NFL Woodpecker Brains

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/02/could-woodpeckers-teach-nfl-how-prevent-brain-injuries






" woodpeckers have neck muscles and cranial bone structures that protect them from the 1200 Gs of force—that is, 1200 times the force of gravity—they sustain while pecking. "



" A new study shows that a protein whose abnormal buildup is considered a sign of human brain damage also accumulates in woodpecker brains. 

That raises an intriguing question: Could the newly discovered “tangles” of this protein, tau, be protecting the woodpecker brain from injury?

The idea of concussionless woodpeckers dates back to 1976, when a seminal study that examined sections of the birds’ brains found no evidence of injury. "



"They asked several museums for woodpecker specimens whose brains they could study. Their final haul: six downy woodpeckers, one yellow-bellied sapsucker, one northern flicker, one pale-billed woodpecker, and one lineated woodpecker. 

For comparison, they also got five brains from a non–head-banging species, the red-winged blackbird"

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