Friday, May 14, 2021
Ig-Nobel winner before the contest starts!
Mammals can breathe through their asses.
First, they designed a system to administer pure oxygen into the rectums of mice. They then exposed mice to lethally-low oxygen environments and found that mice rectally receiving oxygen lived at least 60% longer than mice not receiving oxygen – roughly 18 minutes vs. 11 minutes. The scientists subsequently found that if they thinned the lining of the mice's posterior intestine, the mice could live radically longer when hooked up to the system. With this method, 75% of mice lived more than 50 minutes while in lethally-low oxygen conditions. Intestinal 'breathing' effectively allowed them to survive in an environment devoid of oxygen.The diagrams alone win the prize. The artist decided to go for cute instead of gory. It would be fun to hear the article read by a Touretter who can't resist making appropriate and original comments. More seriously, this could open a path to survival for people who have lost lung function from cancer or emphysema or tuberculosis.
Labels: Entertainment
¶ 11:40 PM
