Scientists have discovered that a fresh water fish called Crucian carp, closely related to the goldfish, can live months without oxygen.

Inhabiting lakes and rivers of Europe and Asia, these are able to change the structure of their gills to boost oxygen uptake, allowing them to survive when they are starved of oxygen.

Understanding the mechanism of how animals cope with oxygen starvation, called anoxia, scientists said they could solve similar problems in humans.

The results of this study will be presented at the Annual Meeting for the Society for Experimental Biology Friday.