Scientist Shocks Himself With an Electric Eel ... Because Science

D-brief
By Lauren Sigfusson
Sep 15, 2017 7:00 PMDec 18, 2019 7:14 PM
electric_eel-1.jpg
Holy leaping eel! A hall-effect ammeter measured the current through the arm of a human subject as the eel leaped at the arm. (Credit: Catania, Power Transfer to a Human during an Electric Eel’s Shocking Leap, Current Biology, 2017)

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Electric eels are fascinating creatures. They emit high voltage electricity to track and control prey, but did you know they also jump out of water to attack threats? They've even been documented leaping at horses and humans.

Kenneth C. Catania, a biologist and neuroscientist at Vanderbilt University who’s studied eels in the past, put himself in harm’s way in order to learn just how shocking eels are.

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