A ball python from Leinwand’s lab. CREDIT: Yuxiao Tan. Compared with the hearts of pythons who hadn’t eaten, the fed pythons increased their own mass by close to 25 percent after eating.

Pythons can eat up to quarter of their body weight, or 40 pounds, in one meal. It turns out those huge meals make their hearts stronger and may offer insight into how to treat heart disease in humans.