The two-sided life of a marmot: From the cutest supporting character in "Nezha 2" to a scientific research star in the laboratory

"Nezha 2" created a movie box office myth. The group of naive and dedicated "groundhogs" in the film won everyone's love with their unique image.

Marmots, also known as "marmots", belong to the family Sciuridae of the order Rodentia. They are small mammals that live on highland meadows and can grow to about 50 cm. They are fat and short-legged, with thick necks and short ears. They stand upright on their feet and have a cute appearance. This seemingly cute squirrel has become an indispensable experimental animal in medical and biological research due to its unique physiological characteristics and susceptibility to a variety of diseases, and has played an important role in human health and disease research.

Source: Official stills of "Nezha: The Devil Boy Conquers the Dragon King"

Marmots are mainly used as experimental animals in medical research in the following aspects:

1. A “Natural Laboratory” for Plague Research

Marmots are the natural hosts of Yersinia pestis. From the terrifying plague pandemic "Black Death" in the Middle Ages to the sporadic plague outbreaks at this stage, the entanglement between marmots and plague runs through the long history of human struggle against infectious diseases. During the Northeast Plague Pandemic in 1910, Wu Lien-teh, a pioneer of modern Chinese medicine and founder of China's quarantine industry, confirmed that marmots were the source of plague. His "Investigation on the Relationship between Marmots (Mongolian Marmots) and Plague" was published in the authoritative medical journal "The Lancet". The survival of Yersinia pestis in nature depends on the stable "rat-flea-human or animal" ecological cycle, and marmots are the core link of this chain. Marmots rarely get sick after being infected with plague, so they are "living samples" to explore the survival mechanism of pathogens in nature. Researchers can analyze the transmission chain of plague by analyzing their external parasites (such as fleas).

2. “Living Decoder” for Hepatitis Research

The marmot hepatitis virus that infects marmots has a 70% homology with the human hepatitis B virus genome. From chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis to liver cancer, marmots accurately replicate the course of human diseases. Scientists have promoted the development of antiviral drugs (such as lamivudine) and vaccines based on the marmot model. Even more exciting is that in 2023, Chinese scientists achieved CRISPR gene editing in marmots and successfully knocked out the hepatitis B virus receptor, bringing hope for a cure for hepatitis B.

3. The “Life Clock” of Hibernation Research

Marmots have an amazing ability to hibernate. During hibernation, their body temperature drops from 37°C to near freezing, their heart rate drops from 200 beats/minute to 3-5 beats/minute, their respiratory rate usually drops to 1-3 times/minute, and their metabolic rate drops by 90%. This "suspended death" state lasts for up to 6 to 8 months. This extreme physiological state provides a natural model for studying ischemia-reperfusion injury, organ cryopreservation, and metabolic regulation mechanisms. The cold-resistant proteins and metabolic pathways extracted by scientists have brought new ideas for prolonging the activity of transplanted organs and treating cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

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Although the marmot's ability to carry pathogens poses a threat to human health, its tolerance to pathogens makes it an ideal model for studying these diseases. Today, marmots, as experimental animals, have made great achievements in many research fields, including natural epidemic diseases, hepatitis B, metabolic diseases, parasitic diseases, plateau medicine, and hibernation, bringing new hope for the progress of human medicine.

Image source: Internet. Please contact us if there is any infringement.

From a cute pet in cartoons to a pathogen carrier in reality, and then to a scientific research star in the laboratory, the role transformation of the marmot shows the charm of scientific research. This reminds us: while appreciating the beauty of nature, we must maintain scientific rationality; in real life, we cannot touch it casually, and while preventing disease risks, we must also make good use of the scientific research resources given to us by nature. The story of the marmot is a vivid portrayal of the harmonious coexistence of man and nature.