Sloths, famously, are pretty slow. They move fewer than 38 metres a day, and sleep for up to 20 hours at a time – they’re so sluggish that fungi, moths, and algae grow on their fur, forming an entire ecosystem.
As it turns out, this lethargic lifestyle might be helpful to astronauts hoping to survive long space missions.
In fact, scientists from the Wellcome Sanger Institute in Cambridge have just published a study about how helpful the animals’ DNA might be to people heading to galaxies far, far away, as well as those with diseases like diabetes down here on Earth.
Why might sloths help people?
Study co-lead author, Dr Cam...
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