A large group of bacteria was identified for the first time in the breath (or blow) of humpback whales. Whether they live in the Atlantic or in the Pacific, humpbacks to a large extent harbour the same organisms in their blow. Is this a sign of illness? Probably not, as these whales appear to be in good health. Rather, scientists believe that these microorganisms living in whale respiratory systems \u2013 like many microorganisms that inhabit the human body \u2013 play an important role in maintaining the overall health of the animals, either by boosting their immune system or by fighting pathogens. Researchers hope this discovery will help them better assess and monitor the health of whales.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A large group of bacteria was identified for the first time in the breath (or blow) of humpback whales. Whether they live in the Atlantic or in the Pacific, humpbacks to a large extent harbour the same organisms in their blow. Is this a sign of illness? Probably not, as these whales appear to be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":39919,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[577,512,578,579],"class_list":["post-43767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-drone-en","tag-humpback-whale","tag-microbiome-en","tag-respiration-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n