Publication & Media

Hundreds of animals around world have Medtronic heart monitors just like humans (StarTribune)
April 20, 2023

Black Bear Researchers Study the Secrets of Hibernation (WCCO News/CBS News)
March 10, 2022

Carnivore Ecology (LIONS, TIGERS, & BEARS) with Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant (Podcast, 00:44:22-00:49:00)
February 9, 2022

Wildlife's Winter Survival Guide (Mossy Oak)
December 29, 2021

The challenges of performing field research on hibernating black bears (UMN Department of Surgery Forum)
February 24, 2021 

Medicine Bears: Bruin Lessons of the Heart (Lake Superior Magazine)
January 2021

Participating in Minnesota bear study an opportunity of a lifetime (Duluth News Tribune)
March 8, 2020

Into the Bear's Lair (MN DNR)
December 15, 2019

Into the Den: Investigating Hibernation (BioScience)
December 6, 2019

Scientists look to unlock the mysteries of hibernation (BEAR WEEK: Fox9)
May 16, 2017

Researchers look to hibernating bears for advancements in human medicine (BEAR WEEK: Fox9)
May 14, 2017

Turns Out That Medtronic Is Really Interested in Bears (Qmed)
March 17, 2015 

Bear study teams DNR, Medtronic and U of M researchers (Grand Forks Herald)
March 14, 2015 

The big sleep (Scholastic SuperScience)
February 2, 2015

From the lab to the north woods (UMN Foundation)
January 28, 2015

U of M Researches Connection Between Black Bears and Heart Health in Humans (KSTP News)
January 7, 2014

World's oldest wild bear dies in Minnesota forest (Star Tribune)
August 27, 2013

Black Bear: Medical Marvel (University of Minnesota Foundation)
October 29, 2012 

U researcher heads to the woods to learn more about the human heart (Medical Bulletin)
October 29, 2012 

Beware the black bear- Even if it looks asleep (The Independent)
August 17, 2011

Understanding bears could help us survive heart attacks, researchers say (MPR News)
June 7, 2011

Bear research in northwestern Minnesota (MPR News)
March 15, 2011

Look Inside: The Visible Heart® Laboratory seeks solutions for muscle atrophy (Health Sciences: Academic Health Center Archives)
February 23, 2011

Good Question: How Does Hibernation Work? (WCCO, Minneapolis)
January 20, 2011

U of M Bear Study Could Help Critical Care Patients (KSTP, Minneapolis)
January 6, 2011

Learning from the bears (Grand Forks Herald)
March 14, 2010

Can dormant bears help us heal? (Star Tribune, Minneapolis)
December 26, 2009

The challenges of performing field research on hibernating black bears. Paul Iaizzo presented at the UMN Department of Surgery Forum on the team's black bear research. February 2021

Minnesota's bear man Dave Garshelis retires. After 37 years as the DNR's top bear biologist, Garshelis will now focus on international bear conservation. December 2020

The research team published a chapter in the book Bears of the World: Ecology, Conservation and Management titled Remarkable adaptations of the American Black Bear help explain why it is the most common bear: a long-term study from the center of its range. November 2020

The research team was featured in an article In Minnesota Conservation Volunteer magazine titled Into the Bear's Lair. December 2019

Research by the team, published in Conservation Physiology, found that Bears habituate to the repeated exposure of a novel stimulus, unmanned aircraft systems. January 2019

The team recently published an article in Animal Biotelemetry overviewing the bear research with implantable cardiac monitors. "Development and utilization of implantable cardiac monitors in free-ranging American black and Eurasian brown bears: system evolution and lessons learned." September 2018

A publication by the research team in Behavioral Ecology found that American black bears perceive the risks of crossing roads. May 2018

Fox9 aired two stories about the team's research during their Bear Week special. Scientists look to unlock the mysteries of hibernation and Researchers look to hibernating bears for advancements in human medicine. May 2017

Recent article on the clotting cascade during hibernation was published in the Journal of Experimental Biology. Blood clotting behavior is innately modulated in Ursus americanus during early and late denning relative to summer months. February 2017

The team published a study in Scientific Reports, of six years in the life of a mother bear—the longest continuous heart rate recordings from a free-ranging mammal. January 2017

Iles TL, Laske TG, Iaizzo PA, Tsur EE: Neuromorphic representation of cardiac data from the American black bear during hibernation. Proceedings of the 2021 Virtual Design of Medical Devices Conference. DMD2021-1073. DOI: 10.1115/DMD2021-1073 DOI: 10.1115/DMD2021-1073

Garshelis DL, Noyce KV, Ditmer MA, Coy PL, Tri AN, Laske TG, Iaizzo PA: Remarkable adaptations of the American Black Bear help explain why it is the most common bear: a long-term study from the center of its range. In: Bears of the World: Ecology, Conservation and Management, Penteriani V, Melletti M (eds.), Cambridge University Press, Chapter 5, pages 53-62, 2020 DOI: 10.1017/9781108692571

Ditmer MA, Werden LK, Tanner JC, Vincent JB, Callahan P, Iaizzo PA, Laske TG, Garshelis DL: Bears habituate to the repeated exposure of a novel stimulus, unmanned aircraft systems. Conservation Physiology, Open Access article, 7:coy067, 2019 DOI: 10.1093/conphys/coy067

Laske TG, Evans AL, Arnemo JM, Iles TL, Ditmer MA, Fröbert O, Garshelis DL, Iaizzo PA: Development and utilization of implantable cardiac monitors in free-ranging American black and Eurasian brown bears: system evoluation and lessons learned. Animal Biotelemetry 6:13, 2018 DOI: 10.1186/s40317-018-0157-z

Ditmer MA, Rettler SJ, Fieberg JR, Iaizzo PA, Laske TG, Noyce KV, Garshelis DL: American black bears perceive the risks of crossing roads. Behavioral Ecology, 2018 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/ary020

Laske TG, Iaizzo PA, Garshelis DL: Six years in the life of a mother bear—the longest continuous heart rate recordings from a free-ranging mammal. Scientific Reports, 7: 40732, 2017 DOI: 10.1038/srep40732

Iles TL, Laske TG, Garshelis DL, Iaizzo PA: Blood clotting behavior is innately modulated in Ursus Americanus during early and late denning relative to summer months. Journal of Experimental Biology 220(Pt. 3): 455-459, 2017 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.141549

Ditmer MA, Garshelis DL, Noyce KV, Laske TG, Iaizzo PA, Burk TE, Forester JD, Fieberg JR: Behavioral and physiological responses of American black bears to landscape features within an agricultural region. Ecosphere 6(3): Article 28, March 2015. DOI: 10.1890/ES14-00199.1

Ditmer MA, Vincent JB, Werden LK, Iaizzo PA, Garshelis DL, Fieberg JR: Bears show a physiological but limited behavioral response to unmanned aerial vehicles. Current Biology 25: 2278-2283, 2015 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2015.07.024

Colbert RW, Holley CT, Hocum Stone L, Crampton M, Adabag S, Garcia S, Iaizzo PA, Ward HB, Kelly RF, McFalls EO: The recovery of hibernating hearts lies on a spectrum: from bears in nature to patients with coronary artery disease. Journal of Cardiovascular Translational Research 8: 244-252, 2015 DOI: 10.1007/s12265-015-9625-5

Laske TG, Garshelis DL, Iaizzo PA: Big data in wildlife research: remote web-based monitoring of hibernating black bears. BMC Physiology 14: 13, 2014 DOI: 10.1186/s12899-014-0013-1

Ditmer M, Noyce K, Laske T, Iaizzo P, Garshelis D: Creating a metabolic map to assess potential for range expansion of American black bears. International Bear News, 21, 2012.

Iaizzo PA, Laske TG, Harlow HJ, McClay CB, Garshelis DL: Wound healing during hibernation by black bears (Ursus americanus) in the wild: elicitation of reduced scar formation. Integrative Zoology 7(1): 48-60, 2012 DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-4877.2011.00280.x

Laske TG, Garshelis DL, Iaizzo PA: Monitoring the wild black bear's reaction to human and environmental stressors. BMC Physiology 11(1): 13, 2011 DOI: 10.1186/1472-6793-11-13

Laske TG, Harlow HJ, Garshelis DL, Iaizzo PA: Extreme respiratory sinus arrhythmia enables overwintering black bear survival—physiological insights and applications to human medicine. Journal of Cardiovascular Translational Research 3(5): 559-569, 2010 DOI: 10.1007/s12265-010-9185-7

Harlow HJ, Lohuis T, Beck TD, Iaizzo PA: Muscle strength in overwintering bears. Nature 409: 997, 2001 DOI: 10.1038/35059165

Lohuis TD, Harlow HJ, Beck TD, Iaizzo PA: Hibernating bears conserve muscle strength and maintain fatigue resistance. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, 80: 257-269, 2007 DOI: 10.1086/513190

Sola S, Garshelis DL, Amaral JD, Noyce KV, Coy PL, Steer CJ, Iaizzo PA, Rodrigues CMP: Plasma levels of ursodeoxycholic acid in black bears, Ursus americanus: seasonal changes. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology 143:204-208, 2006 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpc.2006.02.002

Laske TG, Harlow HJ, Werder JC, Marshall MT, Iaizzo PA: High capacity implantable data recorders: System design and experience in canines and denning black bears. Journal of Biomechanical Engineering 127: 964-971, 2005 DOI: 10.1115/1.2049340

Seewald M, Coles Jr JA, Sigg DC, Iaizzo PA: Featured Article: Pharmacological postconditioning with delta opioid attenuates myocardial reperfusion injury in isolated porcine hearts. Experimental Biology & Medicine 242:986-995, 2016 DOI: 10.1177/1535370216684041

Hong J, Sigg DC, Coles JA JR, Oeltgen PR, Harlow HJ, Soule CL, Iaizzo PA: Hibernation induction trigger reduces hypoxic damage of swine skeletal muscle. Muscle & Nerve 32; 200-207, 2005 DOI: 10.1002/mus.20354

Sigg, DC, Coles JA Jr, Gallagher WJ, Oeltgen PR, Iaizzo PA: Opioid preconditioning: myocardial function and energy metabolism. The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, 72: 1576-1582, 2001 DOI: 10.1016/S0003-4975(01)03084-3
 

Howard SA, Rothstein K, Laske TG, Garshelis DL, Iaizzo PA: Estimating water loss during hibernation in the American black bear (Ursus americanus). Presented at Experimental Biology Conference 2012, San Diego, CA. PDF

Timothy G. Laske, David L. Garshelis, Karen V. Noyce, Mark A. Ditmer, Henry J. Harlow, Paul A. Iaizzo: Human Cardiac Monitoring Technologies help Advance Understanding of Free-ranging American Black Bears. Presented at the International Conference on Bear Research and Managment, September 2013, Provo, UT. PDF