Jef Akst was managing editor of The Scientist, where she started as an intern in 2009 after receiving a master’s degree from Indiana University in April 2009 studying the mating behavior of seahorses.

Many mammals are true hibernators and remain dormant through the winter, but a lot of them stay active, at least to some degree.

Now, his group explores how the brains of animals initiate and regulate torpor and hibernation, and how the cells of hibernators withstand colder temperatures. During prolonged periods of food ...

Of those seven, only three are "true hibernators". This means that when they go into dormancy in the winter, they have reduced metabolism, a slower heart rate, and lowered body temperatures.