20050423/fob5.asp

[Edited on 1/25/2006 by lordmagnus]

BromicAcid - 24-1-2006 at 20:28

Hydrogen sulfide induces artificial hibernation in mice

lacrima97 - 30-1-2006 at 15:57

Quote:
Originally posted by BromicAcid
Hydrogen sulfide induces artificial hibernation in mice


Lmao, but can an artificial hibernation be induced on humans with hydrogen sulfide? or is this a mouse only thing.

lordmagnus - 31-1-2006 at 19:38

They are going to that one soon with primates, hopefully it will work well

NERV - 1-2-2006 at 08:02

Even if they do get it to work I wouldnt be able to stand the smell of hydrogen sulfide gas, They would never be able to get me under :P .

sparkgap - 1-2-2006 at 08:18

Sure, but just hang on a bit and you won't be smelling a thing, no siree. :)

I am averse, however, to the possibility that this might be tested in humans.

sparky (~_~)

FrankRizzo - 1-2-2006 at 15:54

Doesn't H2S bind irreversibly to hemoglobin ala CO (i.e. new hemoglobin must be produced before normal respiration can commence)?

bereal511 - 1-2-2006 at 17:21

Could it be possible to replace a the blood of a hibernatee with fresh blood before they are awoken from the hibernation state?

lordmagnus - 1-2-2006 at 17:31

Nope, H2S doesn' t bind as nearly as tight as CO does to hemoglobin. The H2S effect reverses itself naturally over the course of several hours. Here is a good article on the subject;

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7294

Ozone - 6-11-2006 at 21:08

Hello all,

Not only that, but H2S is rather insidious for its ability to "numb" the sense of smell. It is very obvious and offensive at first, but you will rapidly cease to notice it. There are cases of fatality occuring where H2S concentrations became lethal, but the operator was none-the-wiser *seriously* :o.

Take care with the "fart-gas" all!

cheers,

O3

Nerro - 31-8-2007 at 13:23

I read an article on fark.com today in which this technique was proposed as a way to let people lose weight safely. You simply put them under for a few months and they wake up skinnier. Sounds like a great idea to me. Much safer than liposuction and probably quite cheap as well, it might also be a good way to let people lose weight before an operation.

Apparently the effect of H<sub>2</sub>S is something rudimentary from way back when there was much more H<sub>2</sub>S in the atmosphere, it allows the body to speed up and slow down it's metabolism so as to keep the core temperature constant at ~37°C. Letting someone breath H<sub>2</sub>S is a way to slow down the metabolism in a way that mimics nature closely. It's probably a hell of a lot safer than simply packing a person in ice like they do now before certain types of open heart surgery. Perhaps a combination also works.

Sounds like a pretty reasonable way to euthanise people as well, once they're under you can ramp up the H<sub>2</sub>S concentration and they'll just die peacefully without all the weirdness that opiates may cause. (dying delusionally sounds good to some people but I'd settle for less)

I really haven't found a downside to this stuff yet! Wow!

PS. How about people leave out the "fart-gas" jokes and other smell-induced commentary aside? That'd be great.

[Edited on 31-8-2007 by Nerro]

Sauron - 31-8-2007 at 21:25

I suspect this is preposterous. H2S is a cellular poison and there is no antidote. What is the LC50 relative to 60 ppm?

H2S is the leading cause of death in the petroleum and petrochemical industry.

Weight loss technology? I'd rather be fat than dead.

Merck Index:

Highly toxic, can be fatal. Irritant and chemical asphyxiant. Insidious poison, since sense of smell may be fatigued and fail to give warning of high concns. Direct contact with gas may cause irritation of eyes and respiratory tract resulting in keratoconjunctivitis, photophobia, lacri mation, corneal opacity; rhinitis, laryngitis, cough, broncho pneumonia. Direct contact with solution may cause skin irritation, erythema. Potential symptoms of overexposure by inhalation include salivation, GI disturbances; giddiness, headache, vertigo, confusion, unconsciousness; tachypnea, tachycardia, sweating, fatigue. Exposure to very high vapor concentrations may result in systemic intoxication leading to paralysis of respiratory center of brain, apnea and sudden collapse. See Clinical Toxicology of Commercial Products, R. E. Gosselin et al., Eds. (Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore, 5th ed., 1984) Section III, pp 198-202; NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards (DHHS/NIOSH 94-116, 1994) p 170.

[Edited on 1-9-2007 by Sauron]

Sauron - 31-8-2007 at 23:13

Quote:
Originally posted by Jamjar
I wonder if bears have a meal of legumes or bird eggs before hibernation?:D


Any glutton will tell y0ou, any meal will induce hibernation if it is large enough.

Ever see a snake swallow prey larger than itself? Snakes can unhinge their jaws to do so. Then they sleep for many days while digesting. :)

Seriously, though, it sounds like they have a long way to go before they get to (very costly) primates, they have not yet tried this on any mammals. I do not know how long they have even kept ruminants in this state (10% metabolic rate and body temp 11 C down from 37 C.) Obviously the toxicity of H2S is a function of exposure time, see the difference in LC50 for 1 hr vs 4 hours. What happens when the time is extended to days, weeks, months, years?

Personally I have a hard time imaging any human-studies committee ever signing off on such tests ever proceeding to human subjects.

[Edited on 1-9-2007 by Sauron]

Nerro - 1-9-2007 at 13:34

Quote:
source: http://physchem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/HY/hydrogen_sulfide.html
IHL-HMN LC50 800 ppm (5 min).
And lower in many of the animals it was tested on (which would include Beagles I presume.) Yet the dogs survived this treatment for indefinate periods of time. I think there are plenty of fataly ill people who wouldn't mind trying.

Quote:
By Jamjar
I wonder if bears have a meal of legumes or bird eggs before hibernation?:D
Shut the f*ck up please, quit ruining every thread that includes H<sub>2</sub>S. If you're too immature please just go outside and play.