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Russian Scientists Revive Frog’s Heart after 45 Days of Freezing

A research scientist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife pushes a Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tag under the skin of an Oregon spotted frog that will help in tracking the juvenile frog raised at the Woodland Park Zoo. AP file photo
A research scientist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife pushes a Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tag under the skin of an Oregon spotted frog that will help in tracking the juvenile frog raised at the Woodland Park Zoo. AP file photo
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Russian Scientists Revive Frog’s Heart after 45 Days of Freezing

A research scientist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife pushes a Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tag under the skin of an Oregon spotted frog that will help in tracking the juvenile frog raised at the Woodland Park Zoo. AP file photo
A research scientist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife pushes a Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tag under the skin of an Oregon spotted frog that will help in tracking the juvenile frog raised at the Woodland Park Zoo. AP file photo

Russian scientists have managed to revive the heart of a frog after freezing it for 45 days as part of experiments aiming to prolong the period during which an organ is able to function normally and vitally.

This achievement is a significant development in the organ transplant field that would contribute in saving people’s lives.

Organ transplants such as kidneys and heart had long been a fictional idea. However, such transplants are currently practiced in hospitals in many countries.

But transplant scientists and surgeons now face a challenge in the ability of maintaining a specific organ functional after removing it from the donor. For instance, the period during which the heart muscle can be preserved before transferring it to the patient is not more than 6 hours, and this timeframe may not be sufficient for the transfer.

Studies indicate that doctors spoil about 60 percent of the organs that were preserved to be used later to treat patients, because of the time factor. Cells begin to lose capacity to carry out their vital functions, turning the organs useless.

The Russian Advanced Research Foundation has launched a scientific project aimed at developing a modern method to preserve human organs for an unlimited period of time without affecting their vital functions.

In the course of the experiments, scientists froze the heart of a frog and kept it at a temperature of -196 degrees Celsius for a month and a half, and then revived it. The post-revival tests showed that the heart was able to function vitally.

The head of the design team working on this project, Anatoly Kovtun, said that the success of these experiments would revolutionize the transfer of organs and transplant.

Finding a solution to the time challenge may help establish a "bank of frozen organs", which may save the lives of thousands of patients, he added in a press statement.

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Should You Stretch before Exercise? After? Never? Here’s What to Know

Philadelphia Eagles stretch as they get ready during practice at NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)
Philadelphia Eagles stretch as they get ready during practice at NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)
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Should You Stretch before Exercise? After? Never? Here’s What to Know

Philadelphia Eagles stretch as they get ready during practice at NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)
Philadelphia Eagles stretch as they get ready during practice at NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)

For many people of a certain age, high school gym class began with reaching for their toes. Then, over the years, we were told it was better to stretch after exercise.

It turns out, both those things can be true, but the differing advice has created some confusion.

Stretching can help make you more flexible, improve range of motion in your joints — and feel good. David Behm, who researches human kinetics at Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John’s, Canada, offers this advice on when to stretch and how to do it safely:

Warm up first

It’s almost always good to stretch, but it’s better if you warm up first, said Behm, author of "The Science and Physiology of Flexibility and Stretching." He recommends a light aerobic activity such as jogging, walking or cycling for five or 10 minutes.

Follow that with some static stretching, the traditional way of reaching and holding a position (think back to that gym class). You can then do activity-specific dynamic stretching, in which you warm up the muscles with repetitive movements like leg lifts.

Behm says one minute is "the magic number" for how long to do static stretching per muscle group without fatigue.

Expand your definition of 'stretching'

Should you always stretch before exercising? If it's traditional stretching, not necessarily.

The better question, Behm says, is, "Should people increase their range of motion? Should people have better flexibility? And that is yes, because it helps prevent injuries. It helps with health. But you don’t have to stretch to achieve that."

Resistance training, for instance, can be an effective form of stretching, he said. Doing a chest press increases range of motion in your deltoids and pecs, whether with barbells, dumbbells or machines, so there is no need to stretch beforehand. Just make sure to start with a small amount of weight to warm up and then add more to train.

"You probably don’t have to do extra stretching unless you’re a gymnast, a figure skater, or even a golfer who needs a great range of motion through that swing," Behm said.

Nor do you need to stretch first if you’re going for a leisurely run. Simply start with a slow jog to warm up and then increase the pace.

Don't do it if it hurts

After exercise, "light stretching is OK, as long as you don't reach a point where you're feeling pain," Behm said. Since your muscles will be warm by that point, overdoing it makes you more likely to injure yourself.

Foam rollers can help with muscle recovery and have been shown to increase range of motion as well as stretching.

Do some static stretching before sports

If you’re playing a sport, Behm said, static stretching beforehand helps reduce muscle and tendon injury.

"If you’re going to do an explosive movement, change of direction, agility, sprint, any of these explosive activities that involve your muscles and tendons," he said, "you’re going to be stronger if you do static stretching."

People can especially get in trouble when they go back to a sport they used to play, whether it's tennis, surfing or any sort of team activity.

Also, stretch both sides equally. Lacking flexibility on one side also can lead to injury.

Sounds simple. Why all the confusion? Different studies over the years have either encouraged or discouraged stretching before exercise. Behm says that partly because some studies didn't reflect real-life conditions, or were designed with elite athletes in mind, not regular people.

"If you’re Usain Bolt, it makes a difference," said Behm. Not so much for the rest of us.