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For birds, balloonitis is a common and dangerous disease. Modern birds have 9~11 air sacs in their bodies, which exchange gas throughout the body to assist the lungs for double breathing, and at the same time help the body to dissipate heat.
A bird has many pairs of air sacs. ｜wiki
Whereas, airsac inflammation is the infection of the airbag with bacteria, this disease is contagious, the bird with the airbag inflammation will cough, lose appetite, runny nose, tears, drowsiness, and the most obvious is the swelling of the throat and feel pain. There will even be the act of plucking one's own feathers.
If a chicken in a chicken farm has balloonitis, it can mean a lot of loss. ｜Wiki
In 2022, scientists in Canada discovered that a 150-million-year-old dinosaur also had the same disease as birds.
The dinosaur named "Dolly" belongs to the sauropod dinosaur Diplodocus, which had a long neck and tail, and some estimates suggest that some individuals in the Diplodocus may have been up to 52 meters long.
Scientists envision what Dolly looks like. Reference 1
Paleontologists found Dolly's bones in Montana, USA, which was a diplodocus living in the late Jurassic, and researchers speculated that Dolly lived to be about 15~20 years old. And when looking at Dolly's three neck bones, the researchers saw something unusual.
Paleontologists at the Great Plains Dinosaur Museum in Malta have found that Dolly's three neck bones have some unusual shapes and textures, which can be seen from CT images as a periosteal response to some post-lesion proliferation, as well as defects in some lesion areas. The researchers speculate that the protrusions on the three bones may resemble those of birds, attached to the structure of the air sacs.
It can be seen that it has some irregular protrusions and markings on its bones. Reference 1
Based on the dinosaur's respiratory system and the comparison of the respiratory tissues of modern birds, the researchers speculated that the abnormal shape of the balloon meant that Dolly's air sac was likely to have a bacterial infection (possibly a bacterial infection common in birds), and that the air sac infection eventually affected the bones in the neck, causing the bone to grow irregularly.
Just as balloonitis is a dangerous disease for birds, and for long-necked, huge diplodocs, the areas where they are infected with respiratory diseases that may affect can be large, including a long neck, most of the torso, and tail.
A diplodocus with a long neck can affect the whole body if it has balloonitis. Reference 1
And we may also imagine that 150 million years ago, when the 20-year-old dinosaur Dolly was infected with a bacterial infection in the front half of the neck, he may have experienced some pain, such as a swollen and painful throat (and the throat is still very long), difficulty breathing, fever, runny nose and tears, etc.
The researchers who published the study said: "Considering the symptoms this animal may have, you can't help but feel sorry for Dolly when you hold these infected bones in your hands." ”
Although all we can see today are the bones of dinosaurs, we can still imagine the lives of dinosaurs hundreds of millions of years ago
In fact, scientists have discovered that dinosaurs hundreds of millions of years ago actually suffered from all kinds of diseases. Today, paleontologists are using the discovery of dinosaur fossils and CT technology to uncover the lesions hidden deep in the bones of dinosaurs.
In the April issue of Everything, there was an article titled "Who Killed the Dinosaurs?". There are many diseases of dinosaurs mentioned in it, and scientists have found that dinosaurs may have scars and severed limbs due to fights, and may also get cancer, arthritis, gout, etc. Sick dinosaurs can also suffer from illness.
Readers who want to know about dinosaur diseases, open this article and take a look!
The cover article of this issue, "Playing with the Home of Wisdom", is equally wonderful. Open this article, you will learn a lot of scientific knowledge that exists in daily life, such as can you eat food if it is dropped on the floor for 5 seconds, and how many bacteria are there in the bathroom?
You will also see future homes in this article, such as mirrors that speak, faucets that come out of thin air, etc...... Join us in exploring modern houses full of technology and wisdom!
The original article in this issue, "Drinking the Same River Water", introduces you to the mainland's south-to-north water diversion project. It is the world's largest water diversion project, and it was conceived decades ago, until 10 years ago, when the first phase of the eastern and central routes of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project was opened one after another. Although we often hear about the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, do you know how mainland scientists and engineers divert water from the lower places to the higher places, and how do they make the water cross the rivers?
Do you know the solar-powered drone? The British company Aerospace Systems has created a solar-powered drone, the PHASA-35, that can fly for long periods of time in the stratosphere...... It has a number of advantages, and some believe that it can be an alternative to high-altitude satellites. In this article, we will take you through the structure and purpose of this drone.
and "Where is Extraterrestrial Life", which shows you how scientists find aliens. There's also "Courtship," "Deadly River," and a wonderful museum column.
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