Mammals' ability to conserve and process oxygen may hold key
to repairing damaged human tissue
TORONTO, August 8, 2005 -- A deep diving Antarctic seal may hold the key to recovery for heart and stroke victims, according to Thomas Hawke, a stem-cell biologist and professor in York University's School of Kinesiology and Health Science. 
"Weddell seals can dive down to 400 meters and hold their breath for up to 30 minutes to find food," says Hawke. "That is equivalent to a human taking a deep breath, walking into a darkened Wal-Mart, shopping, and emerging 30 minutes later before taking their next breath."
The implications for human application of this research are important, Hawke says. "If we can replicate the oxygen-transfer capabilities of the Weddell seals' skeletal muscle cells, it is likely we can develop therapies for treating people with cardio-vascular or ischemic disease to give their systems a better chance to rebuild damaged areas after a heart attack or stroke."
As a researcher into the unique attributes of muscle cells and their response to injury and exercise, Hawke's interest is in determining the molecular and cellular qualities that allow the seals to be active for so long without fresh oxygen and yet escape vascular disease or muscle injury. Hawke's team will extract tiny biopsies of the one-tonne mammals to study how muscle cells create and regulate the “super-proteins” that are the keys to the seals' prodigious ability to conserve and transfer oxygen.
While other species of the sea have similar capacities, the Weddell seals were chosen for the study because of their predictable territorial habits and the lack of fear they exhibit toward humans. Named after a 19th century sealing captain who wrote about his encounters with the seals in the 1820s, Weddell seals can weigh up to 400-600 kg and live up to 22 years of age. On a previous expedition, the research team was able to outfit the seals with head-mounted "helmet-cams" to record their feeding, swimming and diving habits.
Hawke will spend approximately two months "on the ice" in Antarctica. In addition to outreach provided through the U.S. National Science Federation, and the University of Texas Southwestern STARS program, Hawke also plans to set up a personal website to record his observations for a Canadian audience.
"The main site will provide a weekly diary, pose challenging questions for high school students to answer and will discuss experiments that science classes can perform, comparing their results with ours. My hope is that we can recruit some Canadian science teachers to get their schools interested and bring our research to the attention of thousands of Canadian students," he says.
York University is the leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university in Canada. York offers a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and graduate level in Toronto, Canada's most international city. The third largest university in the country, York is host to a dynamic academic community of 50,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as 180,000 alumni worldwide. York's 10 faculties and 21 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries. This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges. York University is an autonomous, not-for-profit corporation.
-30-
For more information, contact:
George McNeillie, Assistant Director, Media Relations, York University, 416-736-2100 x22091/ gmcneil@yorku.ca
