Carp Found to Hold Its Breath for Months

Carp Found to Hold Its Breath for Months

Source: Underwatertimes.com

4/7/2006

How long can you hold your breath? Scientists at the University of Oslo have recently discovered how the Crucian Carp, a close relative of the goldfish, is able to live for months without oxygen. The researchers hope that understanding how some animals cope with a lack of oxygen might give clues as to how to solve this problem in humans.

"Anoxia related diseases are the major causes of death in the industrialized world. We have here a situation where evolution has solved the problem of anoxic survival millions of years ago, something that medical science has struggled with for decades with limited success", says Professor Göran Nilsson.

Japanese white crucian carp