Get the latest Science News and Discoveries
Is magnesium the sleeping potion that enables sandhoppers to survive cold winters? - EurekAlert
A new study by the University of Plymouth (UK) has shown for the first time that when sandhoppers want to enter a period of deep sleep each winter they have the means through which to increase the magnesium levels in their bodies – in some instances more than doubling them. Essentially acting as a natural narcotic, the magnesium puts the sandhopper into a torpid state and this enforced rest means that the creatures can stay hidden in burrows up to 30cm beneath the beach surface, to some extent buffered from wintry conditions.
None
Or read this on Eureka Alert