Back

Steller’s sea cows were hunted to #extinction off #Alaska within 30 years of first observation by Europeans. Their closest relatives ( #manatees, #dugongs) live in much warmer waters.

How did Steller’s sea cows adapt to cold? Signore et al. (2023) reconstructed the #hemoglobin and showed a single mutation provided more oxygen to tissues for higher metabolic rates via multiple mechanisms - lower O2 affinity, higher solubility, etc.

Explainer https://elifesciences.org/digests/85414/how-sea-cows-survived-in-the-arctic

OA https://elifesciences.org/articles/85414