The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has announced that it is working on a new drug to make people resistant to cold environments. The drug will use the body’s natural mechanism of breaking down sugar and creating fat cells to generate heat, a process called thermogenesis.
DARPA has awarded a funding grant to a bioengineer from Rice University to explore drugs that could induce thermogenesis through brown adipose tissue.
Two Types of Thermogenesis
There are two types of thermogenesis: shivering and non-shivering. Shivering raises body temperature but is unpleasant and reduces dexterity, while non-shivering thermogenesis is more efficient but generates less heat in humans.
The drug being developed by DARPA would target the second type of thermogenesis, which uses brown adipose tissue to generate heat immediately by breaking down sugars.
Brown Adipose Tissue
Brown adipose tissue is only activated in cold temperatures and burns available resources as an emergency measure, making it a vital survival pathway. Increasing brown adipose tissue metabolism with a drug could help soldiers, EMTs, and others in cold environments.
The grant will fund the use of modern screening technologies to scan through a large number of drug candidates. The screening method is mechanism-agnostic, meaning researchers may not need to fully understand the physiological process before developing mitigation strategies.
Funding Grant
The funding grant awarded to the bioengineer from Rice University is worth $4.6 million over the course of five years. The goal of the grant is to develop drugs that can increase the body’s ability to generate heat in cold environments, providing a temporary resistance to cold temperatures.
The grant will also fund the development of a screening method that can quickly and efficiently scan through a large number of drug candidates to identify those that have the most potential.
Implications
The development of a drug that can increase the body’s ability to generate heat in cold environments could have significant implications for soldiers and emergency responders. It could also have applications in other areas, such as outdoor activities, cold storage facilities, and even space exploration. The development of the drug is still in the early stages, and it may be several years before it is available for widespread use.
DARPA’s development of a drug to make people resistant to cold is an exciting development that could have significant implications for a variety of fields. The drug uses the body’s natural mechanism of thermogenesis to generate heat, providing temporary resistance to cold temperatures.
The funding grant awarded to the bioengineer from Rice University will enable the development of drugs that can increase the body’s ability to generate heat in cold environments, as well as a screening method to quickly identify promising drug candidates. While the development of the drug is still in its early stages, it has the potential to revolutionize cold weather operations and activities.
