Can you put someone in a state perched on the knife’s edge between life and death...and bring them back? Cryogenic freezing, suspended animation, human hibernation. The idea has captivated people for ages. What if we could hit pause on ourselves to buy more time as we wait for an organ transplant or treatment after a terrible injury? 

Scientists in Seattle are getting closer to making it a reality...if only in lab animals for now. 

We talk to Mark Roth, a professor in the basic sciences division at the Fred Hutch Cancer Center and a MacArthur Genius grant recipient about his work with suspended animation. 

Pocket Science is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. It is hosted by Gabriel Spitzer, edited by Jim Gates and produced by Anna Boiko-Weyrauch. 

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Correction, October 27, 2026 at 12:20 PM PDT: An earlier version of this story misstated the chemical agent in human heart attack trials. It has also been adjusted to clarify heart attack patients vs cardiac arrest patients.