Live data from Hacker News

Mammals can breathe through their intestines (2021)

science.org

51–60 of 177 posts

Re: Mammals can breathe through their intestines (2021)

#51
> Because they are highly dense, perfluorocarbons can also help flush mucus out of the intestine > Introducing oxygen to the intestines would probably kill the microbes involved in digestion

Combining these two for any significant amount of time seems like a recipe for microbiota dysbiosis.

It would be interesting to somehow determine if most of the oxygen is absorbed in the small or large intestine.

Mucus is what keeps bacteria from reaching the intestinal epithelium, especially in the large intestine (https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0803124105), and oxygenating the gut will cause a bloom in facultative aneorobes including E. coli and Salmonella, while killing anaerobic commensals like Bacteroidetes.

Re: Mammals can breathe through their intestines (2021)

#52

Are there any implications for next winter? If regulations says we should cover breathing holes...

Yeah, Joe Rogan will have to burn his panties in the name of liberty.

If gov mandates everyone wears panties, he propably will ;)

Re: Mammals can breathe through their intestines (2021)

#53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not necessarily as limiting as you might think. At altitude, people urinate more starting well before you are in any danger of altitude sickness because the air is too thin to breathe out waste gasses rapidly enough and the body compensates by shunting them out through the kidneys.

So... at high altitude, your piss is carbonated?!

[deleted]

Re: Mammals can breathe through their intestines (2021)

#56

Both intestines and lungs are epithelial tissue covered in mucus. I'm not that shocked by this news. Edit: though I don't like the title. It's not breathing. It's absorbing oxygen. Breathing involves inhalation and exhalation.

Well I think most of us have the exhalation part figured out by now.

[deleted]

Re: Mammals can breathe through their intestines (2021)

#57
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, it's entirely possible; it's called ECMO. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extracorporeal_membrane_oxygen... It's very risky and requires a nurse at the bedside 24/7, so it's a last-ditch sort of intervention.

why is it risky?

Red blood cells are meant to travel into capillaries so must deform but will shear easily when subjected to stress which activates clotting action - mechanical pumps still cannot replicate the pumping action of heart.

Re: Mammals can breathe through their intestines (2021)

#60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had the exact same though - this could make the suits a reality - providing that the traveller does not need to take large doses of morphine to deal with the pain or are dosed with amyl nitrite. I bet you would be "gassy" for weeks on end - with a dangerous combination of both pure oxygen and methane - sounds like a party to me.

Liquid breathing hurts?

I'm guessing, with the reference to amyl nitrate, they are assuming that whatever is stuck up your ass to facilitate this breathing process, is going to hurt.
Post reply on HN