There are few things more iconic of the Gulf region than a camel being led through a desert of sand dunes.
For as long as 5,000 years, people on the Arabian peninsula have been working and travelling with these creatures, whose hardiness is as legendary as the landscape is unforgiving.
The animals can go long periods without eating thanks to their hump, which is filled with fat and can weigh more than 35kg. Perhaps more impressive though is the camel’s ability to carry on as normal even when there is little or nothing to drink.
While a human can typically survive only for days without water, for camels the timespan is measured in terms of months, at least in winter. They can lose as many as 25 gallons of water before their condition begins to seriously deteriorate.
One recent study on the dromedary, or Arabian camel, like those found in the UAE and elsewhere in the Gulf, highlights how the blood and circulatory system of these creatures cope when they are dehydrated.
The work, carried out by three Austrian-based researchers on camels kept at 1,700 metres above sea level in Gauteng province, South Africa, relates to the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood. It was undertaken for a conference in Kazakhstan.
The scientists took blood samples from 11 camels, 10 horses and 10 people then calculated what is known as the optimal haematocrit (opt.HCT) for the blood at a number of “shear rates”.
Haematocrit is the ratio of red blood cells to the total blood volume and the term derives from haemoglobin, the protein in blood that carries oxygen. The opt.HCT is the blood’s ideal concentration of red blood cells for transporting oxygen.
Below the opt.HCT, as the concentration of red blood cells rises, the blood’s oxygen-carrying capacity increases but, beyond it, the blood becomes so thick with cells it struggles to move and becomes less effective at carrying oxygen.
Meanwhile, the shear rate roughly equates to how fast the blood is moving.
By taking blood samples, centrifuging out the cells and carrying out calculations based on the viscosity of the blood, the researchers calculated a theoretical opt.HCT for camels, horses and people at a variety of shear rates.
In horses and people, opt.HCT becomes higher as shear rates increase. This is what we would expect: when blood is being pumped faster, a higher concentration of red blood cells allows blood to transport oxygen more effectively. When blood is moving more slowly, a higher concentration tends to impede flow, so the opt.HCT will be lower.
With camels, however, the opposite is found: with higher shear rates, the opt.HCT falls.
This result is surprising: at low flow rates, such as in venules (the small veins that collect blood from the capillaries and take it to the larger veins), blood flows more smoothly and easily when the blood is thicker.
There is, says Dr Roland Auer, a researcher in the Department of Biomedical Research at the Medical University of Vienna and one of the study’s authors, an explanation for this.
“That the ‘optimal haematocrit’ is higher in venules and veins may offer an advantage when blood is thickened, for instance due to dehydration,” he says.
The scientists suggest in their paper that the pattern of opt.HCT in camels represents “the result of the remarkable adaptation of this species to the harsh natural environment”.
The study’s lead author, Dr Ursula Windberger, a veterinary surgeon and associate professor at the same university, says the characteristic represents “a great benefit for the animal” in dry, desert environments with little food and water.
“It’s extremely specified to starving and water deprivation, so we should expect the blood would get thicker and more viscous. When there are regions in the peripheral circulation where there’s low blood flow, that would increase the viscosity dramatically,” she said.
The mechanism that prevents sluggish blood flow is, she added, a “most important” adaptation and one the researchers did not expect to see.
Factors that could explain this property of the camel’s circulatory system include the shape and properties of the camel’s red blood cells. The skeleton of these cells is much more inflexible than in other mammals, and so the cell shape changes less even when blood velocity is high. Also, the cells have less of a tendency to aggregate than those in many other animals, something else that could help to explain the surprising properties of camel blood.
Another feature of camel physiology, described by the same authors in a separate paper published recently in the Emirates Journal of Food and Agriculture, is that when camels exercise, the concentration of red blood cells does not increase much. This contrasts with horses, where exercise leads to a significant increase in the haematocrit level.
When a camel is running, the shear rate of the blood increases. Because at higher shear rates in camels, the opt.HCT falls, so there would be little advantage in an increase in the haematocrit level – it would not give them any advantage.
However, Dr Windberger cautions that the camels were being exercised at a high altitude and the results may be different if similar tests are carried out closer to sea level. So, for the moment, it is difficult to draw any firm conclusions that could have relevance for racing camels.
She is now in touch with scientists in Saudi Arabia with a view to repeating the work in a desert environment at sea level.
“We would really like to repeat our experiment there to see if we can repeat it, if we can get the same values,” said Dr Windberger. The third co-author of the two recent studies is Dr Andreas Gleiss, also of the Medical University of Vienna.
The researchers are looking to carry out similar work with other camelid species to see if they, too, show the same physiological adaptations to the Arabian camel.
These detailed adaptations highlighted by the recent work are less obvious to the naked eye than the large hump that sits on the camel’s back – but they are just as remarkable.
newsdesk@thenational.ae
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
If you go
Flying
Despite the extreme distance, flying to Fairbanks is relatively simple, requiring just one transfer in Seattle, which can be reached directly from Dubai with Emirates for Dh6,800 return.
Touring
Gondwana Ecotours’ seven-day Polar Bear Adventure starts in Fairbanks in central Alaska before visiting Kaktovik and Utqiarvik on the North Slope. Polar bear viewing is highly likely in Kaktovik, with up to five two-hour boat tours included. Prices start from Dh11,500 per person, with all local flights, meals and accommodation included; gondwanaecotours.com
Mica
Director: Ismael Ferroukhi
Stars: Zakaria Inan, Sabrina Ouazani
3 stars
Quick%20facts
%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3EStorstockholms%20Lokaltrafik%20(SL)%20offers%20free%20guided%20tours%20of%20art%20in%20the%20metro%20and%20at%20the%20stations%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EThe%20tours%20are%20free%20of%20charge%3B%20all%20you%20need%20is%20a%20valid%20SL%20ticket%2C%20for%20which%20a%20single%20journey%20(valid%20for%2075%20minutes)%20costs%2039%20Swedish%20krone%20(%243.75)%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ETravel%20cards%20for%20unlimited%20journeys%20are%20priced%20at%20165%20Swedish%20krone%20for%2024%20hours%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EAvoid%20rush%20hour%20%E2%80%93%20between%209.30%20am%20and%204.30%20pm%20%E2%80%93%20to%20explore%20the%20artwork%20at%20leisure%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A
Racecard
%3Cp%3E1.45pm%3A%20Bin%20Dasmal%20Contracting%20Cup%20%E2%80%93%20Maiden%20(PA)%20Dh50%2C000%20(Dirt)%201%2C200m%3Cbr%3E2.15pm%3A%20Al%20Shafar%20Investment%20Cup%20%E2%80%93%20Maiden%20(TB)%20Dh60%2C000%20(D)%201%2C200m%3Cbr%3E2.45pm%3A%202023%20Cup%20by%20Emirates%20sprint%20series%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%20Dh84%2C000%20(D)%201%2C200m%3Cbr%3E3.15pm%3A%20HIVE%20Cup%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%20Dh68%2C000%20(D)%201%2C400m%3Cbr%3E3.45pm%3A%20Jebel%20Ali%20Mile%20Prep%20by%20Shadwell%20%E2%80%93%20Conditions%20(TB)%20Dh100%2C000%20(D)%201%2C600m%3Cbr%3E4.15pm%3A%20JARC%20Cup%20%E2%80%93%20Maiden%20(TB)%20Dh60%2C000%20(D)%201%2C600m%3Cbr%3E4.45pm%3A%20Deira%20Cup%20by%20Emirates%20Sprint%20series%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%20Dh76%2C000%20(D)%201%2C950m%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The biog
Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins
Favourite dish: Grilled fish
Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Captain Marvel
Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Starring: Brie Larson, Samuel L Jackson, Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn
4/5 stars
Pearls on a Branch: Oral Tales
Najlaa Khoury, Archipelago Books
Tour de France Stage 16:
165km run from Le Puy-en-Velay to Romans-sur-Isère
