Its blood vessels fill with 52 times the usual level of triglycerides, substances found in fats and oils. Such levels would clog mammal hearts with fat, but the pythons seem immune.

If a human ate 50 percent of their weight in one sitting, their body might not take it. Their stomach would expand, and their heart would begin trying to furiously pump blood to sustain the metabolism ...

The cardiac ventricle tissues that help the heart pump blood were also less stiff in the fed pythons than the fasted ones.

If a human ate 50 percent of their weight in one sitting, their body might not take it. Their stomach would expand, and their heart would begin trying to furiously pump blood to sustain the metabolism ...

WASHINGTON — You don't think of pythons as big-hearted toward their fellow creatures. They're better known for the bulge in their bodies after swallowing one of those critters whole.

You don’t think of pythons as big-hearted toward their fellow creatures. They’re better known for the bulge in their bodies after swallowing one of those critters whole.