Friday, October 16, 2026
Science

Spiny dogfish blood contains a hormone long thought absent in sharks

Cortisol is a hormone that helps humans and many other animals regulate their energy use and respond to changing conditions. For a long time, sharks and rays were believed to rely on a different steroid hormone for these functions, without producing cortisol themselves. Now, a new study of North Pac...

Spiny dogfish blood contains a hormone long thought absent in sharks
Image: Phys.org
Cortisol is a hormone that helps humans and many other animals regulate their energy use and respond to changing conditions. For a long time, sharks and rays were believed to rely on a different steroid hormone for these functions, without producing cortisol themselves. Now, a new study of North Pacific spiny dogfish, a species of small shark, challenges this view.

Originally published at Phys.org

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