Black bears found to have surprising wound healing capabilities during hibernation
Wednesday, March 21, 2012 - 06:04
in Biology & Nature
(PhysOrg.com) -- For most mammals, small cuts and scrapes to the skin during times of low body temperature or slowed metabolism usually means a reduced ability to heal and a higher incidence of infection. This is why a discovery by a team of scientists studying bears in Minnesota is so surprising. They have found, as they describe in their paper published in the journal Integrative Zoology that black bears who incur small cuts to the skin have an adaption that allows for wound healing during hibernation that results in little to no infection and hardly any scarring.