Glycerin as a means of survival for amphibians

Everyone knows that amphibians are cold-blooded animals. Therefore, the distribution of representatives of this class to the north is mainly limited to the temperate zone. The greatest variety of amphibians is observed, of course, in the tropics and at the equator, where there are many warm ponds for their reproduction and suitable air temperatures for life. But it turns out that among these animals there are some extreme people who are not only not afraid to freeze alive, but without the consequences for their health they are able to return to normal life after warming.

It will be about the Siberian coal-toothed, or four-fingered newt. This is one of the most northern amphibians of the planet. It lives mainly in the temperate zone, but its distribution range also includes the southern tundra of the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Tyumen Region.

How do they manage to survive in such a harsh area where permafrost prevails, and winter lasts more than six months? Maybe they find some kind of refuge, like mammals, where you can spend the winter in relative warmth and survive until spring? No, such "tricks" in the Arctic will not work. Here you need something brilliant. And it turned out to be glycerin. Yes, the very glycerin that is familiar to many in chemistry lessons. It has interesting properties: it practically does not freeze, and many substances dissolve in it itself.

Around August-September, Siberian chians are looking for a secluded place in which they plan to spend the next winter, and amazing transformations begin to occur in their bodies. Liverfish begins to synthesize glycerin, which disperses throughout the body and literally impregnates all internal tissues and organs of the animal, making them invulnerable to freezing temperatures. Thanks to glycerin, this amazing amphibian is able to remain in hibernation for any length of time when its body temperature drops below 0 ° C. Science knows cases when a representative of this species was found, lying in permafrost surrounded by geological rocks, whose age is about 5,000 years. After defrosting, the Siberian coal-toothed, as if nothing had happened, continued its life journey. Here is a kind of time travel.

Of course, this newt is interesting not only from the point of view of a unique animal. This is just a storehouse of useful information for chemists and physicians. And who knows, maybe the Siberian chipper will help scientists create a drug to extend human life and bring us closer to eternal youth.