Provide life support as it suffers in the sun (7)

I believe the answer is:

sustain

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'provide life support' is the definition.
'sustain' can be an answer for 'provide' (sustaining is a kind of providing). I'm not sure about the 'life support' bit.

'as it suffers in the sun' is the wordplay.
'suffers' indicates anagramming the letters.
'in the' indicates putting letters inside.
'as'+'it'='asit'
'asit' anagrammed gives 'stai'.
'stai' put within 'sun' is 'SUSTAIN'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for sustain that I've seen before include "Carry" , "Maintain" , "Continue, prolong" , "Keep up; hold for a long time" , "Give food to" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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