Today's Show Transcript
We begin in Australia with a story that shows just how far-reaching the impact of the conflict in Iran has become. The Australian government says members of the Iranian women's national soccer team have been granted humanitarian visas following a recent tournament there. Humanitarian visas provide temporary or sometimes even permanent legal protection for people forced to flee their home country due to conflict or fears of persecution.
The team, known as the Lionesses, were in Australia to compete in the Women's Asian Cup. They made the collective decision to not sing the Iranian national anthem ahead of their opening match. Some feared Iranian leadership might consider that an act of treason, which is the crime of betraying one's country.
Sources tell CNN Sports the women were forced to sing the anthem before their second match. This raised fears that they could face punishment upon their return home. A crowd of supporters could be seen flanking the team's bus, shouting, "save our girls," as it pulled away following their final game of the tournament.
The issue got the attention of U.S. President Donald Trump, who discussed it on a phone call with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. The prime minister has confirmed that five of the women have been granted visas and have been moved to a safe location. The same offer was made to all remaining members of the team.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTHONY ALBANESE, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: This is a very delicate situation and it is up to them. But we say to them, if you want our help, help is here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: As of this taping, sources tell CNN a total of seven members of the team stayed in Australia while the rest have returned to Iran.
Pop quiz, hot shot.
What is the main purpose of hibernation?
Escape predators, prepare for migration, conserve energy or catch up on sleep.
If you said conserve energy, you are wide awake. Animals like bears, bats, hedgehogs, ground squirrels, some reptiles and queen bumblebees utilize hibernation to survive freezing or scarce environments.
When most people think of hibernation, they probably picture animals curling up for a long winter's nap. But beneath the surface, we are learning more about all that their bodies are actually doing. Hibernating animals can dramatically slow their metabolism, survive months without much food and wake up without damage to their hearts, brains or cells, the ultimate biological power down and restart.
And now scientists are cracking the genetic code behind that process to see if it could be a paradigm to one day help humans travel long distances in space.
Joining us now, the good doctor, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. So, good to see you.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Honored to be here.
WIRE: I heard you visited one of these labs where they're kind of digging into this stuff. What are these scientists learning?
GUPTA: Well, first of all, hibernation or torpor, as it's called, good word, TORPOR. That is something that is really unique. It's not deep sleep. It's not being in a coma. It's not being under anesthesia. It's basically, like you said, the body shuts down. The brain disconnects from the spinal cord. Your heart rate may go to just a beat or two per minute. There's really nothing else like it.
One of the things they're learning, though, and this is fascinating, is that we humans also carry the genes for torpor or hibernation. We could possibly do this. And the way to think about it, if you imagine a house, house has light switches. It has lights. Think of those light switches as genes. Those genes can flip on and off.
We have those light switches in the human body. We just haven't figured out how to turn them on or off yet. But it can make a huge difference for all sorts of things.
One of the animals that is sort of a champion hibernator, though, something I want to introduce you to.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
Is there a champion hibernator when it comes to animals?
DR. ASHLEY ZEHNDER, CEO/CO-FOUNDER, FAUNA BIO: Yeah, I mean, 13-legged ground squirrels are really good. We call them the Usain Bolts of hibernators because they're excellent at it.
GUPTA (voice-over): It's a tiny creature that weighs no more than nine ounces at most. Native to Central North America, found as far north as Alberta, Canada, and as far south as the Texas coastline. These squirrels undergo remarkable changes during hibernation.
ZEHNDER: They go through what's almost like a mini heart attack or stroke every couple of weeks, so 25 times over hibernation period. The neurons in their brain physically retract during hibernation. So, they have a flat EEG. The retinal, the cone photoreceptors in their eye, which see vision, physically melt and reform every couple of weeks.
So, this is an animal that's evolved over hundreds of millions of years to repair damage that happens during this really dramatic hibernation course. Using the same genes that you and I have, but in slightly different ways.
GUPTA (voice-over): Today, I'm seeing them up close in Oshkosh, Wisconsin at the university here.
(On camera): I'm here in a hibernaculum, which is a place where hibernating animals hang out.
(Voice-over): The squirrels here are part of a bred colony being studied by researchers from a biotech company called Fauna Bio. This hibernaculum, as it is called, is set to just four and a half degrees Celsius, not that far off from the body temperatures of the hibernating squirrels themselves.
ZEHNDER: So, they'll spend about one to three weeks in continuous torpor. They'll periodically re-arouse back to normal body temperature. That'll last about 12 hours. And then they'll go back down into torpor. And then this lasts for months. They lose most of their fat, but they still preserve all of their lean mass, which is quite amazing. They don't lose their muscle. So, when they come out, they're ready to run around and mate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: That is fascinating stuff, Doc. So, you're saying we have a lot to learn from these little creatures.
GUPTA: Just had that in your pocket?
WIRE: Yeah, that's my daughter's. I knew we were going to be talking about squirrels.
GUPTA: I love it.
WIRE: And your little team mascot for the day.
One thing that I found fascinating was how they'll -- they lose fat, but not muscle. How are their bodies able to do that, maintain their muscle while hibernating?
GUPTA: I thought -- I thought you might find that pretty interesting. I mean, can you imagine, like, if you as a human basically were inactive for even a few days, you would lose muscle mass, right? You probably think about this as an athlete all the time. They go into the state of torpor, hibernation, sometimes for months on end. I think what it has to do with is this idea that somehow that waste that our body is constantly creating is somehow recycled into amino acids and protein and things that help build muscle. So, this is -- this is like one of the biggest questions, I think, in all of medicine. And one of the reasons it's a big question is because of space. Think about this. You're going to send people on months-long missions.
If they're in a state of hibernation or torpor, they don't get bored. They don't have to eat. They don't have to drink. They're not making waste. And they don't sort of just sort of wither away. They maintain their muscle mass. This is what the lab is working on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: What are we looking at here?
RYAN SPRENGER, SENIOR RESEARCH PHYSIOLOGIST, FAUNA BIO: Yeah, so this is what we call the RESPIRES unit. It's a unit that we developed as part of funding that we got from NIAC, NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts. And the reason we're developing this unit is because we don't currently have the capability, one, to study hibernation in space. And two, to study physiology in space. So, we have designed it to have two synchronously hibernating animals in space transferred to the ISS. And we have it set up so that we can provide air to the animal.
We can provide infrared camera viewing. And this is also designed as something called a Plethysmograph, which allows us to measure metabolism and ventilation. And we also anticipate telomering the animals. So, we can grab as much physiology as we can possibly grab to inform us on what their hibernation phenotype looks like.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: How close are scientists to being able to help humans hibernate?
GUPTA: They're getting much closer. In fact, there's a couple of labs around the country now that are trying this. Not true hibernation, but sort of a twilight sort of hibernation, if you will. But in terms of actually using this for space, you just saw there, they're going to start sending these 13-line squirrels, these champion hibernators to space. Big question. Next question they want to answer. Do they hibernate in space in a microgravity environment, just like they do here on Earth? The answer is they think that's the answer.
WIRE: They think it's yes, but they want to make sure this is fascinating stuff. I get smarter every time you join the show. Don't sleep on Dr. Gupta. Follow his podcast, Chasing Life --
GUPTA: Don't go into hibernation either.
WIRE: -- wherever you get your podcast, Doc. Thanks so much. Thanks for making us smarter today.
Today's story getting a 10 out of 10, two brothers helping others in need while making the planet a cleaner place. Ethan and Desmond Hua started a nonprofit in their parents' garage called HOPE, which stands for Help Our Planet Earth. The benevolent brothers collect and sort lightly used school uniforms and deliver them to needy families in their community at no cost.
The program not only helps those who can't afford new uniforms, it also keeps clothing from ending up in a landfill. So far, it's been a rousing success. Nine schools across their district have signed on so far. Ethan says the whole idea started when he noticed a classmate wearing shorts on a frigid day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ETHAN HUA, HOPE COFOUNDER: Everyone's cold, freezing cold outside. Why was he wearing shorts, out of all things? And what he told me was that he couldn't afford another pair of pants.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: To date, their brothers have kept more than 13,000 pieces of clothing from becoming textile waste. Now, that is what we call revolutionary recycling.
Congrats to our Your Word Wednesday winners. Mrs. Martinez and friends at the St. Benedict School in Montebello, California, submitted paradigm, a noun meaning a fundamental model, pattern or set of ideas that shapes how we view the world. Thank you for helping us boost our vocab today.
And we have a shout out going to Mrs. Carey and all of our friends at the Swift River School in New Salem, Massachusetts. This fuzz is all the buzz around the newsroom today. Azure and Abby, they hand felted this portrait. I must say it is phenomenal.
And rise up, everyone. Go out, be kind to someone today. You never know how or when, but you may be the spark of joy someone needs.
I'm Coy Wire and we are CNN 10.
END
We begin in Australia with a story that shows just how far-reaching the impact of the conflict in Iran has become. The Australian government says members of the Iranian women's national soccer team have been granted humanitarian visas following a recent tournament there. Humanitarian visas provide temporary or sometimes even permanent legal protection for people forced to flee their home country due to conflict or fears of persecution.
The team, known as the Lionesses, were in Australia to compete in the Women's Asian Cup. They made the collective decision to not sing the Iranian national anthem ahead of their opening match. Some feared Iranian leadership might consider that an act of treason, which is the crime of betraying one's country.
Sources tell CNN Sports the women were forced to sing the anthem before their second match. This raised fears that they could face punishment upon their return home. A crowd of supporters could be seen flanking the team's bus, shouting, "save our girls," as it pulled away following their final game of the tournament.
The issue got the attention of U.S. President Donald Trump, who discussed it on a phone call with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. The prime minister has confirmed that five of the women have been granted visas and have been moved to a safe location. The same offer was made to all remaining members of the team.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTHONY ALBANESE, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: This is a very delicate situation and it is up to them. But we say to them, if you want our help, help is here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: As of this taping, sources tell CNN a total of seven members of the team stayed in Australia while the rest have returned to Iran.
Pop quiz, hot shot.
What is the main purpose of hibernation?
Escape predators, prepare for migration, conserve energy or catch up on sleep.
If you said conserve energy, you are wide awake. Animals like bears, bats, hedgehogs, ground squirrels, some reptiles and queen bumblebees utilize hibernation to survive freezing or scarce environments.
When most people think of hibernation, they probably picture animals curling up for a long winter's nap. But beneath the surface, we are learning more about all that their bodies are actually doing. Hibernating animals can dramatically slow their metabolism, survive months without much food and wake up without damage to their hearts, brains or cells, the ultimate biological power down and restart.
And now scientists are cracking the genetic code behind that process to see if it could be a paradigm to one day help humans travel long distances in space.
Joining us now, the good doctor, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. So, good to see you.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Honored to be here.
WIRE: I heard you visited one of these labs where they're kind of digging into this stuff. What are these scientists learning?
GUPTA: Well, first of all, hibernation or torpor, as it's called, good word, TORPOR. That is something that is really unique. It's not deep sleep. It's not being in a coma. It's not being under anesthesia. It's basically, like you said, the body shuts down. The brain disconnects from the spinal cord. Your heart rate may go to just a beat or two per minute. There's really nothing else like it.
One of the things they're learning, though, and this is fascinating, is that we humans also carry the genes for torpor or hibernation. We could possibly do this. And the way to think about it, if you imagine a house, house has light switches. It has lights. Think of those light switches as genes. Those genes can flip on and off.
We have those light switches in the human body. We just haven't figured out how to turn them on or off yet. But it can make a huge difference for all sorts of things.
One of the animals that is sort of a champion hibernator, though, something I want to introduce you to.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
Is there a champion hibernator when it comes to animals?
DR. ASHLEY ZEHNDER, CEO/CO-FOUNDER, FAUNA BIO: Yeah, I mean, 13-legged ground squirrels are really good. We call them the Usain Bolts of hibernators because they're excellent at it.
GUPTA (voice-over): It's a tiny creature that weighs no more than nine ounces at most. Native to Central North America, found as far north as Alberta, Canada, and as far south as the Texas coastline. These squirrels undergo remarkable changes during hibernation.
ZEHNDER: They go through what's almost like a mini heart attack or stroke every couple of weeks, so 25 times over hibernation period. The neurons in their brain physically retract during hibernation. So, they have a flat EEG. The retinal, the cone photoreceptors in their eye, which see vision, physically melt and reform every couple of weeks.
So, this is an animal that's evolved over hundreds of millions of years to repair damage that happens during this really dramatic hibernation course. Using the same genes that you and I have, but in slightly different ways.
GUPTA (voice-over): Today, I'm seeing them up close in Oshkosh, Wisconsin at the university here.
(On camera): I'm here in a hibernaculum, which is a place where hibernating animals hang out.
(Voice-over): The squirrels here are part of a bred colony being studied by researchers from a biotech company called Fauna Bio. This hibernaculum, as it is called, is set to just four and a half degrees Celsius, not that far off from the body temperatures of the hibernating squirrels themselves.
ZEHNDER: So, they'll spend about one to three weeks in continuous torpor. They'll periodically re-arouse back to normal body temperature. That'll last about 12 hours. And then they'll go back down into torpor. And then this lasts for months. They lose most of their fat, but they still preserve all of their lean mass, which is quite amazing. They don't lose their muscle. So, when they come out, they're ready to run around and mate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: That is fascinating stuff, Doc. So, you're saying we have a lot to learn from these little creatures.
GUPTA: Just had that in your pocket?
WIRE: Yeah, that's my daughter's. I knew we were going to be talking about squirrels.
GUPTA: I love it.
WIRE: And your little team mascot for the day.
One thing that I found fascinating was how they'll -- they lose fat, but not muscle. How are their bodies able to do that, maintain their muscle while hibernating?
GUPTA: I thought -- I thought you might find that pretty interesting. I mean, can you imagine, like, if you as a human basically were inactive for even a few days, you would lose muscle mass, right? You probably think about this as an athlete all the time. They go into the state of torpor, hibernation, sometimes for months on end. I think what it has to do with is this idea that somehow that waste that our body is constantly creating is somehow recycled into amino acids and protein and things that help build muscle. So, this is -- this is like one of the biggest questions, I think, in all of medicine. And one of the reasons it's a big question is because of space. Think about this. You're going to send people on months-long missions.
If they're in a state of hibernation or torpor, they don't get bored. They don't have to eat. They don't have to drink. They're not making waste. And they don't sort of just sort of wither away. They maintain their muscle mass. This is what the lab is working on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: What are we looking at here?
RYAN SPRENGER, SENIOR RESEARCH PHYSIOLOGIST, FAUNA BIO: Yeah, so this is what we call the RESPIRES unit. It's a unit that we developed as part of funding that we got from NIAC, NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts. And the reason we're developing this unit is because we don't currently have the capability, one, to study hibernation in space. And two, to study physiology in space. So, we have designed it to have two synchronously hibernating animals in space transferred to the ISS. And we have it set up so that we can provide air to the animal.
We can provide infrared camera viewing. And this is also designed as something called a Plethysmograph, which allows us to measure metabolism and ventilation. And we also anticipate telomering the animals. So, we can grab as much physiology as we can possibly grab to inform us on what their hibernation phenotype looks like.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: How close are scientists to being able to help humans hibernate?
GUPTA: They're getting much closer. In fact, there's a couple of labs around the country now that are trying this. Not true hibernation, but sort of a twilight sort of hibernation, if you will. But in terms of actually using this for space, you just saw there, they're going to start sending these 13-line squirrels, these champion hibernators to space. Big question. Next question they want to answer. Do they hibernate in space in a microgravity environment, just like they do here on Earth? The answer is they think that's the answer.
WIRE: They think it's yes, but they want to make sure this is fascinating stuff. I get smarter every time you join the show. Don't sleep on Dr. Gupta. Follow his podcast, Chasing Life --
GUPTA: Don't go into hibernation either.
WIRE: -- wherever you get your podcast, Doc. Thanks so much. Thanks for making us smarter today.
Today's story getting a 10 out of 10, two brothers helping others in need while making the planet a cleaner place. Ethan and Desmond Hua started a nonprofit in their parents' garage called HOPE, which stands for Help Our Planet Earth. The benevolent brothers collect and sort lightly used school uniforms and deliver them to needy families in their community at no cost.
The program not only helps those who can't afford new uniforms, it also keeps clothing from ending up in a landfill. So far, it's been a rousing success. Nine schools across their district have signed on so far. Ethan says the whole idea started when he noticed a classmate wearing shorts on a frigid day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ETHAN HUA, HOPE COFOUNDER: Everyone's cold, freezing cold outside. Why was he wearing shorts, out of all things? And what he told me was that he couldn't afford another pair of pants.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: To date, their brothers have kept more than 13,000 pieces of clothing from becoming textile waste. Now, that is what we call revolutionary recycling.
Congrats to our Your Word Wednesday winners. Mrs. Martinez and friends at the St. Benedict School in Montebello, California, submitted paradigm, a noun meaning a fundamental model, pattern or set of ideas that shapes how we view the world. Thank you for helping us boost our vocab today.
And we have a shout out going to Mrs. Carey and all of our friends at the Swift River School in New Salem, Massachusetts. This fuzz is all the buzz around the newsroom today. Azure and Abby, they hand felted this portrait. I must say it is phenomenal.
And rise up, everyone. Go out, be kind to someone today. You never know how or when, but you may be the spark of joy someone needs.
I'm Coy Wire and we are CNN 10.
END