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Antarctic insects make natual anti-freeze to survive cold
mongabay.com
April 2, 2007
Insects in the some of the world's coldest places produce natural anti-freeze that enables them to survive sub-freezing temperatures for months on end accoridng to research repsented at the Society for Experimental Biology's Annual Meeting in Glasgow.
Onychiurus arcticus, an insect from the Arctic, "uses protective dehydration to survive harsh Arctic winters," explains a news releae from the Society for Experimental Biology. "This means that water is lost from the body across a diffusion gradient between the animals' super-cooled body fluids and ice in the surroundings."
"During this process the body loses all its water and you end up with a normal looking head, and a body which looks like a crumpled up crisp packet when it is fully dehydrated. But add a drop of water and it all goes back to normal!" Dr Melody Clark, from the British Antarctic Survey.
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Upper panel shows Onychiurus arcticus. The effect of protective dehydration is shown in the lower panel.
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Another species in the Antarctic uses a different mechanism to survive icy conditions. Cryptopygus antarcticus prodcues anti-freeze compounds which enable them to withstand temperatures as low as minus 30 C without their bodies freezing.
Scientists plan to study the creatures further. Their anti-freezing properties could have commerical applications.
This article is based on a news release from the Society for Experimental Biology.
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