Winter is coming, and the wood frog does not have a warm burrow. A part of his body can freeze. His breathing and heart stop: the ordinary signs with which we associate a living animal disappear.
This capacity depends on a very specific organization. The formation of ice does not mean that each cell turns into ice. Protective substances, including glucose, help to limit tissue damage.
When conditions get warmer, the frog can resume its functions. This awakening is not a resurrection after a biological death found: it is an extreme adaptation to the cold. What looked like an end was, for this animal, a way to spend the bad season.
What we know
To tolerate partial freezing is not the same as surviving at any temperature or freezing of all cells.
To go to the source
References consulted on September 20, 2026. Linked pages may be in another language.
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