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“But frozen solid?” Amanda asked

“Yes Arctic wood frogs freeze as hard as stone during the winter Their hearts don’t beat When frozen, you can cut them in half, and they don’t bleed All EEG activity ceases In fact, there’s no cellular activity at all For all intents and purposes, they’re dead But co, they thaw, and within fifteen , and they’re ju around”

Matt nodded when As”

“How can that be?” Aued “When a body freezes, ice expands in the cells and destroys thes survive that?”

“The answer is quite siden said

Amanda raised an eyebrow

“Sugar”

“What?”

“Glucose specifically There’s a Canadian researcher, Dr Ken Storey, who has been studying Arctic wood frogs for the past decade What he’s discovered is that when ice starts for each cell with sugary glucose Increasing the os ice can’t form inside it”

“But you said the frogs do freeze?”

“Exactly, but it is only the water outside the cells that ices up The glucose inside the cell acts as a cryoprotectant, a type of antifreeze, preserving the cell until thawed Dr Storey deteroverned by a set of twenty genes that convert glycogen to glucose The trigger for what suddenly turns these specific genes on or off is still unknown, but a hor’s glandular skin The odd thing, though, is that these twenty genes are found in all vertebrate species”

Arendels”

He nodded “Remember I told you that I would classify this new species as Ambulocetus natans arctos An Arctic-adapted subspecies of the original amentation…are all common Arctic adaptations So why not this one, too? If it made its home here—in a land ruled not by the sun, but by cycles of freezing and thawing—then its body ht adapt to this rhythm, too”

Bratt added “Besides,it happen with the monsters We know they can do this”

Ogden nodded and continued: “It’s a forine its potential uses? Even now university researchers are using the Arctic frogs as a ans This would be a boon to the world Donated organs could be frozen and preserved until needed”

Matt’s gaze had returned to the line of tanks “What about these folk? Do you think that’s what’s going on here? Soe facility for spare parts?”

Ogden turned to him “Oh, no, I don’t think that at all”

Matt faced him “Then what?”

“I wager the Russians were atterander here Reenes that orchestrate the wood frog’s suspended animation are found in all vertebrate species Well, that includes humans”

Matt’s eyes widened

“I believe that these people were guinea pigs in a suspended anirendels’ ability to survive freezing into hu a ht the Holy Grail of all sciences” Ogden faced the questioning looks around him “Immortality”