1
00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,520
Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio. Hey

2
00:00:06,519 --> 00:00:09,360
Speaker 1: brain Stuff, I'm more in Vogelbaum, and today's episode is

3
00:00:09,360 --> 00:00:13,600
Speaker 1: another classic from our former host, Christian Sager. Goldfish can

4
00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:16,880
Speaker 1: be very sturdy creatures, and part of the reason is

5
00:00:16,920 --> 00:00:20,720
Speaker 1: that they make their own alcohol. Here's how and why

6
00:00:20,760 --> 00:00:26,640
Speaker 1: they do it. Hey brain Stuff, it's Christian Sager. Goldfish

7
00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:31,440
Speaker 1: don't need teeny tiny moonshine stills. These little guys. They

8
00:00:31,440 --> 00:00:35,839
Speaker 1: can actually handle homebrewing all by themselves, as evidenced by

9
00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:39,239
Speaker 1: the findings of a recent study published in the journal

10
00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:44,560
Speaker 1: Scientific Reports. Although they don't distill whiskey, goldfish have long

11
00:00:44,640 --> 00:00:48,160
Speaker 1: been known for their ability to make their own alcohol.

12
00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:52,559
Speaker 1: Until now, though scientists have puzzled over how they manage

13
00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:56,840
Speaker 1: this phenomenon. So why would a fish need to make alcohol?

14
00:00:57,120 --> 00:01:01,160
Speaker 1: The ability is seen in both goldfish and it's wild relative,

15
00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:05,600
Speaker 1: the Crucian carp Both are from the genus Kara sous,

16
00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:10,160
Speaker 1: which often live in conditions that would be completely unthinkable

17
00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:14,400
Speaker 1: for other species. Typically, a vertebrate can only survive minutes

18
00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:17,639
Speaker 1: without oxygen, but these species have evolved to the point

19
00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:21,520
Speaker 1: where they can last four or five months in oxygen

20
00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:26,240
Speaker 1: deprived environments. Like the bottoms of rivers, frozen lakes, and

21
00:01:26,440 --> 00:01:31,039
Speaker 1: even your poorly cleaned aquarium at home. When a creature

22
00:01:31,160 --> 00:01:34,679
Speaker 1: is left without oxygen, it typically experiences a build up

23
00:01:34,959 --> 00:01:39,520
Speaker 1: of lactic acid, which can turn toxic. However, these particular

24
00:01:39,560 --> 00:01:42,720
Speaker 1: fish have two sets of proteins in their muscles rather

25
00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:46,640
Speaker 1: than the usual one. The second set of proteins get

26
00:01:46,680 --> 00:01:51,320
Speaker 1: activated when there isn't any oxygen and changes lactic acid

27
00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:57,000
Speaker 1: into ethanol. This biochemical adaptation allows the fish to diffuse

28
00:01:57,080 --> 00:02:00,880
Speaker 1: the substance into the water, helping them prevent the life

29
00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:07,320
Speaker 1: threatening condition lactic acidosis. Now on fiz dot org. University

30
00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:12,960
Speaker 1: of Liverpool evolutionary biologists Michael Baron Brink explains how these

31
00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:16,200
Speaker 1: fish pull it off during their time in oxygen free

32
00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:19,840
Speaker 1: water in ice covered ponds, which can last for several

33
00:02:19,919 --> 00:02:25,000
Speaker 1: months in their Northern European habitat. Blood alcohol concentrations in

34
00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:29,679
Speaker 1: Crucian carp can reach more than fifty milligrams per one

35
00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:33,920
Speaker 1: hundred milli leaders, which is above the drink and drive

36
00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:38,239
Speaker 1: limit in these countries. However, this is still a much

37
00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:42,080
Speaker 1: better situation than filling up with lactic acid, which is

38
00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:46,960
Speaker 1: the metabolic end product for other vertebrates, including humans, when

39
00:02:47,080 --> 00:02:51,359
Speaker 1: devoid of oxygen. Now this ability has turned these species

40
00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:55,320
Speaker 1: of fish into quite the Darwinian geniuses in the study.

41
00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:59,320
Speaker 1: The research explains that the evolution of the ethanol producing

42
00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:03,000
Speaker 1: pathway has not only made the goldfish one of the

43
00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:08,320
Speaker 1: most arguably resilient pets under human care, but has also

44
00:03:08,520 --> 00:03:15,320
Speaker 1: clearly provided karasus with unique ecological benefits, allowing survival in

45
00:03:15,440 --> 00:03:20,840
Speaker 1: waters that are uninhabitable for other fish, thereby evading pisicene

46
00:03:20,919 --> 00:03:26,440
Speaker 1: predation and interspecific competition. And check this out. The mad

47
00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:29,639
Speaker 1: skills of the Crucian carp don't end with alcohol production.

48
00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:34,560
Speaker 1: Historical accounts claim that they can survive several hours out

49
00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:39,600
Speaker 1: of water or even several days with a frozen outer layer.

50
00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:47,200
Speaker 1: Today's episode was written by Alio Hoitt and produced by

51
00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:49,880
Speaker 1: Dylan Fagan and Tyler Clang. For more in this and

52
00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:52,520
Speaker 1: lots of other topics, visit house to works dot com.

53
00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:55,400
Speaker 1: Brain Stuff is production of iHeart Radio. For more podcasts

54
00:03:55,440 --> 00:03:58,320
Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

55
00:03:58,400 --> 00:03:59,960
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite show.