Seals' shivering secrets revealed
Seal fitted with a device to monitor its dive
Also In The News
|
Published by Penguin, out January 25th 2007 (out in September via online subscription), hardback, 768 pages, price to be confirmed. |  |
Tuesday, 10, Oct 2006 03:58
Seals' ability to switch their shivering mechanism off could provide clues into treating people who have suffered from a severe lack of oxygen (hypoxia), a new study claims.
Shivering is an involuntary response that consists of muscle contractions which warm the body.
Researchers from Norway's University of Tromso found that seals shiver when exposed to cold air but not when diving in icy water.
This ability is thought to allow the diving seal to conserve oxygen and minimise brain damage that could result from long dives.
As they dive the seals allow their bodies to become cooler, slowing their metabolism and lowering their oxygen requirement, thus extending their dive time.
The researchers believe that their study holds important insights into hypoxia, a condition which affects humans who have suffered accidental hypothermia, for example from falling into icy water.
Hypoxia also causes several hundred thousand people to die or become irreversibly brain damaged each year following cardiac arrest, stroke or respiratory disorders, which cause an inadequate supply of oxygen to the brain.
Lars Folkow, one of the researchers, said: "Somehow [the seals] tolerate hypoxia better, we don't know why. The study of how seals handle this lack of oxygen may someday give us knowledge that is useful in treating people who have suffered severe hypoxia."
The researchers presented the study at The American Physiological Society's conference, which started on Sunday and goes on until tomorrow.