Science Has Brought Us One Step Closer To 'Butt Breathing'

<div><img src="https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/68fa36b31800005f71e8f1c1.jpg?cache=WIzLhH95ba&ops=scalefit_630_noupscale" alt=""Enteral ventilation" may one day help those with respiratory issues" data-caption=""Enteral ventilation" may one day help those with respiratory issues" data-credit-link-back="" data-credit="Ambitious Studio* | Rick Barrett via Unsplash" />"Enteral ventilation" may one day help those with respiratory issues</div><div class="content-list-component text"><p>Every year, an event that <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/news040927-20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">prestigious journal Nature has dubbed</a> “the highlight of the scientific calendar” takes place: the Ig Nobel awards. </p><p>A lighthearted twist on the better-known Nobel prizes, the ceremony is <a href="https://improbable.com/ig/about-the-ig-nobel-prizes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">dedicated to research</a> that makes you “laugh, and then think”. And in 2024, the top physiology spot went to the team behind a “butt breathing” theory. </p><p>The paper (<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666634021001537?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mammalian Enteral Ventilation Ameliorates Respiratory Failure</a>), <a href="https://improbable.com/ig/winners/#ig2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">which won</a> “for discovering that many mammals are capable of breathing through their anus,” was published in 2021.</p><p>But <a href="https://www.cell.com/med/abstract/S2666-6340(25)00314-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">recent further rese