Cara Giovanetti
@idontevencara.bsky.social
I study dark matter, cosmology, and particle physics for a living at UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. On the weekends I write explainers about surprising places physics shows up in the natural world.
caragiovanetti.com
caragiovanetti.com
Insects mostly rely on these tubes to provide oxygen to their organs. Oxygen must diffuse though these tubes into insect organs, but diffusion is famously slow. By contrast Mammalian lungs first push fresh air in, and only rely on diffusion across very small distances, allowing us to grow larger.
October 11, 2026 at 9:47 PM
Insects mostly rely on these tubes to provide oxygen to their organs. Oxygen must diffuse though these tubes into insect organs, but diffusion is famously slow. By contrast Mammalian lungs first push fresh air in, and only rely on diffusion across very small distances, allowing us to grow larger.