Consider the humble ground squirrel, that ubiquitous nut-craver that dashes about like its fur is on fire for most of the year, then takes a long winter nap from around September to March. Could this goofy critter hold the key to understanding strokes in humans and perhaps offer some ways to treat this deadly disease?

Scientists at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke are studying the way ground squirrels hibernate to better understand brain damage after stroke. Blood flow to the brain slows significantly in squirrels during hibernation, which closely resembles what occurs in humans who are having a stroke. Yet the squirrels wake up every spring famished but none the worse for the experience. How do they do that?

Each year, nearly 800,000 people in the U.S. have a stroke, which typically occurs when a clot cuts off blood flow to part of the brain, depriving those cells of oxygen and nutrients. The only way to minimize that cell death is to remove the clot as soon as possible.

Scientists looking for a way to help brain cells survive this lack of oxygen and glucose have identified a special cellular process that kicks into overdrive to protect squirrels’ brains while they’re hibernating.

After experimenting with more than 4,000 molecules, they singled out one that boosted the protective process in rodent cells and kept them alive in the absence of oxygen and glucose. The team now plans to test whether this molecule can shield the brain in animal models of stroke.

The researchers said they hope their work will lead to help for stroke patients, while also prompting others to look to nature for other potential breakthroughs.