The yearling bear lay sprawled on a blanket in a central Wisconsin forest, his black furry snout pointing to the sky, as researchers sampled his blood, fat and muscle.
Locked somewhere within the burly body of the slumbering bear – knocked out with anesthetic Tuesday – could be the keys to helping humans cope with obesity, heart disease and inactivity, as well as someday providing a way to send humans on a three-year journey to Mars.