Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) has teamed up with researchers in Minnesota to study how bears are able to hibernate for months with few ill effects.

Researchers from the University of Minnesota and the Minn. Dept. of Natural Resources have been tracking the animals to better understand how they are able to remain physically fit after living largely motionless for up to 6 months in winter, according to the Grand Forks Herald. Humans, in comparison, would experience significant muscle loss under similar conditions

Of particularly interest, the researchers told the newspaper, is that bear heart rates slow dramatically during hibernation, as if they were in a state of suspended animation. Yet the animals remain alert during this time and easily spring into action once warmer weather arrives.

Medtronic has been contributing funding and cardiac monitoring equipment for the study for purely scientific reasons, vice president of research Tim Laske said.

"It’s all in the name of basic science,” Laske told the Herald. “Hopefully, we can find cures to diseases and ways to treat patients that are bedridden or have cardiac conditions.”

“The most substantial portion is related to the work the DNR is doing,” Laske added.