‘Antifreeze’ in Antarctic fishes keeps internal ice from melting
Fish that adapted to survive and thrive in icy cold Antarctic waters by developing antifreeze proteins are swimming in an evolutionary paradox, says a University of Oregon researcher.
These life-saving proteins in Antarctic notothenioid [pronounced “NO-toe-thin-ee-oid”] fishes also prevent ice crystals inside the fishes from melting in warmer summer waters, reports Paul Cziko [“SEE-ko”], a doctoral student in the UO Institute of Ecology and Evolution. He is the lead author on a paper in this week’s online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Full story …
NY Times article and video here: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/23/science/antifreeze-proteins-keep-antarctic-fish-alive-and-icy.html