A new study finds that humans can do the impossible... they can breathe out of their butts.Rather, their intestines, to be more precise.In 2024, scholars from both Japan and the US partnered to solve the question: can mammals breathe out of their anuses ? To their pleasant surprise, their research found they can — and they hoped this fact would one day help people with severe respiratory failure..According to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), few aquatic animals already do this naturally, like sea cucumbers and catfish, who breathe through their intestines.Since the intestinal tissues of humans were already known for their ability to absorb pharmaceuticals, however, no one yet knew whether oxygen could enter the bloodstream via mammalian intestines. According to Understanding Animal Research, scientists first tested mice, rats, and pigs using an intrarectal ventilation system named an EVA (Enteral Ventilation via Anus) — finding that the animals could breathe out of their anuses in extreme situations.For this, the scientists won the 2024 physiological IG Nobel Prize, which is given to "honor achievements so surprising that they make people laugh, then think.".Moving on from animals, the scientists went on to the big leagues — human butts.Other than laughing and thinking, what did the results of this research conclude?Well, it succeeded, with the first human trial testing 27 "healthy male volunteers" who truly took one for the team.Scientists tested the new method known as "enteral ventilation," which means to deliver oxygen through the intestine, by inserting a liquid known as perfluorodecalin, an oxygenated liquid.With this, the scientists concluded delivering the oxygen-rich fluid through the backside was safe and successfully oxygenated the patients' bloodstreams. .This study, they say, can pave the way for a future technique to help those with respiratory failure.
