Human
Amazing
Facts
- Four
out of five of men in Europe shared a common male ancestor
that lived as a primitive hunter on a wild continent some 40,000
years ago, researchers say.
- No
matter how tall you are in the morning, by evening you will be
about 1cm shorter. This is because your cartilage gradually squeezes
together over the course of the day. You regain your original
height while asleep.
- The
strongest muscles are two powerful muscles ------ one on
each side of the face ----- called masseters. They are used for
biting.
- On
average, muscles make up 40% of the body weight.
- It
is impossible to sneeze with your eyes opened.
- Drinking
too much water may cause a condition called hyponatraemia, which
is usually associated with Ecstasy-takers and marathon runners
and often mistaken for heat exhaution.
Interesting
Articles
Open
Sesame
Getting
therapeutic drugs into the brain is difficult because of
a firewall of cells that line the capillaries there. But Alessio
Fasano, a gastroenterologist at the University of Maryland, may
have found a way through. A few years ago, while studying cholera
vaccines, Fasano stumbled across a protein that made victim's intenstines
dangerously leaky. He later found similar molecules that unlock
tightly sealed barricades throughout the body, including the one
in the brain. Tests on brain tissue have confirmed that some of
these molecules can open the blood-brain barrier, at least briefly.
"many brain tumors are highly susceptible to drugs, but we
can't get the drugs across the barrier. Now we have a key,"
he says. -Jocelyn Selim
Coughing
one way to hold off cardiac arrest
VIENNA:
Coughing vigorously until an ambulance arrives could save the lives
of heart patients who are going into cardiac arrest, a doctor said
on Tuesday.
Dr
Tadeusz Petelenz, a researcher in Poland, said the technique, called
cough CPR, forces blood to the brain while the heart is starting
to fail and keeps patients conscious long enough to call for help.
It may also rectify their heart rhythm, he told a meeting of the
European Society of Cardiology.
He
recommended Cough CPR be taught to the public, but other experts
said the concept needs more study.
Cardiac
arrest can be caused by a sudden problem with the heart's rhythm
– ventricular fibrillation. It can also be caused by a heart
attack which occurs when a blockage cuts off the heart's blood supply.
– AP
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