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A study on black bears has revealed the existence of a system that protects
the bones of these animals during their long months of hibernation. At
the same time this study represents a source of inspiration for new methods
on the treatment of people suffering rapid bone cell loss during times
of physical inactivity.
Scientists led by Seth Donahue of Michigan Technology University in Houghton
observed bone development in the species Ursus americanus that
suffers no bone loss during hibernation lasting between five to seven
months. (1) The observers focussed on expression
in five genes concerned with the bears' bone metabolism. Donahue and his
colleagues revealed that bone production remains level and can even reach
a peak when the bears again become active. The study also showed that
that bears exhibit no age-related bone weakening or thinning.
The scientists found that calcium, present in the bears' bodies and that
constitutes the main component of bone, was subjected to a most efficient
cycle, thanks to which the bones are protected. A subsequent objective
of Donahue and his team is to develop new methods of bone treatment for
human beings by comparing the structure of the hormones concerned with
bone production in humans and bears.
This exceptionally efficient system observed in hibernating bears is
not a first. In one study published in Nature magazine in 2001,
examinations of bears of the same species showed that bears suffered less
muscle loss during hibernation compared with other creatures. (2)
Scientists who studied bears over four years calculated that at the end
of their five months of hibernation bears lost only 23% of their muscle
power, and between 10 and 15% of proteins. In contrast, a human being
who spent the same length of time in bed would lose 85% of muscle power
and 90% of proteins.
These impeccable systems in bears also raise a number of important questions
that need to be answered. A bear weighs hundreds of kilos. The bones in
the body of a bear that stays motionless for months remain under that
enormous weight, and, in addition, a greater weight is exerted onto the
muscles, consisting of softer tissues than does bone, in the region of
the body that makes contact with the ground.
From this point of view bed-ridden patients in hospitals require an enormous
amount of care. Nurses turn them over during the day, enabling the weight
of their bodies to be distributed over different regions and thus preventing
sores from forming. The way that although a human being cannot remain
motionless for even a day, a bear, weighing many times more, can sleep
for weeks and months without eating anything and still suffer no bone
or muscle impairment at the end of this period is literally miraculous.
The care of paralysed individuals provided by nurses and doctors is provided
automatically by the system in bears. The bone cells exhibit a most efficient
use of calcium, and the bear metabolism keeps muscle loss at rather low
levels.
Muscle loss is inevitable in starving people, and can prove fatal. The
way that starving children's stomachs swell up is a result of the muscles
being broken down in their bodies in which no fat remains, and the water
accumulation that follows on this. Yet no such accumulation is observed
in bears' bodies, and bears are spared this situation that might otherwise
spell death.
How is it, though, that the bear's bone and muscle cells can exhibit
such complex arrangements? How is it that these cells, devoid of any capacity
for thought, can regulate the entry into and exit from their membranes
of calcium in such a conscious manner? How is it that bears are unaffected
by the muscle loss observed in starving human beings, even though they
go without food for months?
Naturally, this consciousness observed in the cells does not belong to
the molecules that constitute them. Atoms such as oxygen, carbon and nitrogen
cannot know the bears' needs and make plans accordingly. That being the
case, it can be seen that the consciousness in the cells belongs to an
entity with a superior intellect. There can be no doubt that it is our
Lord, Almighty God, the Lord of the Worlds, Who created bears and blessed
them with the metabolisms to maintain their health during the months of
hibernation. In one verse of the Qur'an God reveals,
Does He Who created not then know? He is the All-Pervading,
the All-Aware. (Qur'an, 67:14)
NOTES
1 Seth Donahue et. al, "Bone formation is not impaired by hibernation
(disuse) in black bears Ursus americanus" The Journal of Experimental
Biology, 1 December 2003, vol 206, p. 4233
2 Henry J. Harlow et. al "Muscle strength in overwintering bears"
Nature, 22 February 2001, p. 997
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