DARPA tests zombie hibernation formula

DARPA is funding research into "a zombie-like form of hibernation" - including a $9.9 million Texas program seeking to induce suspended animation.

They're testing chemical compounds on anesthetized pigs to keep them "as close to death as possible" - to improve emergency trauma care for soldiers on the battlefield. Also being tested is a pancreatic enzyme found in squirrels "to put humans into a state of squirrel-like hibernation." Slowed metabolisms help the body survive a lack of oxygen or bloodflow - but it also has long-term implications for exploring outer space. "A form of squirrel-like hypersleep-hibernation would help solve a great many of the
problems involved in sending humans interstellar distances."