A team of researchers from Japan and the United States received the satirical Ig Nobel Prize in physiology for their groundbreaking discovery that mammals have the ability to breathe through their anuses. The team, spearheaded by Takanori Takebe, a professor of regenerative medicine at Tokyo Medical and Dental University and Osaka University, was inspired by the unique respiratory behavior of loach fish, which can absorb oxygen through their intestines in addition to breathing through their gills underwater.
During their study aiming to develop treatments for respiratory failure, the researchers observed the loach's ability to perform intestinal respiration, leading them to hypothesize whether mammals could utilize a similar mechanism. Through an experiment involving injecting oxygen through the anuses of mice in low-oxygen conditions, the team demonstrated that mammals, like mice, can indeed absorb oxygen through their intestines, showing promising results in terms of recovery from respiratory failure and increased survival rates.
The team's innovative approach involved developing a technique named "enteral ventilation via anus (EVA)" where oxygen or oxygen-rich liquid is introduced into the rectum through the anus. By testing this method on animals in low-oxygen environments, such as mice and pigs, the researchers were able to observe increased blood oxygen levels. This research, conducted amidst the COVID-19 pandemic when the demand for respiratory support was escalating, raised hopes that intestinal breathing could emerge as a potential new treatment for respiratory failure in the future.