Breathing through your ass is safe (according to science)

Although a priori we have been taught from childhood that the lungs are the organ responsible for our breathingthe reality is that breathing through the ass is also possible. And it is not a theory, but rather it has been put into practice, as a clinical trial has shown published in the magazine Med who has named this technique enteric ventilation. The current situation. When a person is in a critical condition, it is quite common to perform an intubation with the aim that a ventilator can do the action of exhaling and inhaling with the aim also of applying an extra dose of oxygen when there is respiratory depression or simply controlling this route. Although it is also a technique that can be seen in an operating room, in surgery, when anesthesia is applied. The problem is that sometimes intubation is not possible, because the airway is very compromised or simply because the lung is in a state that prevents it from performing its normal function. This forces us to look for alternatives to maintain blood oxygenation, and one of them is this enteric ventilation through another area such as the rectal area, which is presented as support but not a substitute, but is a further advance in emergency medicine. The technique. It has already been tested by the Takanori Takebe research team of the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and the Osaka Universityis presented as a complementary oxygenation pathway in very serious respiratory emergencies. In Takebe’s own words“does not seek to replace mechanical ventilators or ECMO, but rather to offer a temporary means of support to allow the lungs to rest.” The operation. The idea of ​​breathing through the rectum was not born in the laboratory, but in an aquarium. In 2021, Takebe and his group they published in Med a pioneering study in which they demonstrated that animals such as mice, rats and pigs could survive low-oxygen environments if their intestines received oxygenated perfluorodecalin. This liquid, a perfluorocarbon Chemically inert, it can transport oxygen in concentrations much higher than what an erythrocyte can do. And to test it, they introduced it through the rectum, causing the animals to reverse the lethal hypoxia and reduce the need to use the lung as a ‘pump’ to ventilate the body. The administration was enteral, that is, through the rectum. In animal models, intestinal oxygenation managed to reverse lethal hypoxias and reduce the need for pulmonary ventilation. The next step. Once tested on animals, the idea was to move on to humans and see if it was safe. To do this, they recruited 27 healthy volunteers who received one liter of perfluorodecalin not oxygenated by a controlled enema. In this case, none of them had hypoxemia and the goal was not to see if it could be reversed, but to check if they had any strange reaction. And the result was a success: there was only a little diarrhea (a good thing considering what could have happened). But the most important thing is that the results coincided with what was observed in animal experiments, and above all they confirmed that there is no significant damage or inflammation in our intestinal mucosa. What’s coming Takebe’s group is already planning a phase II clinical trial with patients suffering from moderate hypoxemia, in collaboration with hospitals in Japan and the United States. In this case, oxygenated PFD (O₂-PFD) will be used to determine if intestinal absorption can really raise blood oxygen levels as it occurs in animals, although expectations are very high. If we look at the scientific literature, there are already different application possibilities. As published in Frontiers in Physiology in 2023 the potential of perfluorocarbons can be highlighted as alternative oxygen carriers, both for lungs with edema and for emergency medicine where it cannot be easily intubated or the lung is not 100% fit for it. In parallel, the field of liquid ventilation has remained active among critics and intensivists: works such as the one published in Intensive Care Medicine Experimental in 2020, they pointed since oxygenated fluids could relieve pulmonary stress in patients with distress acute respiratory illness, serving as a “bridge” in life support therapies. His comic side. In 2024, Takebe’s group received he Ig Nobel Prize for his research in enteric ventilation, an award that celebrates research that first makes you laugh and then makes you think. But, beyond humor, Takebe himself emphasizes that what began as a biological curiosity is giving rise to real biomedical innovation. And although it remains to be confirmed that the human intestine can actually oxygenate blood effectively, accumulated data in animals and the first safety trials put enteric ventilation on the border between experimental biomedicine and advanced critical medicine. Far from being an extravagance, research in liquid oxygenation is part of a growing area that seeks alternatives to invasive mechanical ventilation, especially in situations where resources or time are limited. And if all goes well, in the future a treatment that today sounds unthinkable—injecting liquid oxygen through the intestine—could become another tool in the arsenal of intensive care units. Images | Alexey Elfimov In Xataka | We’ve gone from “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” to “I grab something quick and stick with it.” And that has problems

People have started rowing to touch their ass to the statue of the bear in Madrid. Makes as little sense as it seems

Recently Dublin’s City Council did something unusual: He put an escort To the statue of a woman to prevent tourists from groking her breasts. Before the Irish session had even thought about Raise the monumentdedicated to Molly Maloneto leave his generous bronze bust (discolored after years and years of touch) out of reach of the caresses of the visitors. Molly Malone’s is not a unique case. If you approach the door of the Sun, in the heart of Madrid, you can also check how the celebration Bear and madroño statue That decorates the square for almost 60 years has the innkeepers and a leg of gold color for the constant of tourists and neighbors. A two -colored bear. Few more emblematic places in Madrid than Puerta del Sol. And few more iconic points in the square (and the city in general) than the famous Bear and madroño statuea work by sculptor Antonio Navarro that decorates the area since January 1967, although since then it has already changed several times of location. If today you approach to see it, it is likely, however, two details that are relatively recent. To start it is likely to meet tourists queuing to take photos next to the Úrsido. If you look, you will also see that the animal is two colors. Most have a dark tone, but one of the legs and tail are somewhat clearer, almost golden. Actually both details are related. If the animal has “faded” it is largely because of the touch of visitors. @koda_009 If you are in Madrid or visit the city, you cannot go without touching the sculpture of the bear and the madroño at the Puerta del Sol. The monument is one of the most important symbols of the capital and, according to the belief, in addition to bringing luck, touching it also guarantees to return to the city. #Elosoyelmadroño #Madrid #Spain #Puertadelsol #Europe #Sabiasque? #Sabiasque #comunidaddeMadrid #SPain #for you #Solmadrid ♬ Original sound – Koda Is it a matter of good luck? The legend says to touch Malone’s breasts Bring good luckbut … why do people grocery the tail and the leg of the bear of the door of the Sun? Basically for the same. A quick search in networks reveals that there are people who believe What to reach the tail will bring you good luck and will help him return to Madrid. Other versions ensure that what you have to touch the bear is actually the heel or that the objective changes According to the origin Who is sovere to: If you are from Madrid you must go to the tail, if you are a visitor you have to touch the leg. A matter of superstition, as is the case with the statue of Malone or other sobbed sculptures, such as The porcellino from Florence, which also has the polished snout based on the handle of tourists, or The testicles of the famous Toro of Wall Street. There are even more rocambolescas legends, such as the one that argues that those women who deliver a flower, kiss and touch the penis of The Victor Noir statuein a cemetery in Paris, they will enjoy love and sex. THE KEY: IMITATION. Superstitions apart, the explanation of why people caresses sculptures is much simpler (and mundane). At least in the case of the Madrid bear. The key was given in 2023 Madrid_Secreto in Tiktok: people feel the impulse to play statues and over time that ends up leaving a mark on the surface of the monuments that attracts the attention of more and more people. Result: the habit grows and feeds up until it becomes tradition. The equation is completed with the best Selfiethe desire to return on vacation with iconic photos and the amplifier effect of the networks. @vanessaencinals Well I don’t reach but it’s my fourth time in Madrid 😂❤️ #fyp #Madrid #vacations #SPain #Osomadrileño #Granvia #Puertadelsol ♬ You can count on me. Amaia Montero. LODVG – Video Covers “I’ve seen it in Tiktok”. The million dollar question in the case of the Statue of Puerta del Sol is … who was the first to touch the sculpture? When did that derive in a tradition? And how has it expanded so fast? Recently eldiario.es He approached To the square to talk to tourists and even a guide and discovered several things. To begin with, the handle of the Úrsido seems to have started a few years ago, at least before the pandemic. The historian José Manuel Moreno, in fact, points out that “it is not a new fashion” and points out that there are other sculptures that are also a victim of the touch, such as The curious neighborlocated on the main street with Almudena. People touch their ass in search of the same: fortune. Another of the conclusions that are taken when talking to people who approach the statue to touch it is that, although the habit of the handle perhaps comes from years ago, it has expanded basically thanks to social networks. “I’ve seen it on Tiktok,” Recognize A young woman from Jaén. And the truth is that a quick search arrives for find A handful of videos in which people are seen playing sculpture and talking about their supposed effects to return to Madrid or have luck. Touch statues? That is the million dollar question. Is it okay to touch statues installed in public spaces, even to the point that your patina is affected? Should institutions avoid it? In the case of the Malone statue, the Dublinous authorities are clear, although it is true that in their case influenced that tourists focus (with jokes included) on the bust of the figure. “I don’t like it and put limits … wherever it can truly be a problem. But of course, it’s hard to define,” Moreno admits. In the specific case of Navarro’s sculpture, one of the factors that could have influenced the touching is The last reform of the environment, which banks … Read more

Clean your ass after defecating

Many people do not know, but go to the bathroom and defecate in the fastest and most efficient way is a formula that The Japanese invented after Uesugi Kenshinone of the most powerful Japanese warriors, fell dead … while I was doing their needs. The samurais then formulated a technique for the “squeeze”: cross your legs. Several centuries later, the Japanese nation would erect again as the flag bearer in the matters of the bathroom, and a company was going to become the protagonist of the second part: Cleaning. A hygienic revolution. Year 1982, a television ad In Japan marks a before and after in the history of personal hygiene habits. In that commercial, an actress wondered naturally why, if we wash our hands when they get dirty, we do not do the same with our butt. With that simple logic, the Toto Washleta toilet seat with built -in bidé, heating, drying and other advanced functions. The initial reaction was stuled, even rejection. The announcement caused, in fact, controversy for broadcasting during dinner time. However, with the passage of time, which began as a technological eccentricity became a national symbol: today, today More than 80% of Japanese households use this type of toilets. But there is much more. Of rarity to standard. I told the weekend The New York Times In a report. TOTOfounded in 1917 in Kitakyushu, perfected an idea that he observed in the American medical field in the 60s: a water cleaning device. Redesigned with Japanese meticulousness, the Washlet was launched in 1980 and evolved slowly. It took almost two decades to sell the first ten million units, but after adding innovations such as deodorization (1992), automatic cover closure (2003) or exact water temperature adjustment, the water temperature, Acceptance shot up. Japanese culture, where even domestic objects can be considered sacred and discomfort is seen as a challenge to solve, He hugged the idea strongly. Today they have been sold More than 60 million of Washlets worldwide, with sales that do not stop growing. THE INTERNATIONAL CONQUEST: Pandemia. Although the success in Asia was immediate, the conquest of other markets, such as the American, was rather arduous. Since his arrival in 1989, Toto faced cultural taboos, advertising rejection and even protests By fences in Times Square They showed naked rear. Only mouth mouth kept the Mark for years. What happened? That everything changed with the Covid-19 pandemic. It We have counted: The “shortage” of toilet paper and the increase in time at home took thousands of American consumers to Reconsider your habits. Washlet sales in the United States doubled in 2020 and have maintained their impulse since then. Social networks, luxury hotels or Even celebrities As Ali Wong or DJ Khaled have also contributed to the rise of the phenomenon. The tourist effect. Plus: Another unexpected force in this expansion has been tourism. The experience of using a Japanese toilet during a trip has become A kind of revelation/must For many visitors. He counted The Times The case of Canadian professor Ryan Gregory as illustrative: after trying a washlet in Japan, he bought two for his home. This experience is increasingly repeated, which has consolidated the Nation as not only a technology manufacturer, but an exporter of domestic comfort standards. In a country like the United States, where toilets with Bidé still represent only 2.5% Of the total, Toto sees a vast market to conquer (or rear to clean). Commercial challenges. Of course, Toto’s growth is not exempt from obstacles. Most washlets sold in the United States They are manufactured in Thailand and Malaysiaand the tariff threats From the Trump administration to those countries could make their products more expensive. However, the president of Toto, Shinya Tamura, does not consider changing his goals. Moreover, he wants to double sales in the United States by 2027 and, as a symbolic gesture, he plans Try it on Times Square. With an increasingly receptive international market and a product that transforms a physiological need into a comfort experience, the Japanese company prepares to continue leading a silent but deep cultural revolution. That of our rear. Image | Brainwashers, Ted Slampyak via The Art of Manliness In Xataka | The Bidé is disappearing in the bathrooms throughout Spain except in Zamora. There is mandatory by law In Xataka | The intestine has a “golden rich zone.” And if we often default out of it you have to pay attention

Getting coffee in the ass is not a good idea, according to science

Coffee is a food full of health benefits that we did not know until not too ago. However, introducing it to the anus is not in the list of what scientific evidence recommends to obtain its properties. And not only for a DOSIS MOST DIRECT CAFEINEbut to treat cancer. They are coffee enemas, and they can do more bad than good. PEC. Literally. If you had to write a ‘Young speaking guide‘In recent years, an expression that could not be missing is’ pec’. It is the acronym for “by the ass”, a modernization (and vulgarization, depending on who we ask) of the already classic “it is very cool.” In the case of coffee, it is something that is being carried out in a curious way: enemas. ‘Brain. Are Lavatives of coffee they became fashionable a few years ago due to the advice of the actress and businesswoman ‘Wellness‘Gwyneth Paltrow. Through your brand Goop -Centrada in him lifestyle and alternative well -being And holistic beauty-the actress has sold several cosmetic and well-being products, but also others of the most controversial. On the one hand, Jade eggs and vaginal vapors for intimate health. On the other hand, the Implant-o-rama. The latter is a curious name for something much easier to describe: coffee enemas. Its price is at the level of Best specialty coffee: 150 dollars. These products have been criticized For the scientific community because they lack support and it is not so much that they can be harmful to health, but there are people who replace treatments that support evidence to go to these pseudoscientific practices. The enemas that Paltrow sells, accompanied by phrases of people who claim that their cancer has been diluted thanks to them For sample, royalty. There is a real example. Literally. In February of last year it was announced that Carlos III, king of England, had been diagnosed with cancer. It was not specified what type of cancer was, but the monarch began to follow a conventional treatment while performing its functions. A few days ago, however, the story gave a flying: Carlos III was news because, according to nearby sources, left conventional therapy -The chemotherapy- and bet for alternative solutions. What solutions? Well, those dictated by Gerson therapy. It is an alternative treatment created by the doctor Max Gerson in 1930 designed to treat both cancer and other degenerative diseases. The trident is based on vegetarian and low sodium diet with a huge amount of daily natural juices, supplements such as vitamins, enzymes and extracts to support detoxification and crown jewel: coffee enemas. Detox. Gerson Consider that cancer appears as a result of a metabolic deterioration of the body and is reflected in a tumor. Therefore, restoring metabolic balance by eliminating toxins and strengthening the immune system, cancer is diluted. Of course, scientific evidence was thrown over because there were no controlled clinical studies that demonstrated the effectiveness of this method for not to cure cancer, but to improve the quality of life of patients. The National Cancer Institute has carried out studies, concluding that reported cases do not offer objective evidence of therapeutic benefits and, in addition, it is an extremely expensive treatment. When Carlos was still prince of Wales, he praised Gerson therapy in a speech on complementary therapies related to cancer to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The theory after coffee enemas aims to help detoxify the body by stimulating liver and bile ducts. The caffeine It is absorbed through the rectum and dilates ducts, facilitating the elimination of toxins accumulated by cell metabolism. In addition, it relieves pain and improves the immune system. And there are defenders who They affirm that doctors used them in the Second World War or in the Crimean War to relieve the pain of the soldiers. A portable machine to get enemas. There was a time when everything was worth it to enter the anus, even tobacco smoke And science arrived. He National Cancer Institute or the United Kingdom Research Cancer They have commented that there is no scientific evidence that supports those statements. And the American FDA, directlydid not approve the use of these practices to treat any disease. It is something that professionals and the medical community have turned its back due to that lack of evidence since the human body already has organs such as the liver or the kidneys responsible for that detoxification. More bad than good. Well, here we enter a thorny terrain because these alternative theories can be “good” whenever they combine with those that have scientific support. Drinking water with sugar can have a placebo effect Positive for a patient whenever he does not abandon medicine backed by science. The problem of coffee enemas is that it is no longer that it does something positive, but that it can be counterproductive. Specialists in the digestive system have warned that this practice can be dangerous even in healthy people due to a series of adverse effects that do not sound too well. Inflammation of colon or rectum, infections such as septicemia, electrolytic imbalances, rectal burns and intestinal perforations are on the risk list. Not all enemas. But, despite all that scientific evidence and information, there are still defenders of these alternative practices to conventional medicine. And public figures that advertise and submit to them. But something important in this matter is that enemas, In some casesthey are necessary. That is, it is a procedure that consists of inserting a liquid into the rectum to empty the intestine before surgeries, in very severe cases of constipation or as part of the treatment of people with intestinal inflammation. In the end, seeing the case of Carlos III I cannot not think of a phrase of the humorist Ricky Gervais in one of his millionaires and Netflix monologues in which he affirms that it seems very good that someone with a disease resorts to alternative practices as long as he does it while undergoing a treatment that has the support … Read more

This fly larva turned his ass into the head of a little one. The big question we have now is how it will be adult

When we think of camouflage in nature, images of Octopos that melt with the seabed, of SEPIAS or chameleons. There are other tactics to confuse possible predators, such as Butterflies that mimic patterns in the wings to confuse birds or Palo insects. But there is an even more committed case to go unnoticed: that of a flip larva that has turned its butt into the head of a termite. And it works so well that the termites until they feed. Fluke. What seems an adorable creature in the main image is, in reality, the rear of a blue fly larva. It has false antennas, but also false eyes, an impressive morphology adopted with a single objective: to confuse the termites. And the finding has been made … by chance. Researchers from the Institute of Evolutionary Biology, the CSIC and the Pompeu Fabra University were studying butterflies and ants in the Anti-Atlas mountain range, south of Morocco. However, like They explain In the publication of the IBE, as the butterflies did not fly due to the heavy rains, they began to look for ants. “When we lift a stone, we found a termiter with three fly larvae that we had not seen before.” Shut mask. They themselves affirm that it was a “casual finding”, but really special because, after it, they made three more expeditions in the area and, “despite lifting hundreds of stones, we only find two others, together in another termitter.” In it study Published in Current Biology, researchers develop their surprise with these larvae that have developed “a unique costume”. Located on the back of the body, the bluefly larva shows a “termite mask” with a non -functional head that has an antennas, palps and eyes extremely similar to those with a great trine harvesting. Those eyes have a function, but very different from what we might think: they are the holes for which the larva simply breathes. Twin. As they explain, most termites live in extremely dark environments on termiters at meters deep, so they do not need eyes at all. The harvesting termites, however, go to the surface to collect grass and have functional eyes, something that these larvae mimic with their spiracles. 3D camouflage. The specimens are curious, but they would really have to define them as fascinating due to two extremely unique details. One is that they not only have antennas in that false head, but throughout their body, as if they were tentacles. Researchers estimate that it is something that facilitates simultaneous communication with several termites inside the termiter. As you don’t see there, the termite that rubs to the “narrow” larva the tentacle of the false termite and thinks “ok, is mine.” But … do they only use touch? The truth is that not because, apart from being felt, the termites have a unique aroma that allows them to identify themselves as the same colony in the galleries of their home. And here comes the other fascinating detail: the larvae imitate that aroma and smell exactly the same as the rest of the termites. Each colony has a distinctive aroma, something that these larvae also have and that researchers have described as a “chemical costume.” They even give it porridge. “The larva is not only tolerated, but constantly communicates with the termites,” says Roger Vila, one of those responsible for the finding. He also speculates the possibility that the termites themselves feed the larva (through their functional head, yes), but it is something they are testing. In one of his photographs you can see that possible mouth -to -mouth food. Accelerated evolution. Vila comments that it is not so weird that there are flies that are made by other insects to carry out forms of social parasitism. For example, humpback flies also imitate the termites, but in that case they are adults, and not the larvae, the protagonists. It also indicates that the common ancestor between both flies dates back to more than 150 million years ago, “much more than what separates human beings from mice, so we could affirm that we have discovered a new case of evolution of social integration,” he says. In addition, he points out that the blue fly larva would have evolved very quickly to adopt these forms. Complications. Vila emphasizes that discoveries like this help to be aware of everything we do not know about the diversity and specialization of insects, but also comments that studying these laboratory larvae is something that seems extremely complicated. The larvae studied ended up dying without reaching metamorphosis in the laboratory, which indicates that, either recreate the conditions they have in the termiter in the desert is crucial – something very difficult – or there is some other element of the nest and the symbiotic relationship between species that is crucial for the survival of the specimens. We will see what they end up discovering, since now the mystery is not only to know if it is a unique larva, but how it will be in its adult form. Images Ibe, Roger VilaCurrent Biology In Xataka | It turns out that there is another terrestrial species that cures its injured and performs surgical amputations: ants

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