Hello folks who wonder if the three-strikes law will apply to sneezing as well as other felonies from now on,

Last time when I went to Trader Joe's I started looking for things I don't really need. Who in their right state of mind goes grocery shopping and buys just the essentials, that is so 2019.
This time I spotted Lactose Free milk, and I wondered if it was simply watered down white paint, so I decided to check the ingredients.


You see one of the ingredients is Lactase Enzyme which makes sense, because milk will, by default contain lactose which is a type of sugar. The reason why some people are lactose intolerant is that their body do not make enough lactase enzymes that are used to digest this type of sugar aka lactose. All of us generate enough lactase when we are babies but then most folks lose the ability to generate enough lactase as they grow older.

This is how it works in your body and why this milk is appealing to folks who are lactose intolerant.


Similarly all vertebrates are incapable of digesting plant leaves and grasses. Why?
Because leaves and grasses contain cellulose which is another form of sugar. Cellulose is found in cell walls of plants and if humans or other animals eat it, it won't get digested and will get a TSA PreCheck treatment in the body. This is because none of the vertebrates can produce cellulase which is the enzyme required to digest cellulose.

So how do deer and cows spend their entire lives eating these grasses if they can't digest it? Has no one told them this is a big scam that they are victims to?

Turns out, ruminants like deer and cows had a secret deal with microorganisms in a shady back alley while humans and other animals were celebrating Mardi Gras.
This deal opened up new horizons for both parties since it allowed the microorganisms a nice place to stay without paying rent and the ruminants got the capability to digest plant leaves.


This is where things start to get fascinating. All ruminants(read cows, deer, goats, giraffes etc) have a 4 chambered stomach.
The 1st chamber is called rumen which is used for storage and fermentation.
A deer on spotting food will eat the same way humans will shop on black friday, not think a lot just collect as much as possible.
Below is a black-tailed deer munching away before the deal expires.


In this chamber the bacteria will start breaking down the cellulose from the plant.


The deer will regurgitate the contents in the rumen for a second round to ensure bigger cellulose fibers are broken down so the microorganisms can deal with it, if they are larger, the microorganisms won't be able to break them down as effectively. This part is called ruminating, humans do something similar after a breakup or during a pandemic but instead of chewed food they bring back past memories instead.


Once the food has been broken down, it will move on to the 2nd chamber which is called the reticulum. This chamber has a honeycomb texture and will act as the quality control department and only allow small particles to the omasum chamber, larger and undigested food particles will go back to the Rumen and to the mouth for another round of chewing.


The 3rd chamber is the omasum which is responsible for absorbing all the water out of the food particles and move it along to the abomasum.


The final chamber is the abomasum where gastric juices are secreted and the food is digested even further.
The food is then passed on to the intestine for some more digestion and finally all the undigested stuff will be expelled as poop.


So next time you see a deer just remember all of the complex processes going inside that innocent looking stomach.
Here is another black-tailed deer wiping the sauce off its face using its legs.


No comments:

Post a Comment

Did you learn something new in this post? Let us know in the comments below

Tags

acorns adventure adventures algae alligator american crow ant cricket ants aphids aquatic snails arachnids argentine ants bananas bark beetles barklice barnacles bats beaver bees beetle beetles bird lice birds black-tailed deer bloodworms bristletail bug bugs bumblebee butterflies calicoflower canada goose cardinal carpenter bees carrots caterpillars cave centipede cockroaches common murres coot corvids court case crabs crawfish crayfish cricket crickets crow crustaceans damselflies death deer diatoms dock dragonflies earwigs eggs egrets elephant seals eucalyptus european starlings eyes farallon island ferns fingerprints fishes flea flies floods florida flowers fly freshwater snail frog frogs fundraiser fungus fungus-eating lady beetles galls gannet geckos geese goats goldfinch gophers grasshopper green dock beetle green heron green lacewing guest post gull gulls harvestmen hawks herons hike history honeybees house sparrows india insects isopods jumping bristletails jumping spiders juncos katydid kayak lacewing lady beetles land snails leaf miners leafhopper lice lichens lizard lizards lynx spider maggots Magpie mallow marsh megabats midges mildew millipede mites moles mosquito moths mouse spider nematodes nettles newt newts night nuthatches oaks owl paper wasps parasite part 2 pavement ants pelicans pigeons pill bugs plants pocket gophers pollen pollination pollinators poppy praying mantis pseudopupil pupa quail rabbits rat roach roadkill rove beetles salamander salmon sandpiper scat scorpion Scorpions sea lions sea otters sea urchin seals seeds shorebird shrimp silverfish skunk snails snakes social media solifuges sparrows spider spiders springtails squirrel squirrels starlings stilts stinger sun spiders surf scoter swallows tarantula termites thrips ticks towhees trees turkey turkey vulture turtle venom vernal pool vultures warblers wasps water boatmen webspinners whales wildflower wolf spider woodpeckers Wren wrens yellow jackets youtube

Featured Post

The case of the missing grasshopper

Hello folks who wonder if crime does not pay well at least the benefits are hard to dismiss, This case is about Gregory , a band-winged Gras...