Marvel Has A Scientific Explanation For Captain America’s 70 Year Survival In The Ice

Everyone knows Captain America's (Chris Evans) backstory in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The recipient of the Super Soldier Serum, patriotic soldier Steve Rogers became America's living symbol of freedom. Left for dead in the ice for nearly seventy years, Captain America soon returned to join Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and the rest of the Avengers in protecting the Earth.

However, while some might say that it was the Super Soldier Serum that kept Steve alive for years in the ice, others find it hard to believe a frozen man could come back to life even if he had a few superhuman enhancements to him.

Now, it looks like Marvel has a scientific explanation for the phenomenon. A Marvel fan just found the studio's official explanation for Steve Roger's survival and decided to post a photo of it on Reddit. According to the studio, Captain America was able to survive not just because of the serum but because of a biological phenomenon that can usually be only found in animals.

Here's the full explanation:

"Physical examination of Capt. Rogers revealed that while thickened, his blood's water was not frozen. Blood tests revealed that his blood contained excessive amounts of glucose as a result of his liver processing his glycogen stores, thus lowering the freezing temperature of blood-borne water and creating a 'cryoprotectant'. This process is similar to that of Water-Bears (Tardigrades) and hibernating Wood Frogs who metabolize glycogen in their liver to circulate copious amounts through their body to reduce the osmotic shrinkage of cells and stop from freezing. This, however, has never been seen before in humans."

Based on the explanation, it seems like the Super Soldier Serum allowed Cap to produce a lot of glucose in his blood, giving the hero the opportunity to hibernate like wood frogs and tardigrades. Of course, while it might not be scientifically possible for human beings just yet, it's pretty cool that Marvel went out of its way to find a solid explanation for Captain America's 70-year hibernation.

Marvel's latest film, Ant-Man and the Wasp, premieres on July 6.

Read: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Evangeline Lilly Didn't Want the Wasp to ‘Fight Like a Man'