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Comparative
Comparative,
Ecological and Evolutionary Physiology:
Nature’s Solutions to Biomedical Problems
Introduction
The animal kingdom can provide
insight into the treatment and prevention of biomedical conditions
that affect humans and other animals. For example, studying how an animal’s
physiology allows it to survive in a particular environment, with a
particular lifestyle, can provide scientists with novel insights into how
the body works under extreme or atypical conditions, including states that
would be life threatening for humans. Understanding the physiology of
animals that naturally experience unusual states may help us develop new
therapies that prevent or combat disease and improve the health of humans
and other animals (like our pets!).
What we learn from animals in the wild:
Snakes infrequently eat very large meals.
Within the next 24-48 hours, snakes experience a 7 to 40-fold increase in
oxygen uptake. Additionally, their digestive systems work more efficiently
and their hearts increase 40% in mass for as long as 14 days. These
post-feeding phenomena in snakes may provide insight into the mechanisms
that help the cardiac and digestive systems change and grow.
Turtles and Fish are tolerant to anoxia and
hypoxia (lack of oxygen). They can teach us how the brain and other organs
protect themselves from ischemic injury, such as occurs after aneurysms,
blood clots or hemorrhage.
Ground Squirrels and other hibernating species
can provide insight into a variety of biomedical issues, including
ischemia-reperfusion injury, heart function during hypothermia, organ
preservation, stroke, long-term fasting, muscle disuse atrophy, and
obesity/diabetes/weight regulation.
Wood frogs and painted turtles can freeze solid
in winter, which can provide insights into how to better protect cells and
tissues during cryopreservation.
Naked mole rats and other mammals that are
particularly long-lived for their body size can tell us about the mechanisms
of human aging and longevity. The naked mole rat lives as long as 20 years
and is being used to study the evolution of the aging process.
Birds and respiratory physiology – Imagine a
mountaineer climbing towards the summit of Mt. Everest, struggling with
every breath from a tank of supplemental oxygen. Now imagine the frustration
to look up to see a flock of bar-headed geese flying swiftly and gracefully
at an even higher altitude, where there is even less oxygen to fuel
metabolism—and the geese have energy left to honk at the poor climber! The
amazing ability of birds to transport enough oxygen for hard exercise under
the most stressful conditions has made them a valuable experimental model to
study the physiology of oxygen supply and demand.
Arthropods, amphibians and reptiles help
scientists to discover general principles of how muscles and skeletons
work. This can lead to new insights into orthopedic medicine, as well as
the engineering of robotic transport systems. Other animals like
short-haired gray opossums have also been studied to investigate and compare
muscle adaptation to exercise training and cold exposure.
Bony and cartilaginous fishes such as salmon and
sharks may help us understand how material properties and complex
interactions affect the form and structure of bone and tendon.
Marine and desert organisms – The natural
responses of these animals that regularly experience changing environmental
conditions may reveal ways that the human body can better respond to stress,
and how we may be able to induce the expression of protective molecules to
“precondition” organs, tissues or the whole the body prior to a stressful
event (e.g., surgery).
To speak with a physiologist about comparative physiology or any of the
research discussed above, please contact Donna Krupa (301) 634-7209).
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