Needless to say, the importance of oxygen to life on Earth is such that it allows us to breathe, our cells work, and without it there would certainly be a doomsday scenario.
In fact, all kinds of multicellular or simple living things on Earth have been alive for millions or millions of years thanks to oxygen.
Take a deep breath as you learn about the Henneguya salminicola, a tiny parasite that lives inside the salmon tissue and contains less than 10 cells.
This jellyfish-like creature survives without oxygen and is apparently the first multicellular 'animal' to be discovered that can survive without oxygen, which is essential for life.
According to researchers, the aerobic process of respiration (plants receive oxygen in a way that releases carbon dioxide gas but does not require oxygen to breathe) is thought to occur in animals. But now we confirm that this is not the case.
The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, examined and sequenced all the genes of this parasitic organism and found that it lacked the DNA machinery needed for the respiratory system.
The researchers said that in fact, it did not contain the myocardium (a body of cells that contains respiratory and energy-producing enzymes) that use oxygen to make energy.
Interestingly, the first living organism to survive without oxygen was discovered by accident because scientists were simply examining the genomes of different organisms. Nothing found.
Scientists at the University of Tel Aviv, who were involved in the study, said: "Our findings show that evolution can be amazing. Aerobic activity is an important source of respiratory energy and we have never seen an animal that The most important source is left out.
Scientists have not yet been able to explain how this living thing finally gets its energy, but they do believe that it may have received oxygen from salmon cells, or that it may have evolved in a way similar to that of a single-celled bacterium. I have come across various details.