Bird's eggs contain everything that the chick needs, except oxygen. So how exactly does the egg 'breathe'? First, the shell needs to be permeable to gases. The shell consists of a calcium carbonate outer layer, with two shell membranes beneath. A typical outer shell of a hen's egg holds about 10,000 pores, each less than … Continue reading How do eggs breathe?
One of the things I want to do with this blog is to present a few basic animal physiology topics, in random order. The official reason is that I believe it is important as a scientist to look outside one's niche every once in a while. The unofficial reason is that taking a step out … Continue reading Taking a walk on the wild side
When I say I work on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), I usually get one out of two responses: sage nodding or confused smiles. Invariably, the nodders are those who know someone with COPD or work within the field. If you have ever seen anyone suffer from the disease, you'll remember it. But if you … Continue reading Approaches to COPD
