Reptiles' Breathing Hack Helped Birds Dominate the Air

[@SciShow]

Go to Brilliant.org/SciShow to try their Physics of the Everyday course. The first 200 subscribers get 20% off an annual Premium subscription.

[@Trav2016]

Hank tried to trump Trump during his town hall and now is blocking people on Twitter. Can't believe he couldn't keep his mouth shut one more week. Oh well good bye blog bros they are coming for you and all these channels. Here comes the endless claims.

[@croakmcgloak3568]

fast fact sounds weirder than fun fact

[@elizabethhenning778]

@@soulsbourne I think the limiting factor is hypoxia and not lift, although birds that fly high have bigger wings relative to their body size. Cranes can fly over the Himalayas.

[@Viatoreptil]

If I'm not mistaken, it is hypothesized that since unidirectional airflow, in conjunction with the multiple air sacs, is efficient at cooling bird's body temp to prevent overheating, it may have been how dinosaurs, especially huge ones, kept their bodies cool. Since unidirectional air flow is more efficient, it may also explain why birds and, by extension, dinos like sauropods can get away with having loooong necks which would contribute to respiratory dead space.

[@irrelevantirrelevant7332]

Well, oxygen intake and cooling are just 2 aspects. It would be interesting how this would affect CO2 in the blood. CO2 is an acid in water and MASSIVELY impacts biochemical reactions, so managing acidity through ventilation is mandatory. CO2 diffuses quite easily, but is very dependent on the gradient. So if there is no "breathing out" and no intake of low CO2 air, CO2 accumulates in the lungs, stays therefore in the blood and causes painful death. At least this is what is happening in humans and why hyperventilation can make u unconscious. The same principles apply to reptiles.

[@kodakincade8063]

@@irrelevantirrelevant7332 such a great name lol my GT on XBL is mr irrelevant lol anyways really good point!!

[@archive2500]

Dinosaurs are just so cool. They never fail to amaze me. The avian dinosaurs, birds, never fail the dino power.

[@PastEons]

It would also Imply that dinos were lighter than we thought

[@flightlesslord2688]

hmmm.... but then why would ostriches loose the air sacs in their necks?

[@GhengisJohn]

Alternative video title: "Mammals hate him. Learn this bird's one weird trick that lets him dominate the air!"

[@eddiespencer1]

Discovered by A MOM!!!

[@prschuster]

Great click bait title

[@rsrt6910]

How about: "Ten surprising things about birds, number seven will surprise you."

[@caiohenrique1603]

everybody gangsta till birds activate the Reptile Breathing: 10th form

[@MrVincentTremblay]

Actually birds are reptiles so they didn't activate it, they inherited it

[@caiohenrique1603]

@@MrVincentTremblay it’s a Demon Slayer joke, but I get it

[@totallynotdelinquent5933]

That's cringe bro

[@giyuu1795]

Zen chuchu

[@MrVincentTremblay]

@@totallynotdelinquent5933 can't help myself lol

[@Pfhreak]

Regardless of whether it evolved in the last common ancestor of birds and lizards or birds and crocodilians, that means unidirectional air flow was probably present in pterosaurs, too, meaning it's likely helped flight twice.

[@Rashelle-zb4kq]

This is why I’m afraid of geese. They’re better than me , and they know it.

[@kodakincade8063]

You must be an introvert

[@ThePipemiker]

A couple years ago I was taking a walk in the neighborhood when this crow came out of nowhere and harassed me for a couple blocks. I retaliated by calling it a dinosaur, and told it that I was going to eat one of his cousins for lunch. I guess I won the battle, but in the end, I think it’s just a matter of time before they take back their role as the dominant land vertebrates, and we’re back to scurrying around cold, dark fringes of the planet.

[@Amy_the_Lizard]

Animal Science major here! I would like to point out, that the way birds breath also makes them more vulnerable to toxic inhalants. This came up in my companion animal class, as apparently the 'auto-clean' option of some ovens where they superheat themselves causes some sort of mild toxin to be released from the metal that is harmless to mammals, but can be dangerous to pet birds (that was my understanding of the teacher's explanation at least, I may have misunderstood some of it.) Responsible lizard owner that I am, I called my mom (who my bearded dragon was living with during the school year) and she said that she'd seen in her oven's instruction manual that it wasn't safe to use the auto-clean around pet birds, and that knowing Luna (the beardie) was pretty close to a bird she'd concluded that it could be dangerous to her too, and opted not to use it.

[@Satelitko]

This video induces a horrible case of "conscious breathing".

[@fen4554]

Well you're acting like a backup net for it, thanks *continues to breath*

[@unculturedswine5583]

@@RandomGaming85 I do hate you now

[@eaterdrinker000]

@@unculturedswine5583 : I will steal your username one day.

[@Nmethyltransferase]

I WASN'T EVEN UNTIL YOU MENTIONED IT--THANKS A LOT!!!11!

[@neilog747]

Given that the Synapsids dominated the large animal ecological niches before the Triassic and after the Cretaceous, I can't help but wonder if unidirectional breathing was the main reason that the Dinosaurs won out in the Triassic. Its amazing to me that in the Permian, the dominant animals were more closely related to mammals. I saw a skeleton of Cynognathus recently and it basically looks like a dog with bendy fore-legs!

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

Yeah dude, protomammals, then dinosaurs, then real mammals... next up is birds. Probably corvids, for the brain power.

[@scaper8]

@@RyanAlexanderBloom Nah, man. I'm holding out for a planet dominated by cephalopods. Pretty much all they need is to find a way to survive on land with little or no trades in their current abilities and they'd already be giving us a run for our money.

[@windhelmguard5295]

@@scaper8 high intelligence is not enough to dominate, cephalopods are missing one key factor to succeed and that is the ability to teach. cephalopods die during their reproduction cycle so they can not teach skills they have learned to their offspring, meaning the species as a whole can't progress, imagine every kid born in this world would have to discover fire for itself, we would still be living in caves, eating mostly raw food. corvidea are the most likely candidates to replace us since they have high intelligence, brood care and communication. another otion would be cetaceans orcas have already gained the ability to beach themselves in order to catch seals and get back into the water, so there could be an evolutionary advantage to further developing the ability to move on land.

[@gtc239]

@@scaper8 Eh that would require the animal life on land to go extinct.

[@marcopohl4875]

@@scaper8 is that a Future is wild reference?

[@pirobot668beta]

Birds and crocadilians have a physiological tie-in: they are both ready for instant action even after long periods of rest. Crocs can move explosively; look at the lunging and leaps they can do. Birds are similar 'fast off the line' performers. Maybe super-charged lungs are part of that: no dead-air in the lungs to overcome.

[@Noitisnt-ns7mo]

Them and Mike Tyson.

[@viktorsaurus]

I think one VERY important thing this video leaves out is that those air sacs in birds are not present in other lineages with unidirectional breathing. They were only present in theropods, sauropods, and pterosaurs. Squamates and crocs DO NOT have air sacs but still breathe unidirectionally. I've recently submitted a paper that explores this topic so keep your eyes peeled :)

[@pyro-millie5533]

YO CONGRATS ON YOUR PAPER!! What’s it called so I can be on the lookout?

[@abduking.]

what about ornithischians? there closer to theropods and sauropods rather than pterosaurs so if its a basal trait then they should have it too unless its a convergent trait.

[@viktorsaurus]

@@abduking. Excellent question! The paper that I alluded to in my old comment has now been published and I go into more depth there. But basically I think that we need to let go of insisting on parsimony as the *only* lens through which to understand trait evolution. Nature is so full of lineages that flip-flop traits (looking at you squamates and your ambivalence towards limbs!) which is one of the more exciting and pertinent insights palaeontology can learn from neontology and genetics. The simplest explanation should generally be favoured, but that insistence should be relaxed when things just don't make sense. Basal sauropodomorphs like Massospondylus lack pneumatic fossae, but basal theropods have them, so the story isn't even so clean cut among saurischians! If you're interested, you can find m paper here: doi.org/10.7554/eLife.66036

[@bellerose3460]

Hank: alright everybody, breathe in The asthmatics watching: >:(

[@lyndsaybrown8471]

Since Hank did that as a taunt, how do you feel about birds now? True villains or true enemies?

[@abzu96]

Can SciShow be anymore convenient? I’m about to write report on monitor lizards and their respiration

[@kodakincade8063]

They’ve covered so many different topics that you can almost certainly find information that pertains to school work. It’s quite amazing, and I’ve used a lot of information I’ve learned from watching their videos in school. It was such a cool experience already knowing things before being taught them in class. I’m so lame lol

[@verchojanskij]

When Hank said "wow that was inefficient", I felt that it was very *oof*

[@KORTOKtheSTRONG]

"how do you do, fellow kids"

[@rsrt6910]

Depends on what he defines as "efficiency". What Hank actually is describing is "High performance" lungs. "Efficient" lungs would allow you to scrape as much O2 out of each breath as possible which, apparently, human lungs do.

[@SanHydronoid]

@@rsrt6910 Ineffective would be a better word

[@archive2500]

I was like, "yikes". 😬

[@anthonykf99]

If birds could talk they could smash the record for the longest "yeah boii" ever

[@pyro-millie5533]

Fun fact: they have a different vocal structure than mammals too, so they can vocalize on the inhale and exhale, and sometimes have a vocal structure in each bronchi, so they can sing multiple notes at once… So…. Not only could a bird do an insanely long “Yeah boiii”, it could be and INFINITE YEAAAAHHJ BOIIIII WITH HARMONY!!!

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

Birds don't even need to T pose to show dominance. They are the word

[@Yurt_enthusiast7]

What word?

[@abdallahmanasrah2317]

@@Yurt_enthusiast7 what you haven't heard?

[@fomalhaut_the_great]

@@abdallahmanasrah2317 I don't think he's heard!

[@abdallahmanasrah2317]

@@fomalhaut_the_great he definitely needs some more family guy then

[@christelheadington1136]

@@Yurt_enthusiast7 THE word.

[@ThrottleKitty]

This is also why "rebreather" type tankless underwater breathing devices are impossible for humans. Basically, we suck at exhaling, and if anything stops us from exhaling (Like say, pressure above one atmosphere) we start keeping more CO2 than our bodies can expel. The air in your lungs needs to be the same pressure as the air you're exhaling into for you to properly exhale CO2 quickly enough to prevent it building up in your system to a lethal degree.

[@massimookissed1023]

Another fatal problem with rebreather systems is they can only handle so much CO₂ at once. Over-exertion can overload the rebreather leading to CO₂ poisoning.

[@Cujo5]

You got something wrong: In sport or high energy activity, we don't need more Oxygen. The feeling of suffocating comes from a build up of too much Carbon Dioxide. Bad breathing results in the build up of the CO2 and so we go down wanting to chug air to 'get back the Oxygen', which is not true. If you breath hard on the exhale, you'll get rid of the CO2 faster and be able to go longer. Contray to popular belief, your O2 levels stay the same throughout your workout. What changes is your CO2 levels.

[@midnight8341]

Workout: yes. Most other kinds of hard physical labour: no. The reason you get cramps or sore muscles is a build-up of lactic acid, which is only synthesized in muscles if they burn glucose in anaerobic conditions. If our blood oxygen would stay the same no matter how hard we push ourselves, our muscles could simply use aerobic glucose metabolism, which is far more efficient than fermentation. In the controlled environment of a modern day workout, that might be possible, but not if you're running for your life or for the first time in twenty years.

[@Cujo5]

@@midnight8341 I'm referring mostly to cardio workouts. You can become 'gassed out' from lifting weights though, and that's relevant as well, but yeah, what stops you from lifting weights is a number of things such as what you mentioned.

[@ShadowMonster520]

I'll remember this on my next run

[@calyodelphi124]

@@ShadowMonster520 Yea something that definitely helps when doing running is to focus on your breathing. Take deep, full breaths at a steady rate. I rarely ever run, but when I have to run for a distance, I breathe. Usually two steps in, two steps out, two steps in, two steps out. Deep, full breaths. And despite being in not the best shape I can go a while on breathing technique. :D

[@kathleennorton6108]

Try finding out what wearing masks do to you. Not nice.

[@lrwaldman1593]

In addition, the parabranchi of birds also utilizes a cross current mechanism of exchange adding to the efficiency of their respiratory systems.

[@pyro-millie5533]

Pulls like 99% of the available oxygen from each breath of I remember right!

[@jwbowen]

What the hell? Now I'm upset at my sad, bidirectional breathing.

[@kathleennorton6108]

I'm sure that upon research it will be learned why it is actually best for people.

[@phenoge]

@@kathleennorton6108 most likely. to parallel, i always thought we sucked having inverted retinas (giving an overlay of blood vessels the brain's optics-processing center has to remove as well as a freakin' blind spot) while cephalopods don't. it turns out inverted retinas are more resistant to damage from excessive light damage (looking at the sun) - but not needed when immersed in water (which significantly reduces light intensity, ofc).

[@BrandEver117]

Okay when can I get my cyborg upgrade that will let me do this

[@kathleennorton6108]

Just wear a light weight pack. 🤷‍♀️

[@lonestarr1490]

Unfortunaly, no space for additional air sacs.

[@adilhussain3124]

Man, wonder who looked at a mass extinction and was like “ ah yes, the big dying”

[@Kramlets]

Imagine how much faster and further we'd be able to travel if we had this. I don't see any downsides.

[@varunjaihind3904]

My weak lazy ass would get tired much faster. 😅

[@Jackboy019]

Scientists prepare my avian lung transplant PRONTO!

[@bobman929]

I could go from the couch to the fridge in half the time

[@SubjectivelyInteresting]

Actually, humans used to run animals down to the point of collapse. We are the most efficient runners on the planet

[@Moetastic]

We'd also be much better at climbing mountains at heights where oxygen gets scarce.

[@freshbingo]

SCISHOW: DOES WATCHING A SCARY MOVIE COUNT AS CARDIO?

[@alghoulaj7172]

My theory is that basal Archosaurs, the ancestors of both the Crocodylomorpha and Avemetatarsalia, had this type of breathing, if not for the squamata you just mentioned. Since Synapsids and Therapsids and even the Turtle ancestors and cousins doesn't have it today, it's logical to think of Squamates as... Probably convergent evolution case. But this is just a theory of a guy who's Paleoanthropology was his passion and dream... Until he had to let it go....

[@alexandreblracing]

Reminds me a bit about of the comparison of 4 strokes vs 2 strokes engines.

[@lonestarr1490]

It's closer to a comparison between a reciprocating piston engine and a Wankel engine.

[@krayne2084]

Reminds me of the balloon pumps that push air on both strokes

[@archive2500]

I was thinking of a different stroke but anyways...

[@idunoh1902]

Imagine being able to fly with *fowl* breath.

[@Drip-Soup373]

@Oshe Shango ngl i don't think anybody will get your Jamaican slang lmao. i used to live in Jamaica but not anymore, good memories.

[@jacksim5759]

- this message courtesy of the bats (f the birds)

[@margithammer8835]

Breathing is a form of movement which is a disadvantage if you want to be perfectly still for camouflage. Maybe that's why this unidirectional breathing's been selected for in crocogators.

[@memomorph5375]

Birds have cloacas and unidirectional breathing! Maximum efficiency lol

[@taylorjohnson4943]

What a gem I did not know this you guys are the best 👍

[@liamrobert2460]

Having this type of breathing would also make mountain climbing easier by making the less dense mountain air easier to breathe

[@grannykiminalaska]

Dam, no wonder my chickens can run so fast when screaming.

[@vanaals]

This might help explain why mammals occasionally sigh and yawn. A way to more fully empty the lungs of old air.

[@eTraxx]

interesting .. one thing that 'popped up' into my head was .. bagpipes. Seems to me they work on a similar principal.

[@angeleahgeorge1194]

Thank you soooo much for always listing the sources!

[@uplink-on-yt]

Next time I meet a creationist Ill ask how come we didn't get unidirectional flow breathing if our design is so intelligent.

[@kathleennorton6108]

I'm sure there are very intelligent reasons that explain why are system works best for us.

[@Taylorac1111]

So what you're saying is.... Birds are turbocharged dinos. Epic!!!

[@ErikaCrist7749]

Our breathing is so inefficient! Especially at some moments we need it the most. And have to focus on breathing correctly so your body won't go nuts

[@crappozappo]

This video is literally the only good explanation of the bird's breathing apparatus on the entire internet

[@BigMobe]

Every day we learn how much our bodies suck compared o all the other animals.

[@camramaster]

We put all our evolution points into brains, thumbs, and sweating, with partial developmemts for bipedialism.

[@siyacer]

Other animals haven't gone to space on their own, have they?

[@BigMobe]

@@camramaster None of that matters when we get caught alone without our tools.

[@saltenzy449]

"Wow, that was inefficient!" Okay adding that to list of things I need as just block text on a T-shirt because that can describe basically everything and thus would be the best shirt to wear.

[@vincentruppert5528]

Imagine the weed smoking capabilities of a unidirectional breather

[@kellbing]

"Wow! That was inefficient." 😂😂

[@melvinshine9841]

Considering how efficient, beneficial, and widespread it likely was, it makes one wonder why unidirectional breathing didn't evolve in mammals and protomammals.

[@solaria9]

Probably because mammals didn't need to. Evolution doesn't care about perfection, it only cares about being "good enough"

[@rafaelbrisolara7599]

Our ancestors, the synapsids, probably lost it at some point since they were related to the group who splited into the dinosaurs and the crocodiles and both have it.

[@kathleennorton6108]

I'm sure the way we breathe is best for us.

[@kewakl8891]

If I had this ability, I would always be lightheaded!

[@sagacious03]

Neat explanation! Thanks for uploading!

[@cookeymonster83]

Humans: Damn I wish I could breathe like a bird Birds: Damn I wish I could dominate every aspect of the planet like humans

[@weid7070]

10/10 sky lizards. would recommend.

[@JohnWick-iv3cn]

Samus joins the chat

[@victor9]

Do another one on hummingbirds

[@singletona082]

SCIENCE I NOW WANT BIRD LUNG!

[@jesuschrists1fan782]

God bless you Hank (&John) Green

[@RakshyapalaSahu]

Thank you sir for the bird breathing through topic

[@jaschabull2365]

I wonder if this explains why 2 out of 3 lineages of flying vertebrates were archosaurs.

[@superblooper4379]

Bird Breathing style! CONSCIOUS BREATHING!

[@ambulocetusnatans]

At 0:40 , himb a angry boid.

[@stringbeans7342]

The Birds and the Breathes.

[@jasepoag8930]

So birds are basically a 2-stroke engine, while we're 4-stroke?

[@psammiad]

So how does this circular breathing work in practice? Struggling to visualise how it works in an essentially circular respiratory system?

[@stevevernon1978]

yeah! calling it "uni-directional breathing" is very misleading unless they can tell us which of the two nostrils on EVERY BIRD and CROCODILE is the intake and which is the exhaust.

[@Amigo21189]

Basically the animal has buffer storage its respiratory system. It's got a fresh lungful of breathable air in one sac and a spent one in another, while it's also actively spending one in its actual lungs.

[@alisoncircus]

The lungs, where the oxygen/CO2 exchange takes place, don't actually do the breathing. There is a constant flow of air through the lungs, while the air sacks fill and empty. We have a constant flow of blood on one side of the exchange and an inconstant availability of fresh air on the other side, which means that for part of each moment the blood is unable to refresh. Hence, inefficiency.

[@siyacer]

Love unidirectional breathing

[@waterunderthebridge7950]

Now y’all be breathing manually

[@ricky578]

The whole episode

[@camramaster]

Always. I never sleep deeply because of this.

[@thetommantom]

I saw this in the desert at 120F. If you breathe slowly you can feel your lungs slowly twitch its like 10 breathes every full inhale and exhale. Kind of feels like a heart attack not gonna lie but if you feel your throat you can feel your pulse

[@hiccuphufflepuff176]

"dominate the air"... I see what you did there.

[@TheOtherNeutrino]

The birds have mastered the art of Hamon.

[@pvic6959]

The Great Dying version 2020 lol

[@UGNAvalon]

This is a good companion to the video “why do we sigh?”

[@huldu]

FeelsBad being that turtle group that got left out lol.

[@hop-skip-ouch8798]

Can't wait for 5-Minute-Craft video on these 'hacks'

[@drasticallyfantastic7164]

Maybe we could ad a body mod, tubular respiratory assistance in a tolerable and automatic sense

[@drasticallyfantastic7164]

May require a low gag reflex and minimal swallowing during use to prevent irritation as well as a very flexible tube that can flatten enough during swallow to not allow the lungs to be compromised

[@aleksandrakrolak]

2:03 - Your favourite reptile? - A Parrot. - O_o...

[@scotwoodz3787]

I thought I might hear a bird beatboxing, or something like that....... :-)

[@ephimp3189]

When will genetic engineering be advanced enough so I can upgrade my lungs with superior unidirectional breathing mechanism?

[@phlimy]

Great video, I never knew bird could breathe like this! Just a nitpick: I feel like the diagram at 0:50 could have been clearer with animated arrows showing the flow of air, and/or lines showing which paths are blocked at a given time. (I had to pause to understand)

[@pyro-millie5533]

Here’s a reference I found that makes it super understandable. Most others out there I’ve seen are super vague, but the dude in this vid is mind blowingly good at explaining bird lungs: m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/bqDZoqGZf8-hsNk

[@666Tomato666]

Permian Extinction: The largest mass extinction in Earth's history Antropocene: hold my plastic

[@stevebluh]

Funey

[@twocvbloke]

Well, thanks, I followed the instructions and breathed in, and my pizza went down the wrong way..... :P

[@saraht9858]

I was literally thinking about this today craziness

[@Yo-Me]

Everybody gangsta till the turtle starts flying.

[@jeroenjager8064]

Great, now I'm aware of my breathing again.

[@fen4554]

My first, brief, idea of what unidirectional breathing was turned out to be gratefully false.

[@gillesmarchal5251]

Earth: If the great dying was so great why isn't there a great dying two ? Humanity: I got you fam !

[@fenhen]

Any idea where Pterosaurs fit into this?

[@camillecirrus3977]

Scientists, get on it, i want my birb lungs already.

[@diyeana]

Thank Science that Alligators can't fly! Could you imagine?

[@heddam232]

Been struggling with understanding how birds breath. Thanx för helping me understand! Hope this helps me on the test!

[@pyro-millie5533]

A year late, but I love bird anatomy and I recently found this awesome explaination m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/bqDZoqGZf8-hsNk I hope u did well!!

[@Pandatwirly]

“Breathing hack” 😂

[@chairshoe81]

that bird has the mouth of a DOOM demon

[@ahsoongoh4499]

IMO.. you are better than the other host in the channel

[@claireisacamel]

Also, my chickens. Who are wayyy to chunky butted to use this helpful adaptation for flying 😆

[@christopherpasta344]

Great, now I want unidirectional breathing for myself. I’m just sitting here breathing normally like a chump

[@lilepopinyou]

One way breathing sounds like that first hit of molly lol

[@boonelorenz9673]

My first instinct was that maybe it was an easier evolutionary adaptation to lower oxygen than to close up the ventricle wall and develop a true 4 chambered heart. But then why not all turtles, lizards, snakes and everything? For that matter why wouldn't amphibians have developed something similar? Conversly why would crocodiles have the trait when they have real 4 chambered hearts? Sure seems odd that animals would have evolved such an advanced form of respiration when they have such slow metabolisms, compared to endotherms, that of them don't even breathe constantly

[@jenerix5257]

Would the need for air sacs mean a reduction in total lung volume (given the same bodysize)? That would probably have a negative impact, or at least balance out some of the benefit.

[@jorenzlorenz]

Breath of the Bird: 7th form: Unilateral Airflow

[@elizabethhenning778]

Reason #593 why birds are awesome.

[@austinstevens1859]

I know the evolution tree in this video is a simplified diagram but im pretty sure the turtles and lizards are swapped from where they are suposed to be. Then again ive been wrong before, either way awsome video. Always learnig somthing new here!

[@Zack-eq3ou]

I am all too aware of my own breathing now

[@scarletspidernz]

Who else came only to see roundy birb screaming pic 0:40

[@scarletspidernz]

Happy Gator too 1:34

[@BluishGreenPro]

That graphic (with the chicken displaying unidirectional airflow) was a little confusing, did you avoid labeling the parts to make it easier to translate?

[@TheSkystrider]

Wow so wouldn't it be pretty easy to add artificial air bags to our athlete's bodies?

[@stephiskhan]

Ngl- that bird at the beginning of the video made me cower with its alpha energy. Also the row of teeth on the roof of its mouth.