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Studying how wild animals adapt to some of the harshest environments on Earth may hold key insights for enhancing human reproductive health.
A recent publication by Michelle Shero, an assistant scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s Biology Department, delves into how research on seals can positively influence human biomedical practices. “When considering biomedical research, wildlife such as seals, cheetahs, and bears may not be the first thought that comes to mind, but they truly should be,” Shero emphasizes.
Key biological traits of seals that could illuminate aspects of human reproductive physiology include their remarkable capacity for prolonged fasting; female seals can lose around 30% of their body weight while nursing. They are also adept at holding their breath for up to two hours, which supports their extended dives. Moreover, seals possess a unique reproductive mechanism called embryonic diapause, allowing them to pause pregnancy until conditions, such as warmer weather or increased food availability, are more favorable for birthing, as noted by Shero.
The innovative adaptations found in wild creatures, which enable them to thrive in extreme locales, can lead to reevaluating established notions and inspire alternative approaches to human health challenges. This perspective is presented in the article entitled “How adaptive solutions from marine mammal life history could address pressing problems in reproductive biomedicine,” which appears in Fertility and Sterility Reports.
The article highlights that marine mammals challenge prevalent beliefs regarding insulin resistance. Rather than being detrimental as typically seen in humans, insulin resistance might actually serve a beneficial role among seals and other marine mammals by facilitating fat breakdown while preserving vital muscle mass during prolonged nursing fasts. In human pregnancies, gestational diabetes poses significant risks, particularly when excessive glucose crosses the placenta, resulting in complications. Nonetheless, seals demonstrate a unique mechanism affecting glucose transfer between maternal and fetal blood, which could offer insights for early interventions in cases of gestational diabetes, the article suggests.
Furthermore, while human fetuses can experience serious or fatal repercussions from oxygen deprivation during childbirth, seals possess the ability to thrive under extremely low oxygen levels due to their habitual deep-diving behavior. Shero elaborates, “Marine mammals have remarkably efficient oxygen usage. They store more oxygen in their bodies than land mammals, and during dives, they prioritize oxygen supply to critical organs like the heart and brain while minimizing oxygen flow to less essential body parts. Seals can endure much lower oxygen levels than humans or even mountain climbers and can effectively ‘run on fumes’ after depleting their oxygen reserves.” Notably, each time a seal dives, its fetus mirrors this ability to manage oxygen efficiently.
In a concluding lesson, Shero points out that embryonic diapause might be a latent capability shared among various mammals, including humans. Understanding how to delay pregnancy until optimal conditions arise — akin to seals — could represent a significant step forward in enhancing success rates in in-vitro fertilization procedures. Often, embryos are frozen during IVF, which can lead to damage; if embryos could naturally “pause” their development, this issue might be resolved, allowing them to be successfully implanted when conditions are right, as Shero describes.
This journal article illustrates that wild animals navigating their environments can offer fresh insights into critical reproductive health issues. “To enhance human health, we ought to learn from the remarkable adaptations of wildlife; they often find the most resourceful solutions,” the article concludes.
Financial support for the creation of this journal article came from the Every Page Foundation.
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