Interesting fact of biology

POSTED BY: SIGNYM
UPDATED: Monday, June 1, 2026 01:38
VIEWED: 325
PAGE 1 of 1

SIGNYM

Sunday, May 31, 2026 4:00 AM

Did you know that birds breathe completely differently than most animals?
We breathe tidally. Air flows in and out of our lungs. I always thought that was stupid. Why aren't our lungs more like our digestive system, with one- way flow? Not only does stuff get stuck in the dead ends that are our lungs, we never get 100% air exchange.

Birds actually have one-way flow thru their lungs, lucky sods.

6IXSTRINGJACK

Sunday, May 31, 2026 8:56 AM

After recovering from an 8cm x 3.6cm mass in my lung and one of the worst cases of pneumonia you could imagine, I'd be down with having a drain pipe at the bottom of each lung.

Let's do this!

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Those who dance always seem crazy to those who can't hear the music.

ANONYMOUS1

Sunday, May 31, 2026 3:07 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
I'd be down with having a drain pipe at the bottom of each lung.

This reminded me of stuff and I looked it up and it does exist: “ Draining the lungs (a procedure known as thoracentesis or chest tube insertion) ”

In Steven Brust book Athyra, Vlad has to have his lungs drained. https://www.pyrlogos.com/2016/08/

I think I’ve seen People on several tv shows/cartoons ready to stab people in the throat with a pen empty ink tube to help them breathe.

And then River killed a doctor (played by Joss) with a pen…she was not trying to help him breathe.

ANONYMOUS1

Sunday, May 31, 2026 3:08 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Did you know that birds breathe completely differently than most animals?

…

Another reason birds are dinosaurs!

JAYNEZTOWN

Sunday, May 31, 2026 10:47 PM

Yeah I kinda knew this but didnt retain it all, maybe seen it on NatGeo channel or in a mag or some science tv, air sacs you go from high to low changes in winds, its very important for birds where the surrounding air has a lower partial pressure of oxygen

but yeah the bird cant drink in zero-G they need to raise their head to swallow

they have 'bird brains'

no fingers no opposable thumbs, so will never shoot an arrow or a gun, cant paint, write a poem, draw...the mole, the frog, the cat, the dog, the monkey at least their limbs might evolve, even the Bat has some of that limb magic that could one day evolve something birds dont have...but there are fantasy drawings of dragon dinosaurs with 'hands'
the hand sensation?
They do not have touch like other animals, a limited understanding of touch with beak, feet and legs but highly developed senses in other areas
they have a really lizard primitive understanding of food and almost no Taste Buds...they will never taste food as other animals do

they got a 'great view'
and anyways humans cant invent that view, hot-air balloons, drones, get into your aircraft

yeah birds have some pretty good things going for them and ancient genetic history
Parrots are funny, Peacocks are great at being gorgeous, Pigeons clean up the trash in our cities and helped humans deliver messages like Ravens did, Eagles are great though, the kiwi became the best-known national symbol, Penguins and Gannets are great swimmers, the Ostrich is a great runner and possibly moves like one of those Dinosaurs moved, Blackbirds sing wonderful and inspired our songs, a lot of humans would probably be dead if we didn't farm Hens / Chickens and use their eggs
but I'd rather be a human and top of the food chain than be a bird

the smell thing is interesting

thoughts on a lack of vomeronasal organ (VNO), or Jacobson's organ

it was thought they had a limited sense of smell or assumed that birds’ sense of smell was limited

Okay, but can birds smell?

SECOND

Monday, June 1, 2026 12:09 AM

Bird retinas function without oxygen — solving a centuries-old biological mystery

By Aarhus University | January 21, 2026

https://phys.org/news/2026-01-bird-retinas-function-oxygen-centuries.h
tml

. . . the study overturns a long-standing assumption about a mysterious structure in the eye that has puzzled scientists since the 17th century.

Most animals supply neural tissue with oxygen through dense networks of tiny blood vessels. This is considered essential, as neurons have an exceptionally high energy demand. The retina, a highly specialized extension of the brain, is no exception—and in fact consumes more energy than any other tissue in the body.

Birds, however, present a paradox. Their retinas are avascular, meaning they lack blood vessels within the retinal tissue itself. This feature is thought to improve visual acuity, since blood vessels scatter light in its path to the photoreceptor. But how the retina survives without a blood supply has remained unknown.

"Our starting point was simple," says biologist Christian Damsgaard, first author of the study and associate professor at Aarhus University in Denmark. "According to everything we know about physiology, this tissue should not be able to function."

While the starting point may have been simple, the journey to the end point was anything but simple. It has taken Damsgaard and a growing team of researchers, mostly from Aarhus University, 8 years to produce the results, that are now finally published. . . .

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

SECOND

Monday, June 1, 2026 12:19 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by second:
Bird retinas function without oxygen — solving a centuries-old biological mystery

How the Bird Eye Was Pushed to an Evolutionary Extreme

By Yasemin Saplakoglu | May 13, 2026

https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-the-bird-eye-was-pushed-to-an-evolu
tionary-extreme-20260513/

. . . The researchers tried to pinpoint when the pecten oculi might have arisen by comparing oxygen levels in the bird retina to those in not-so-distant relatives: two reptile species, Chinese pond turtles and broad-snouted caimans. The reptile retinas had normal oxygen levels and no indication of anaerobic glycolysis. This led Damsgaard’s team to conclude that the oxygen-free tissue likely evolved sometime during the dinosaur era, after the avian lineage had split from crocodiles but hadn’t yet evolved into modern birds. This was around the same time that the retina thickened.

Still, that rough time estimate can’t explain what evolutionary pressure might have selected for the unusual retinal tissue. Researchers can only speculate. “I think the system evolved in theropod dinosaurs in response to selection for sharp vision for tracking prey and identifying mates,” Damsgaard suggested. Then, later, when birds took to the skies, it “served as the physiological basis for maintaining retinal function” during high-altitude flights, when oxygen levels are low, he speculated.

The lack of blood vessels could also offer birds the advantage of better vision. . . .

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

6IXSTRINGJACK

Monday, June 1, 2026 1:38 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by ANONYMOUS1:
Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
I'd be down with having a drain pipe at the bottom of each lung.

This reminded me of stuff and I looked it up and it does exist: “ Draining the lungs (a procedure known as thoracentesis or chest tube insertion) ”

In Steven Brust book Athyra, Vlad has to have his lungs drained. https://www.pyrlogos.com/2016/08/

I think I’ve seen People on several tv shows/cartoons ready to stab people in the throat with a pen empty ink tube to help them breathe.

And then River killed a doctor (played by Joss) with a pen…she was not trying to help him breathe.

*AHEM*... Allegedly.

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Those who dance always seem crazy to those who can't hear the music.