Wonders of the animal world
The animal world is full of spectacular marvels: Giraffes can withstand blood pressures that would cause humans to explode; tardigrades – microscopic insect-like creatures – tolerate doses of radiation 1,000 times higher than what would be lethal to humans – they can even survive in the vacuum of outer space.
What began as a fascination over friend and colleague Gary Lewin’s research on naked mole-rats slowly transformed into a book about some of the most bizarre creatures on the planet, says Russell Hodge, science writer at the Max Delbrück Center. The book, “Remarkable. What animals can teach us about ourselves, the value of diversity, and saving the world,” documents the extraordinary abilities of several species and introduces readers to the quirky scientists who study them. Accompanying each chapter are graphic descriptions of the animals drawn by the accomplished and well-known illustrator Kat Menschik. Her artwork adorns the covers of over two dozen books, including several from award-winning novelist Haruki Murakami. The book was supported with a science x media tandem grant from the Stiftung Charité.
A sustainable lifestyle
“Remarkable” features stories of frost-resistant fish, self-healing amphibians and naked mole-rats among other fascinating creatures. These animals have evolved curious strategies to survive the harsh environments in which they live.
Naked-mole-rats, for example, live in a state of almost permanent environmental catastrophe, Hodge explains. They cope by sharing everything among colony members, controlling their reproduction so that their resources aren’t overburdened, and live in very structured communities. “From the moment they moved to the underworld, naked mole-rats have responded to the extremes of their environment by developing the ultimate sustainable lifestyle,” Hodge writes.
“These are more than interesting facts,” he adds. Studying naked mole-rats has opened a window onto new principles of metabolism and may also lead to insights about human aging, cancer and perhaps even language, he says. And with the long-term outlook for our own species hanging in the balance, research on how they have adapted to survive in such extreme environments might hold clues to our own survival. “We would do well to emulate them: control our population, share what we have, and get by on much, much less.”
Further Information
- “Lebenskünstler”, Galiani Berlin, 2024 (German only)
- Communicating research in tandem
- Science x media tandem program
- Animal research at the Max Delbrück Center
- What octopus and human brains have in common
- How skates learned to fly through water
- How the zebra fish repairs a broken heart
- Naked mole-rats speak in dialect
- Moles – intersexual and genetically doped
- Learning from the bears
