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Since 2016, some animal cruelty cases have been spotted in the country which mounted public criticism and pushed the Majlis to pass a law against cruelty to animals.

The Department of Environment (DOE) proposed a bill on the protection of animals, which was decided to be initially approved by the presidential office for legal affairs and then the Majlis and in case of approval to be sent to the Expediency Council.

Outlawing all forms of cruelty to animals, the law consists of 23 articles and 15 notes; which will be implemented after the approval of the Majlis (Iranian Parliament) and the Guardian Council.

It concerns any kinds of animal abuse such as beatings, torture, deliberate injuries, unnecessary surgeries, mutilating, mass murder, or killing animals whether for food, clothing, or other products, and keeping of animals for entertainment, education, research, and etc.

Destruction of habitats or nesting sites, poisoning the animals or their food, abduction, release of stray animals or non-native species in the margins of towns, villages, or nature is considered a crime by the law.

Any kind of exploitation or use of animals that is not compatible with nature and their life cycle, including sexual abuse, persecution, animal circuses, training, or using the animals for illegal purposes, including warfare are outlawed.

Not considering ethics or health factors in their captive breeding, keeping, researching, transporting, buying, selling, importing, and exporting animals so as to cause suffering, sickness, and injury to the animal, fall into the animal abuse circle.

Mohammad Reza Tabesh, head of the Majlis environment committee, said in August 2019 that the government and the judiciary have been slow to submit a bill proposed over 3 years ago (to the Majlis) on the protection of animals, referring to a video that emerged online showing the killings of stray dogs by the municipality in Tehran suburbs.

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Some truths about the Universe and our experience in it seem immutable. The sky is up. Gravity sucks. Nothing can travel faster than light. Multicellular life needs oxygen to live. Except we might need to rethink that last one.

Earlier this year, scientists discovered that a jellyfish-like parasite doesn’t have a mitochondrial genome – the first multicellular organism known to have this absence. That means it doesn’t breathe; in fact, it lives its life completely free of oxygen dependency, SomagNews reported.

To date, we have been taught that no multicellular animal can survive without oxygen. However, like everything in science, this topic proved that science has never been precise. The researchers found for the first time a multicellular animal that did not need oxygen.

Researchers who discovered a jellyfish-like parasite earlier this year found that this animal did not have a mitochondrial genome. Thus, the jellyfish-like parasite was registered as the first multicellular organism that did not have a mitochondrial genome.

The discovery of the jellyfish-like parasite mitochondrial genome also marked that it was not breathing. Of course, this resulted in the conclusion that this animal does not need oxygen. This discovery of researchers could be used to study not only life on Earth but perhaps extraterrestrial life.

Mitochondria, one of the cell organelles, is located inside the cells of any animal’s body (except red blood cells). Mitochondria are one of the most basic structures of breathing. These organelles divide oxygen and form molecules called adenosine triphosphatase. Adenosine triphosphatase is the molecule that powers the cells of organisms.

Although an animal that needs very little oxygen has been discovered to date, an animal without mitochondria has never been discovered. You may be wondering how the animal, which does not need oxygen due to this deficiency, survives. But even scientists haven’t been able to explain it yet.

According to some estimates, this jellyfish-like parasite might have been getting adenosine triphosphatase from the living creature. Of course, it has not been possible to reach a definitive conclusion yet. However, with this example, nature proved again how unpredictable it is.

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