When a Burmese python swallows a tasty rat dinner, the reptile makes new heart muscle to help digest the big meal, biologists have found. The predator has a special protein to expand its cardiac ...

Burmese pythons add 40 percent to their hearts' muscle mass within 48 hours of feeding, according to new research, which found that the process is fully reversible.

Pythons can eat up to quarter of their body weight, or 40 pounds, in one meal. It turns out those huge meals make their hearts stronger and may offer insight into how to treat heart disease in humans.

After pythons eat, their hearts nearly double in size. Now, a fatty acid cocktail derived from the blood of well-fed pythons has been used to promote healthy heart growth, in mice.

The Burmese python is one of the largest snakes in the world. But despite its intimidating appearance, it has a heart. And that heart may provide clues to researchers in developing drugs that help ...