Breathing/Air/Respiration

[ChrissyMaria]

I've always wondered, why does most/all life require respiration? Could there ever be a being that can survive without the need for co2 or o2? I know co2 or o2 is used in the blood to keep the cells alive and to transport energy and oxygen to the body, but isn't there a better way? I've wondered what an evolved human one day might be able to do, maybe their skin will absorb oxygen directly into the blood stream without the need for lungs? Maybe the body can one day make its own o2? this subject is just fascinating to me.

[dragonoverlord]

I heard about a frog that was discovered in Indonesia or whatever that didn't have lungs. instead it obsorbed Oxgen directly into its blood stream via the skin. No lungs needed. And im just wondering but are you stoned right this moment?

[ChrissyMaria]

Nope, at work actually

[juroara]

I would say that 1. its abundant. its in the water, in the sky, in the dirt, in caves. we have energy crisis, water crisis, if you are in a poor country you have food crisis. but how often do you hear about an oxygen crisis? dirty air right? but oxygen is still present 2. its fairly easy to get, in that its basically found all over the surface of the earth. sure we can't breathe underwater, but water has plenty of it. 3. cellular respiration is important for any living thing to use energy. breathing keeps our cells happy =b for both plants and animals. (btw, since some people don't realize this, plants breath oxygen too. yes they release oxygen - but only in sunlight. otherwise they breath oxygen 24/7 from every part of their body) 4. in plants and animals, breathing is somewhat rhythmic. in and out. in comes the good energy, out goes the bad energy. is it possible for an intelligent being to not have lungs? that would depend on how efficient they can 'exhale' the wastes. breathing is a rhythmic flow of energy. in and out. for this reason, it is the backbone of a lot of spiritual practices. from yoga to meditation. to prayer, to singing, to dancing, to music, to martial arts. control of the breath is the control of the energy flowing in your body. there are relationships to good breath reducing stress I think being able to breathe is a good thing for us, especially when it allows us to exhale bad energy, rather than keep it contained and locked in the body. hey, yogis are incredible and if they say such, I believe them!

[ChaybaChayba]

Humans already take oxygen through their skin right into the bloodstream. If you paint yourself completely and close all your pores, you risk fainting because of oxygen shortage. I also wonder tho why all life needs oxygen, I'm guessing because it's the easiest obtainable resource of energy. Next is water.. those two seem also to be our most important resources of energy, so I guess thats where the link is.

[AlexLou]

Humans already take oxygen through their skin right into the bloodstream. If you paint yourself completely and close all your pores, you risk fainting because of oxygen shortage. Not true.

[ChaybaChayba]

I saw it happening during a play.. maybe it was because of the paint being toxic then or something :p

[juroara]

well oxygen is important to the skin, and the nails too. having clumpy makeup on 24/7 or painting your nails all the time can damage your skin and nails. thats why cosmetics today talk about oxygen creams and all that jazz

[Kromoh]

Some bacteria are able to survive on fermentation. Why is respiration worthier than it? 1) Air is abundant. 2) Respiration provides way more energy. 3) Fermentation can create chemicals threatening to life. 4) With respiration, it is possible to increase the amount of energy released in respiration through increased air flow.

[Sisyphus50]

I saw it happening during a play.. maybe it was because of the paint being toxic then or something :p James Bond in Goldfinger. Good movie. And I think the answer to the 'why' question has something to do with molecular oxygen being an incredibly good reducer in chemical reactions - it would suck to have to 'wait around' for your O2 to bind to your blood, you need that shit NOW not 5 minutes from now. The other part of the answer being that animal life evolved in a symbiotic relationship with the plants as oceans covered in algae transformed the atmosphere of the early earth. Aerobic respiration (oxidation of glucose WITH oxygen) is 18 times more efficient than anaerobic respiration (without oxygen). Obviously, most forms of life evolved to go the oxygen-rich mode because it gives them more energy, therefore more resources to survive and reproduce with. It's not an accident that the chemical formula for aerobic respiration is photosynthesis in reverse (and it's not a 'design' either, for the smart asses waiting in the wings).

[ChrissyMaria]

Hmm cool info everyone thanks for replying but, what boggles my mind is this: Plants need co2, we need o2...why aren't there any living animals that breath co2 and exhale o2? why 02? why not nitrogen? or hydrogen? Why is o2 what the lungs use.?

[Sornaensis]

Actually humans exhale most of the oxygen they inhale.

[Kromoh]

Hmm cool info everyone thanks for replying but, what boggles my mind is this: Plants need co2, we need o2...why aren't there any living animals that breath co2 and exhale o2? why 02? why not nitrogen? or hydrogen? Why is o2 what the lungs use.? Oxygen is abundant. It is easy to get some of it. Oxygen reactions provide a lot of energy - only F, Cl and etc can provide more energy, but they're also way more toxic. Finally, Oxygen is more abundant than other elements in its family, (Sulphur or Selenium for example).

[ChrissyMaria]

I thought hydrogen was the most abundant element?

[Kromoh]

Guerilla, not in the atmosphere. And hydrogen doesn't provide as much energy as oxygen.

[Sornaensis]

Guerilla, not in the atmosphere. And hydrogen doesn't provide as much energy as oxygen. Well not in cellular respiration...

[ChrissyMaria]

Ahh okay, makes sense now...I just wonder alot about everything

[i make it rain]

Well i think it could happen. I don't think on earth, based on how we evolved, but why not some other planet? All we care about in terms of extraterrestrial life is water. Well just because we evolved to use oxygen and water does not mean it is a NECESITY to beings that evolve under different circumstances. Maybe alien bacteria only needs hydrogen. I'm just playing devil's advocate. 90% of the answers on this thread say the same thing.

[Xaqaria]

All fauna of the earth rely on oxydation in order to release and utilize energy. Oxygen makes up a good portion of our atmosphere in a gaseous form. The best way to absorb the oxygen is by ingesting it into an organ specifically evolved for the purpose of absorbing gaseous chemicals; the lungs. How else do you think it could be done? Maybe there is a frog that absorbs oxygen through its skin, but the surface area of the outside of a human body is grossly insufficient for supplying the amount of oxygen that we need, and the surface area of the inside of the lungs is much much (much) larger. Humans already take oxygen through their skin right into the bloodstream. If you paint yourself completely and close all your pores, you risk fainting because of oxygen shortage. Myth John Jaenike, chairman of the Biology Department at the University of Rochester, says in reference to the urban legend stemming from the James Bond movie, Goldfinger; "If Jill Masterson were a salamander, then preventing her skin breathing could have been fatal. However, humans obtain oxygen through their lungs. Anyone who has snorkeled knows that being totally covered by water isn't fatal."

[Sisyphus50]

Hydrogen is too light to be at sea-level on Earth. Most of the atmospheric hydrogen that Earth had from its formation bled away into space a few billions years ago. The rest of it is locked up in our hydrocarbon reserves, plant/animal matter and of course, water. Oxygen works so well because it's a real guts for electrons in chemical reactions, and you need that kind of speedy reactivity when you're dealing with a process as vital as respiration.