For new discoveries, everyday mysteries, and the science behind the headlines, follow NPR's Short Wave podcast.When Skip Maas first adopted Agrapina, a mottled ball python, she hadn't eaten in 14 months.But as he soon observed, she was still a taut coil of spring-loaded muscle.Presented with a rat, she struck quickly, constricted it and then gorged on her meal.And then her body performed another feat pythons are known for: It accelerated its metabolism dramatically to deal with the sudden influx of protein and fats, says Maas, "to help break down that meal and extract all of its nutrients."Most people prefer to keep their distance from pythons — and for good reason.
A quick strike followed by relentless constriction can be lethal.But Maas, a molecular biologist at the University of Colorado Boulder, and his colleagues argue that these snakes may hold secrets that could help people live longer and better.In addition to being able to fast for weeks or months and still maintain muscle tone, they're able to grow and shrink their heart and other organs during feast and famine with seemingly no issue."It makes a lot of sense that pythons, because they live in such extreme environments, would have secrets that would apply to humans," says Leslie Leinwand, a geneticist who, two decades ago, first came up with this idea of translating the unique biology of pythons into medical treatments.She's currently the executive science officer of CU Boulder's BioFrontiers Institute.
And her lab runs an ongoing research project studying the reptiles, regularly publishing findings they hope could lead to medical breakthroughs.Pythons "are so adapted to their lifestyle," says Maas, who recently completed his Ph.D.in Leinwand's lab.
"I think it's a really great avenue to look at something that evolution has already figured out to take inspiration."One particularly extreme feature of the python is its metabolism — the rate at which it can transform food into usable energy."Pythons ra...