Jun 28 2009
Fun Science Fact: The Cost of Warm Blood
In the article referenced yesterday about new thoughts on bird evolution, I found this interesting tidbit:
Warm-blooded birds need about 20 times more oxygen than cold-blooded reptiles, and have evolved a unique lung structure that allows for a high rate of gas exchange and high activity level.
Wow. Personally, whenever I watch cooking and travel shows, and see all the human eating going on, I marvel at the incredible about of calories we must stuff into our pie-holes just to ride around in automobiles, walk from there to there, chat with others, and navigate a computer mouse.
Also . . . lungs! What wild and fantastic organs. They are a bit like a cross between a radiator and a catalytic converter. Except we needn’t be in continual locomotion to send air across their surfaces. Instead, we constantly employ muscles tissue to “bellow” the air in and out. Which burns a lot of energy.
Another piece of a pie, anyone?
