jane2007 submitted, created time 1 year 2 weeks (www.nature.com)

Marine mammals have an uncanny ability to remain awake and alert while holding their breath during long dives. New research shows that this might be thanks to high concentrations of oxygen-binding proteins in the brain. The proteins, called globins, could help these mammals to remain active long after blood oxygen levels sink low enough to cause a human to black out.

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