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[ MUSIC ]

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>> BIOLOGY WAS ALWAYS

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MY FAVORITE SUBJECT GROWING UP.

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I'M NOT SURE EXACTLY WHY.

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MAYBE IT WAS JUST BECAUSE OF

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THIS INHERENT CONNECTION

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AND INTEREST IN NATURE.

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MAYBE THAT CAME FROM MY MOM.

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MAYBE THAT CAME FROM WHERE

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I GREW UP, BUT I JUST ALWAYS

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LOVED BIOLOGY CLASS.

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I WENT TO THE ANTARCTIC

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FIVE TIMES.

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FOUR TIMES WAS FOR

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MY PHD RESEARCH.

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I WAS WORKING AT THE SCRIPPS

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INSTITUTION OF OCEANOGRAPHY,

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WHICH IS PART OF U.C. SAN DIEGO.

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WE WERE LOOKING AT

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THE DIVING PHYSIOLOGY OF ANIMALS

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IN GENERAL.

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AND THE WORK THAT

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WE WERE PURSUING THEN

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IN THE ANTARCTIC

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WAS LOOKING AT THE DIVING

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PHYSIOLOGY OF EMPEROR PENGUINS.

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[ MUSIC ]

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HOW THEY COULD SUPPORT THIS

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EXTRAORDINARY BEHAVIOR--

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DIVING DEEPER THAN 500 METERS

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AND FOR LONGER THAN

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HALF AN HOUR ON A SINGLE BREATH.

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WE PUT PHYSIOLOGICAL DATA

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RECORDERS ON THE ANIMALS.

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I WAS EVEN FORTUNATE ENOUGH

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TO DIVE WHERE WE WERE DOING

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OUR RESEARCH WITH PENGUINS.

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SO EMPEROR PENGUINS

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WHIZZING AROUND YOU,

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YOU CAN IMAGINE WHAT AN

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EXTRAORDINARY FEELING THAT IS.

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AND IT WAS JUST COMPLETELY

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EYE-OPENING.

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AND WE DID MEASURE

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HEART RATES AS LOW AS

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THREE BEATS PER MINUTE

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AND DOWN AROUND

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FIVE TO SIX BEATS PER MINUTE

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FOR A WHOLE FIVE MINUTE PERIOD.

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SO THAT'S REALLY EXTRAORDINARY

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IF YOU THINK ABOUT

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COMPARING THAT TO

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AN EXERCISING HUMAN

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OR ANY ANIMAL EXERCISING

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ON THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH

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WHERE YOU KNOW YOU HAVE

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THIS CHARACTERISTIC

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EXERCISE RESPONSE.

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YOUR HEART RATE INCREASES

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TO GET MORE OXYGEN

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AND BLOOD FLOW TO ALL OF

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THE EXERCISING TISSUES

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AND MUSCLES.

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SO THESE ANIMALS

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ARE DOWN THERE.

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THEY'RE ALSO EXERCISING.

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THEY'RE SWIMMING AROUND,

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THEY'RE CATCHING FISH,

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THEY'RE FORAGING.

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AND THEY'RE DOING THAT

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WHILE LOWERING THEIR HEART RATE.

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SO IT'S THIS REALLY UNIQUE

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DIVE RESPONSE.

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SO FOR MY POST-DOCTORAL

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RESEARCH PROJECT, I KIND OF

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WENT TO A DIFFERENT EXTREME.

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I BECAME VERY INTERESTED

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IN THE BAR-HEADED GOOSE,

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WHICH IS THE SPECIES OF GOOSE

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THAT MIGRATES TWICE A YEAR

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OVER THE TALLEST MOUNTAINS

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ON THE PLANET.

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SO OVER THE HIMALAYAS.

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YOU KNOW, IF SOMEBODY IS

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THINKING ABOUT CLIMBING EVEREST,

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THEN THEY GO WEEKS IN ADVANCE,

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THEY GO TO BASE CAMP,

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THEY ALLOW THEMSELVES

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TO ACCLIMATE THEIR

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PHYSIOLOGICAL PROCESSES

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CATCH UP A LITTLE BIT--

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GET SOME MORE

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RED BLOOD CELLS ONBOARD.

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THESE BIRDS ARE DOING THAT

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CROSSING FROM--

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IN SEVEN TO EIGHT HOURS.

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THEY NEED FAR MORE OXYGEN

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IN ORDER TO SUPPORT THEMSELVES

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WHILE THEY'RE FLYING

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THAN THEY WOULD IF THEY WERE

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WALKING OR DOWN HERE AT

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SEA LEVEL-- BUT THEY'RE

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DOING THAT IN AN ENVIRONMENT

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THAT HAS AN OXYGEN LIMITATION.

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SO HOW ARE THEY DOING THAT?

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WE DECIDED TO TRY AND LOOK

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AT THIS PROBLEM BY TRAINING

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BAR-HEADED GEESE TO FLY

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IN A WIND TUNNEL.

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AND IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE

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THAT THE BIRDS WOULD BE

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COMFORTABLE WITH ME AND MY TEAM,

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WE IMPRINTED THE ANIMALS.

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IT'S PARTICULARLY STRONG

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IN WATER FOWL.

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SO THE FIRST THING

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THAT A DUCK OR A GOOSE SEES

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AFTER THEY HATCH, THEY LOOK AT

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AS THEIR PARENTAL FIGURE

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AND THEY IMPRINT.

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SO I GOT SOME EGGS AND I HAD

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THE BIRDS IMPRINT ON ME.

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SO I WAS THERE FROM THE TIME

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THAT THEY HATCHED, YOU KNOW,

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THEY WOULD BE HATCHING

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IN MY HANDS, COMING OUT OF

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THE EGG AND I WAS

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THE FIRST THING THEY SAW.

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SO THEY THOUGHT THAT I WAS

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THEIR MOM AND I WAS

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A MODERN DAY MOTHER GOOSE.

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I HAD 12 GOSLINGS

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THAT WERE FOLLOWING ME AROUND

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EVERYWHERE I WENT.

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THEY LOOK TO YOU FOR EVERYTHING.

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YOU'RE GOING ON WALKS,

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YOU'RE CUDDLING WITH THEM,

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TAKING NAPS.

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IT WAS REALLY AN

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EXTRAORDINARY EXPERIENCE

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TO HAVE THAT CONNECTION

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WITH AN ANIMAL.

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AND THEY GROW QUITE QUICKLY.

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WITHIN A FEW MONTHS,

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THEY HAD FULLY GROWN WINGS.

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AND SO WE BROUGHT THE BIRDS

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BACK TO THE UNIVERSITY

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OF BRITISH COLUMBIA,

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AND STARTED TRAINING THEM

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TO FLY IN THE WIND TUNNEL.

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AND WE OUTFITTED THEM

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WITH PHYSIOLOGICAL RECORDERS.

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LITTLE BACKPACK RECORDERS

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TO MEASURE HEART RATE

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AND THEN AGAIN OXYGEN LEVEL.

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AND THEN THEY ALSO

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WERE OUTFITTED WITH A MASK.

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SO, A REALLY LIGHTWEIGHT MASK

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THAT WE MADE OUT OF

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A DENTAL MOLD MATERIAL.

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AND THAT ALLOWED US

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TO COLLECT THE AIR

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THAT THEY EXHALED

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AND THEN THROUGH THAT MASK

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WE COULD ALSO CHANGE

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THE AMOUNT OF OXYGEN

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THAT THEY WERE BREATHING IN.

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SO THERE WAS A TUBE WHERE

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WE WOULD FLOW NITROGEN INTO

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THE MASK AND BASICALLY DECREASE

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THE OVERALL OXYGEN LEVELS,

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SO THAT WE COULD

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SIMULATE ALTITUDE.

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SO WE WERE FLYING THESE BIRDS

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AT ABOUT HALF TO A THIRD

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OF THE AMOUNT OF OXYGEN

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THAT WE HAVE AT SEA LEVEL.

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A THIRD OF THE AMOUNT

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OF OXYGEN IS EQUIVALENT

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TO HIGHER THAN THE SUMMIT

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OF MOUNT EVEREST.

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SO HIGHER THAN

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THAT TALLEST PEAK.

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AND INTERESTINGLY,

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AS WE PREDICTED,

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THE BIRDS COULD STILL FLY.

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AND IT REALLY ISN'T

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JUST ONE ADAPTATION.

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THERE IS REALLY A HOST

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OF ADAPTATIONS ALL THE WAY

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THROUGH WHAT WE CALL

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THE OXYGEN TRANSPORT CASCADE.

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SO, EVERYTHING FROM

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GETTING THE OXYGEN FROM THE AIR,

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INTO THEIR LUNGS.

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GETTING IT INTO THEIR BLOOD,

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GETTING IT DOWN TO

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THE INDIVIDUAL CELLS

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AND INTO THE MITOCHONDRIA,

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WHICH ARE THE POWERHOUSES

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OF THE CELLS.

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SO THEY REALLY HAVE ADAPTATIONS

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AT EVERY STEP OF THE WAY.

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[ MUSIC ]

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SO BEFORE I WAS AN ASTRONAUT

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AND ACTUALLY EVEN BEFORE

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I WENT TO GRADUATE SCHOOL,

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I WORKED HERE AT THE JOHNSON

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SPACE CENTER FOR THREE YEARS

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FOR THE HUMAN RESEARCH FACILITY.

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SO OUR GROUP,

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WE WERE COORDINATING ALL OF

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THE LIFE SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS

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THAT WERE CONDUCTED BACK THEN

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ON THE SPACE SHUTTLE, AND THEN

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ALSO ON THE SPACE STATION.

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AND I FIND THAT A REALLY

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INTERESTING CONNECTION NOW

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BECAUSE FIRST I WAS

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COORDINATING THAT KIND OF

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SCIENCE ON OTHER ASTRONAUTS.

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SECONDLY, I WAS DOING

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ALL THESE EXPERIMENTS ON

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ALL THESE DIFFERENT ANIMALS.

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USING THE ANIMALS AS

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THE SUBJECTS,

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AND I WAS THE EXPERIMENTER.

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AND FINALLY

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IT'S COME FULL CIRCLE,

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WHERE I WILL BE THE ONE

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THAT'S EXPERIMENTED UPON.

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AND THESE TYPES OF EXPERIMENTS,

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THESE PHYSIOLOGICAL

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AND MEDICAL EXPERIMENTS

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ARE REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US

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IN TERMS OF UNDERSTANDING

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ALL OF THE EFFECTS

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OF MICROGRAVITY

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AND THE SPACEFLIGHT ENVIRONMENT

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ON THE HUMAN BODY.

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AND THIS WILL BE EVEN MORE

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IMPORTANT AS WE BEGIN

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TO UNDERTAKE LONGER MISSIONS

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WHEN WE GO BACK TO THE MOON

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AND EVENTUALLY GO TO MARS.

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YOU KNOW, WITH ARTEMIS PROGRAM,

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WE ARE PLANNING

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THOSE MISSIONS NOW.

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AND IT WILL BE EVEN MORE

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IMPORTANT FOR US TO MAKE SURE

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THAT WE CAN DELIVER ASTRONAUTS

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EFFECTIVELY

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AND THEY'RE ABLE TO FUNCTION

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AT THEIR DESTINATIONS.

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AND TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN

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GET THEM HOME SAFELY AS WELL.

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SO BY UNDERSTANDING

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ALL THESE PROCESSES WITH

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THE DECADES OF RESEARCH

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WE HAVE NOW ON THE

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INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION,

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WE CAN CONQUER AND APPLY THAT

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TOWARD THESE FUTURE FLIGHTS.

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I'M JESSICA MEIR.

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I'M A SCIENTIST

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AND A NASA ASTRONAUT.

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[ MUSIC ]