Comparative physiology and biomimetics in metabolic and environmental health: what can we learn from extreme animal phenotypes?
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review of comparative animal physiology without systematic methodology or primary human clinical data.
PubMed 41263971 · doi:10.1007/s00125-025-06611-3
What was done
This narrative review summarizes comparative physiology literature on species adapted to extreme environments—including hibernating brown bears, migratory birds, cavefish, Greenland sharks, and naked mole rats—to examine their metabolic traits and discuss implications for human metabolic disorders and conservation.
What was found
The abstract reports no quantitative data or numerical outcomes. It describes mechanisms such as hypoxia resistance, resistance to metabolic ageing, reversible insulin resistance, and regulated energy homeostasis during hibernation as potential models for understanding human metabolic regulation.
Why it matters
Examining non-traditional animal phenotypes provides novel comparative models for human metabolic conditions such as obesity and type 2 diabetes while linking human health to ecological conservation.
Limits
The review provides narrative synthesis rather than primary clinical data or systematic quantitative analysis. No sample sizes, experimental data, or direct translational interventions in humans are reported in the abstract.
Cited by
- supports Hibernating bears and long-distance migrating birds become insulin resistant during fat storage.