Obese, snoring mini pigs show how air flows through the throat during sleep apnea

With a small snout, a short and curled tail, and a big, round stomach, mini pigs are the epitome of cute—and sometimes, they snore. Now, researchers think these snoring pigs can be used to study obstructive sleep apnea. A study appearing January 19 in the journal Heliyon found that obese Yucatan mini pigs do have naturally occurring sleep apnea and that MRI scans taken while they're in sedated sleep can be used to gain new insights into what happens in the airways during sleep apnea episodes via computational flow dynamic (CFD) analysis.