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<p>Middle schooler, Aanya, has an up-close encounter with a squirrel in the school yard, which leads her to an obsession with one of North America's most common critters. She tells host Lulu Miller all about the overlooked superpowers of squirrels, including one squirrel who lives way up in the Arctic, where the weather gets so cold the squirrels who live there drop their body temperatures down below freezing and somehow, miraculously, survive.</p><p>Host Lulu travels to Alaska to meet one of these squirrels as it sleeps, and Lulu talks with biologists Dr. Kelly Drew and Dr. Brian Barnes about why this humble squirrel holds potential for treating Alzheimers, brain injury, and even helping astronauts hibernate on the long journey to Mars.</p><p>Check out the making of this episode <a href="https://youtu.be/YzoPQdHcM5U">here</a>! Video by <a href="https://www.wnyc.org/people/amy-pearl/">Amy Pearl</a>. </p><p>This episode features a song with a cameo from Chicago-based musician <a href="h...