Stuff To Blow Your Mind The 2024 Ig Nobels, Part 1
Sep 17, 2024
Dive into the delightful absurdity of the Ig Nobel Prizes, celebrating studies that spark laughter and curiosity. Discover the wild concept of mammals breathing through their rear ends and the potential medical breakthroughs behind it. Laugh along with past experiments, like the quirky cow-cat milk ejection study from 1941. Explore the ethical treatment of dairy cows and its surprising impact on milk production, all while enjoying a blend of humor and science that keeps you entertained and thinking!
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Supplemental Oxygen Sources
- Most cells rely on oxygen from the lungs.
- But some outer skin and eyeball cells get oxygen by passive diffusion from the air.
Butt-Breathing Mammals
- The 2024 Ig Nobel Physiology Prize was awarded for discovering that mammals can breathe through their anus.
- This "EVA" procedure may have medical significance.
Loach Inspiration
- Inspired by loaches (fish that breathe through their gut), scientists wondered if mammals could too.
- Experiments with mice and pigs showed improved blood oxygen levels when supplied with oxygen via the anus.