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Scientists Finally Understand How Snakes Can Go For A Year Without Food, As They Sit Tight And Wait For A Meal To Appear Before Them
- New research explains how snakes can go for months or years without eating by slowing their metabolism and avoiding ghrelin signaling.
- The study notes snakes do not typically produce ghrelin, a hormone that signals hunger in many animals.
- Researchers highlight MBOAT4 enzyme absence as a factor in ghrelin activation and hunger regulation.
- The lack of ghrelin and slow metabolism reflects an adaptation to unpredictable prey and long fasting periods.
- The study was published in Open Biology and cited by TwistedSifter as a key finding on reptile biology.
- The article situates snakes alongside reptiles in a broader discussion of hunger hormones and metabolism.
- The piece highlights the researchers’ attribution to the University of Porto and University of Copenhagen.
- The article frames snakes’ behavior as an evolutionary adaptation to prey timing.
- The report mentions the broader context with related health questions, like why people wake up at 3 a.m.
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