cardiac

Image of a hibernating thirteen-lined ground squirrel from University of Minnesota Duluth researcher Matthew Andrews. Thirteen-lined ground squirrels (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus) are really cute when they hibernate (above). During torpor bouts, their body temperature decreases to a few degrees Celsius and their metabolism drops by as much as 95% with heart rates ranging from only 3-10 beats per minute. These bouts of torpor are interrupted by periodic arousals every couple of weeks during which their metabolism increases as body temperature elevates to 37 degrees Celsius. What is so…

"Drosophila melanogaster - side (aka)" by André Karwath aka Aka - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons -   Researchers at the University of California at San Diego were interested in understanding how exposure to low oxygen concentrations impact heart function. For humans low oxygen delivery to the heart can occur with exposure to high altitude, respiratory diseases, inflammation, blood clots and during a heart attack when there is inadequate blood flow to the heart muscle. The results of their study were recently published in the American Journal of Physiology -…

Image from The Telegraph (www.telegraph.co.uk Photo credit: Alamy) Granted this is not comparative physiology, I thought this study was really interesting. Research has shown that exposure of developing embryos to caffeine in utero can alter the expression of genes in the heart leading to changes in how the heart develops and functions in adult animals. New research from the University of Florida published in the American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology has examined changes in specific genes they believe are altered by physiologically-relevant…

Another exciting day for Comparative Physiology! I just got back to my hotel after the wonderful dinner meeting overlooking the Harbor. Of course, the research was exciting too :) Here are the highlights from today's sessions: Heinrich E, Bradley T. Univ California, Irvine I learned a lot about the insect tracheal system this morning. Insects do not have continuous gas exchange with environment like we do. Rather, gas exchange is discontinuous and involves valves, called spiracles: Diagram of how insects breathe from www.breatheornot.wordpress.com When carbon dioxide levels increase, the…