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Lost genes may help explain how vampire bats survive on blood alone

Existing on a blood-only diet is something no other mammal can do

A vampire bat in flight at night

Vampire bats (one pictured) have evolved to survive on blood exclusively, a unique ability possibly enabled by the loss of 13 specific genes.

Sherri and Brock Fenton

By Richard Kemeny

Surviving on blood alone is no picnic. But a handful of genetic tweaks may have helped vampire bats evolve to become the only mammal known to feed exclusively on the stuff.