Anti-freezing Frog Scienceby Cristen Conger, HowStuffWorks.com
 The wood frog is the most widely distributed amphibian in Alaska and the only one to reside north of the Arctic Circle. The palm-sized creature survives blistering winters by hibernating in the ground beneath snow, which provides insulation against the cold. But that doesn't mean that the wood frog's winter burrows are warm. On the contrary, the light brown and gray amphibian slowly freezes as winter sets in, shutting down breathing and heart function.
Come spring time, the wood frog thaws and hops along its way. So how can an organism survive what would normally amount to freezing to death?
The Alaskan wood frog's starchy diet is high in glucose. When temperatures start to fall, the frog's liver produces out an excessive amount of the sugar, which slows the internal freezing process. At the same time, the frog's internal systems pump a majority of water content out of cells and into intracellular cavities. The glucose then travels to the cells where it serves as a cryoprotectant against freezing. Soon, nearly three-fourths of the water in the wood frog's body converts to ice crystals, while the glucose-happy cells remain intact and functioning.
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