Follow your curiosity

What discovery has been shared with you?

FACTREE gives you something interesting to discover every day — and something worth talking about together.

Start with one fact. Explore it, go deeper, then follow whichever branch catches your imagination.

Choose subjects for a surprise

Exploring any topic

Begin your discovery

Your next discovery is one click away.

Choose one or more subjects above, or leave Any Topic selected and let curiosity decide.

Biology

Physiological Mechanisms of Freeze Tolerance in Wood Frogs

Quick fact

Wood frogs (Rana sylvatica) can survive up to 65% of their body water freezing, and their hearts stop for weeks. They do this by flooding their cells with glucose, which acts as a natural antifreeze, and by controlling where ice forms. Ice grows only in extracellular spaces, drawing water out of cells and preventing lethal ice crystals from forming inside them.

Why this is interesting

Imagine a frog that can survive being frozen solid, with no heartbeat or breathing, then hop away after thawing. How is that possible?