Africa-Press – Guinee Bissau. Scientists were clueless about this almost supernatural ability of tropical glass frogs to become virtually transparent. However, new research techniques have shed some light on the puzzle.
Scientists may have solved one of nature’s mysteries by showing that tropical glass frogs from Central and South America turn transparent by removing almost all of their red blood cells from circulation and placing them in the liver, new research in peer-reviewed Science has indicated.
At the same time, the amphibian evades the negative effect of blood clotting, leading to hopes that studying the unusual ability may advance human hematology.
Roughly 90% of the frogs’ blood cells become packed together in the liver, almost doubling its size. After nightfall when the tiny thing decides to become active again for the sake of hunting and mating, it releases blood cells from the liver into circulation.
These creatues, which are barely 2.5 cm in length, spend most of their time on leaves in the Central and South American tropics where the ability to become transparent is perfect protection from predators.
Now, the puzzle is how these animals manage to avoid blood clotting during their manipulations; however applying that knowledge to help humans could take decades, scientists noted.
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