Sponges 'sneeze' to dispose of waste
One of the first methods used by creatures to eliminate undesirable waste may be sneezing up mucus. Researchers discovered that sponges, among the oldest multicellular animals still living, "sneeze" to clear blockages from the internal filters they employ to draw nutrients from the water. Authors also discover that animals who coexist with the sponges consume their mucus. Current Biology will publish their findings on August 10. According to principal author of the study and marine biologist at the University of Amsterdam Jasper de Goeij, "our data imply that sneezing is an adaptation that sponges evolved to keep themselves clean." The authors of this research demonstrate that these sneezes eliminate substances that the sponges cannot utilise, even though this behavior has long been known in the field. "To be clear, sponges do not sneeze in the same manner as people. It takes a sponge roughly thirty minutes to sneeze. However, sneezes from humans and sponges bo...