Bobbit worm, Eunice aphroditois
Besides looking interesting, the bobbit worm has an interesting feature. It’s hemoglobin is extracellular.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1164035/
Hemoglobin is the oxygen carrying protein in our red blood cells (RBC), i.e., it is intracellular. What that means is, unlike our blood, the bobbit worm has free hemoglobin; just floating around. That might not seem amazing to you but here’s why it is amazing. In mammalian blood, hemoglobin is protected from oxidation inside the RBC by many other proteins You’ve seen iron rust. That’s oxidation and hemoglobin’s oxygen binding component has iron. When iron is oxidized it can generate free radicals which are toxic. That’s why you hear people recommending anti-oxidant rich fruits/vegetables. When iron is oxidized and creates free radicals it is called Fenton chemistry.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenton’s_reagent#Fenton_Reaction.28Medicine.29
Additional interesting info on the bobbit worm from Wiki, which is where the image is from.
Armed with sharp teeth, it is known to attack with such speeds that its prey is sometimes sliced in half. Although the worm hunts for food, it is omnivorous. It is also covered in bristles that are capable of a sting that results in permanent numbness in humans.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobbit_worm
Edit Many invertebrates have extracellular hemoglobin. I haven’t had time to find out what mechanism the bobbit worm uses to project its heme from oxidation.
#ScienceEveryday
