FRANCE: Researchers from the University of British Columbia have discovered that the largest animals alive – whales – have nerves in their tongues that can double in length and then recoil like a bungee cord.
The researchers were studying specimens at a commercial whaling station in Iceland when they stumbled upon the discovery reported Monday in Current Biology. Researchers say it could have important implications for study into human nerve damage.
“I had never seen a nerve like that,” said Wayne Vogl, of UBC’s Cellular and Physiological Sciences department.
He said his team believes the stretchy nerve helps the enormous creatures consume the amount of food they need to survive because feeding requires opening the mouth wide and deep enough to let huge amounts of water and food in, and then pushing the water back out again.
Prof. Vogl said the discovery could be significant for medical science because the most common type of nerve injury in humans is a stretched nerve.
The researchers found that the nerves of some whales, such as the blue, humpback and minke, are folded and encased in an elastic-like cord. When the whale does a feeding dive, the nerve expands as the mouth and blubber balloon to take in fish or krill.
The volume of water taken in by the whale can exceed the volume of the whale itself, the researchers said in the journal.
Tesla driverless system to use updated radar technology
WASHINGTON: Electric carmaker Tesla announced Sunday it was upgrading its Autopilot software to use more advanced radar technology. In a...
