University of Pretoria. Faculty of Veterinary ScienceMathibela, Xolani2022-03-012022-03-012022-02-24http://hdl.handle.net/2263/84278News article with colour photos about what's happening at the Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria.Originally published as HTML file, converted to PDF with Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro Version 9.0.0.A groundbreaking study undertaken by researchers from the University of Pretoria’s (UP) Faculty of Veterinary Science has revealed that the heart operates with declining energy efficiency as body size increases among mammals. This means that larger mammals have hearts that lose relatively more energy as heat, rather than directing that energy to the blood so that it circulates around the body. A tiny shrew, therefore, has a more efficient heart than that of a large elephant. The implication is that eventually an upper limit on body size will be reached, where the heart is so inefficient at pumping blood, that it is no longer viable to do so. A gigantic 100-tonne sauropod, or any large-sized member of the dinosaur group Sauropoda, may represent this upper limit on body size. The UP-led study, which was published today in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, was conducted in collaboration with scientists from the University of Adelaide and Monash University in Australia, and the University of British Columbia in Canada.2 pagesPDF fileen©2022 University of Pretoria, Faculty of Veterinary Science. Provided for educational and preservation purposes only. It may not be downloaded, reproduced, or distributed in any format without written permission of the copyright owner.Faculty of Veterinary Science, News media coverage ofMammals -- Body sizeMammals -- HeartVeterinary medicine -- Press coverageVeterinary medicine -- South AfricaVeterinary science activities SDG-15SDG-15: Life on landText