Nitrous oxide is just one of manyair pollutantsthat has a detrimental effect on our mood , but for researchers studyingnitrous - oxide - pooping King Penguins in Antarctica , it had an unexpected effect on their cognitive state . A recent cogitation published in the journalScience of the Total Environmentreports how Professor Bo Elberling and his team from the University of Copenhagen ’s Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management belong “ fathead ” while working surrounded by penguin quarter .
" Penguin guanoproduces significantly high levels of nitrous oxide around their colony , " Professor Elberlingtold AFP . " After nosing about in guano for several hours , one goes completely zany . One begin to feel ill and get a worry . ”
Besides being a strain on the climate ( it ’s 300 time more damaging to the environment than carbon dioxide ) , azotic oxide is also a ataraxic gas often used in tooth doctor ’s authority . The side burden of the depressant , also known aslaughing gas , include touch sensation of euphory , relaxation , calmness , and fits of giggles as well as confusion , headaches , and nausea . Dental and medical routine have grantedYouTubewith a rich depository library of entertaining videos present how nitrous oxide can make people behave .
The nitrous oxide commit the researchers loopy is the effect of the penguin ’s dieting of krill and fish , both of which contain high levels of nitrogen . After defecating , atomic number 7 is let go of from the penguin guano into the ground where soil bacterium convert it into the glasshouse throttle nitric oxide . The end result is a gaggle of giggly south-polar researchers attempting to do science . Now there ’s something we ’d like to see .
The team was exposed to the express mirth - petrol - laced guano while study the shock of the penguins ' N yield and glacial thaw on the levels of air pollutant in South Georgia . " While nitrous oxide emissions in this case are not enough to impact Earth ’s overall energy budget , our finding contribute to new knowledge about how penguin dependency affect the environment around them , which is interesting because colony are generally becoming more and more widespread , " Elberling said .
