Lifemax
Perseverance is everything.
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Chad Iguanas can increase and decrease their skeletons whenever they want.
"In the Jan. 6 issue of the journal Nature, scientists studying marine iguanas of two island populations report that the herbivorous reptiles shrank as much as 6.8 centimeters (2.7 inches) -- up to 20 percent of body length -- in two-year time spans. The iguanas (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) were shrinking, the scientists report, to boost their survival during a change in the weather."
"Perhaps as interesting to the bone shrinkage is the renewed growth of bone. Humans suffering from osteoporosis as a result of aging or space flight are unable to recover from the loss of bone length and density, especially losses in long bones."
“We are looking for the mechanism,” Wikelski said. “Is it a certain hormone or combination of hormones, or is it some other physiological mechanism that tells bone to regrow and recalcify? I think these findings are potentially important for all kinds of vertebrates.”
The researchers found that adult marine iguanas can switch repeatedly between growth and shrinkage, depending on the environmental conditions. In adult humans, in contrast, re-growth after skeletal shrinkage, as happens in osteoporosis, is impossible.
"In the Jan. 6 issue of the journal Nature, scientists studying marine iguanas of two island populations report that the herbivorous reptiles shrank as much as 6.8 centimeters (2.7 inches) -- up to 20 percent of body length -- in two-year time spans. The iguanas (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) were shrinking, the scientists report, to boost their survival during a change in the weather."
"Perhaps as interesting to the bone shrinkage is the renewed growth of bone. Humans suffering from osteoporosis as a result of aging or space flight are unable to recover from the loss of bone length and density, especially losses in long bones."
“We are looking for the mechanism,” Wikelski said. “Is it a certain hormone or combination of hormones, or is it some other physiological mechanism that tells bone to regrow and recalcify? I think these findings are potentially important for all kinds of vertebrates.”
The researchers found that adult marine iguanas can switch repeatedly between growth and shrinkage, depending on the environmental conditions. In adult humans, in contrast, re-growth after skeletal shrinkage, as happens in osteoporosis, is impossible.
Reversible Bone Shrinkage Documented In Galapagos Iguanas
Measurements showing vertebrate animals getting smaller during the course of a study normally are dismissed as measurement error or not possible. Eighteen years of data from the Galapagos Islands, however, indicate such shrinkage is both occurring and reversible.
www.sciencedaily.com
