How to build a better lung
February 29th, 2008 at 11:08 pm (Animals)
During the most recent meeting of Geology 601 (Crises in Earth History), we discussed how oxygen has influenced the evolution of different species. I was surprised to learn that bird lungs operate quite differently from ours. Instead of inhaling and then reversing flow when exhaling (“tidal” breathing), birds have a clever lung design that permits them to circulate air in a single direction continuously. The page reached by clicking on the image at right explains it nicely (I love the diagram). One key advantage of this lung design is the much higher oxygen utilization you get, which is handy if you’re a bird and may need to operate at higher elevations. Presumably we’re stuck with our low-efficiency in-out lungs because we lacked evolutionary pressure to improve upon them. :)
jim said,
March 2, 2008 at 1:12 pm
So question for you: if you were to improve upon one part of the human body, what would you choose (after the brain), why, and what would you do with it?
Rex said,
March 5, 2008 at 4:36 pm
That sounds like a fascinating class, if it covers what I think it does. The Permian Extinction is scary! Save for the anthropic principle, it looks like we very nearly weren’t here.
wkiri said,
March 14, 2008 at 11:14 pm
Jim: Gosh, there are so many options. One I’ve lamented repeatedly is the (or my) body’s inability to regulate its temperature better (I’m still mystified by this). If I’m cold, then burn fuel and warm me up! Duh! Why do I have to sit there feeling cold? If I’m hot, dump more of the excess heat. Why have a circulatory system anyway if it can’t do that well? ;)
Rex: Yes, it covers the “big five” extinctions, and a bunch of other attendant events and theories; great stuff. I hope to post more about it here now that I have a bit more time on my hands. :)