breathable liquid
Scientists seen dunking the dachshund into the 'breathable liquid' Channel 5 Russia

KEY POINTS

  • Footage appears to show breakthrough in 'liquid breathing' technology.
  • Researchers working on liquid rich in oxygen which gets into the blood system.

Bizarre footage has emerged of a Russian scientist submerging a dog underwater as part of a scientific demonstration of research into "breathable liquid".

The clip broadcast on Russian television shows Russian deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin introducing the experiment involving the oxygen saturated liquid to Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić.

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Russian scientists are said to have been working on liquid breathing technology that entails filling lungs with liquid rich in oxygen, which gets into the blood system.

As part of the demonstration, a daschund was forced into a tube of such liquid to prove it works. Researchers claim dogs could survive up to 30 minutes in the water.

In the clip, the dog appears to calm down after being submerged in the container before being lifted back out seemingly unharmed, if not a little distressed.

Russia's Advanced Research Fund general director Vitaly Davydov said are hoping to test the technology on humans but said they will need to overcome a "psychological barrier".

He told TASS in 2016: "A person would actually have to suffocate in water voluntarily to start breathing with the liquid filling his lungs."

Dogs are the largest animals the researchers have tested on. Researchers say they appear to take to the water well. Davydov added: "All of the canine tester have survived and feel well after 'submergence' and lengthy liquid breathing session."

The experiment has also raised concerns in Russia over the treatment of the dog, reports BBC Monitoring.

Popular blogger @StalinGulag and critic of the Kremlin tweeted: "A Russian deputy PM and colleagues are ill-treating a poor dog. People aren't enough for them, they are not letting dogs live."

Pro-Kremlin journalist Dmitry Smirno added: "This is, of course, progress and a breakthrough, but I feel sorry for the dog."

Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for Russian president Vladmirim Putin, dismissed the criticism. He said: "Is the dog alive? Why are you asking questions? Nobody tortured [the dog] with water there."

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