Living in the desert might seem like a peculiar strategy for a fish. But 10,000 years ago, the southwestern US was a much wetter place than it is now, covered by water as deep as 100 m that was home to many creatures including pupfish. As the water receded, pupfish became isolated to warm springs,ContinueContinue reading “Desert pupfish hold their breath”
Tag Archives: respiratory system
The evolution of breathing
When birds breathe, air flows through their lungs in a unidirectional pattern, once thought to be a unique adaptation to meet the high oxygen demands of flight. But when similar unidirectional flow patterns were discovered in the lungs of crocodilians, paleobiologists began to consider that this trait may have developed in an ancestor common toContinueContinue reading “The evolution of breathing”
New porcine model for cystic fibrosis
Cystic fibrosis (CF) affects about 1 in 4,000 newborns in the US. This inherited disease involves the mucus glands of the lungs, liver, pancreas and intestines, causing progressive disability from multiple system failures. About 20 years ago, it was determined that CF is caused by mutation of the gene CFTR. Despite that discovery, however, the underlyingContinueContinue reading “New porcine model for cystic fibrosis”
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