Body Facts & Fiction Q25
MORE INFO: The research team discovered that belly buttons are very diverse habitats! In total, they discovered 2,368 different species. More than half of those may be new to science. “The belly buttons reminded me of rain forests,” wrote Dr. Rob Dunn, a biologist at NC State and the project’s leader, in a blog post. […]
Body Facts & Fiction Q24
MORE INFO: The word “muscle” was first used by Middle French speakers in the 14th century. But the word evolved from the existing Latin words “mus” meaning “mouse” and “musculus,” which translates to both “little mouse” and “muscle.” Yes – ancient Romans believed that certain muscles, especially bicep muscles, looked like little mice running under […]
Body Facts & Fiction Q23
MORE INFO: The largest bone in the human body is the femur in the leg, “nearly 20 inches long (50 centimeters) in adults,” Glatter told Live Science in an email. “It’s commonly referred to as the thigh bone.” The femur “extends from the hip down towards the knee,” Glatter said. It normally constitutes about 27.5% […]
Body Facts & Fiction Q22
MORE INFO: Make no mistake about it: salt is essential for human health. The average adult’s body contains 250 grams (g) of sodium — less than 9 ounces, or about the amount in three or four saltshakers. Distributed throughout the body, salt is especially plentiful in body fluids ranging from blood, sweat, and tears to […]
Body Facts & Fiction Q21
MORE INFO: Normal human red blood cells have an average life span of about 120 days in the circulation after which they are engulfed by macrophages. This is an extremely efficient process as macrophages phagocytose about 5 million erythrocytes every second without any significant release of hemoglobin in the circulation. Despite large number of investigations, […]
Body Facts & Fiction Q20
MORE INFO: Generally, eating leads to a small rise in body temperature, as our metabolic rate rises to allow food to be digested. As the chemical responses of the digestive process take place inside your body, our temperature will rise. The heat that induces a small rise in body temperature is what generates these chemical […]
Body Facts & Fiction Q19
MORE INFO: Developing babies are surrounded by amniotic fluid, and their lungs are filled with this fluid. By 10–12 weeks of gestation, developing babies begin taking “practice” breaths. But these breaths provide them with no oxygen, and only refill the lungs with more amniotic fluid. SOURCE: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318993#:~:text=Developing%20babies%20are%20surrounded%20by,lungs%20with%20more%20amniotic%20fluid.
Body Facts & Fiction Q18
MORE INFO: Humans lose 200,000,000 skin cells every hour. During a 24-hour period, a person loses almost five thousand million skin cells. It has been a challenge for scientists to explain how this colossal shedding process can occur without there being a break in the skin barrier. SOURCE: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/11/161129114910.htm#:~:text=Humans%20lose%20200%2C000%2C000%20skin%20cells,break%20in%20the%20skin%20barrier.
Body Facts & Fiction Q17
MORE INFO: Several studies in mice had indicated that gut microbes can affect behavior, and small studies of people suggested this microbial repertoire is altered in depression. To test the link in a larger group, Jeroen Raes, a microbiologist at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium, and his colleagues took a closer look at […]
Body Facts & Fiction Q16
MORE INFO: Like other pleasurable sensations, listening to or creating music triggers the release of dopamine, a brain chemical that makes people feel engaged and motivated. As Harris points out, “An exercise class without music is unimaginable.” Sound processing begins in the brainstem, which also controls the rate of your heartbeat and respiration. This connection […]