eli5: how can a vulture eat decaying flesh and not get sick?
In: 9
Because depending on the species of culture their stomach acid is 10-100 times stronger than ours.
In our stomach, our stomach acids kills most of the bacteria and breaks down a lot of the things that we eat. But some things can still get through. Meaning some parasites with thick walls/casings on their eggs or bacteria with thick cell walls can get through and make you sick.
For a vulture, pretty much anything that enters its stomach is obliterated down to its DNA, and then the dna is broken apart, because they just have a much stronger stomach acid.
AI Elon: Vultures have a very specialized immune system built for handling all
kinds of rotten food. Their stomachs are also highly acidic, which helps
kill bacteria and other germs. Finally, their unique metabolism and
digestive system mean that they don’t get food poisoning even if they
eat dead animals filled with parasites and other harmful microorganisms.
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