Of course, now we know much more about the human body than ever before but despite the sheer number of important research, many of our features still remain in riddles. For instance:
1. Why do we have fingerprints?
A photo from open sources
Despite the obvious benefits of fingerprints (they, for example, help establish a person’s personality), science is really nothing not aware of their natural function. Some scientists have developed sophisticated computer models to understand how prints are formed, and although we now know about it, why evolution gave them we don’t know anything at all.
Perhaps researchers will soon be able to solve this riddle. IN there are several families with a strange genetic a disorder called adermatoglyphia – in these people no fingerprints. In addition, they sweat much less, and they are as healthy as everyone else. Researchers hope that studying these families and their genome will help to unravel fingerprint evolutionary mystery.
2. How do probiotics work?
A photo from open sources
If you have ever seen an advertisement for yogurt, you may have heard the word probiotics or living bacteria. Many of the manufacturers advertised yogurts claim their product contains live probiotic cultures that have beneficial effects on overall health. It sounds like yogurt makers have discovered something new, but science has long known that probiotics are kind beneficial bacteria living in the human intestines. And no matter how strange, yogurt makers do not say what exactly these living cultures make healthy.
Nobody says anything significant in the first place because that no one knows how probiotics work. In fact, many of the probiotics that are consumed as food additives or added to food, use because of their shelf life fitness, and not because they are good for your health. Of course harm not from them, but scientists are just beginning to study which ones bacteria benefits of every kind give health benefits.
Researchers believe that if they can identify the effect of all beneficial bacteria on the body, they will be able to answer and many other questions in particular, learn a lot about treatment various diseases. True, the answer will probably take a lot time because there are hundreds of species of probiotic bacteria.
3. Why do we have different blood types?
A photo from open sources
You probably know that there are four main blood types, and if you ever donated blood for analysis, you know which your blood type. This is a pretty important thing, because the blood is not the same groups can ruin you if you suddenly have to do serious operation.
Since blood types first appeared 20 million years ago, we there was a lot of time to learn about them, although, of course, research started much later. We are well aware of the principles of work of groups blood, but still have no idea why they are different and why is this necessary in terms of evolution.
Blood groups are classified by antigens in blood cells. These antigens are antibody signals that destroy foreign cells in the body. Antibodies perfectly “contact” with antigens of the correct type, but attack other antigens, in resulting in the wrong type of blood during transfusion or transplanting the wrong organ can be fatal.
Yes, science knows a lot about blood types, but no less questions to still remain unanswered. For example, we have no idea why need these antigens. It can be assumed that they have some kind of attitude to diseases and immunity, as evidenced by some interesting finds.
For example, scientists found that people with a third blood group more susceptible to E. coli, and those who are not Duffy’s group system, are almost completely immune to one of forms of malaria. Although the reasons for the appearance of blood groups speak impossible, but it is believed that they appeared as a way to combat infectious diseases.
4. Does the brain remain active after decapitation?
A photo from open sources
There are many legends about how headless people in for several terrifying minutes after death remain in consciousness. In some stories, a person blinks or commits others. movements to show that perfectly aware of everything. Sounds like children’s horror story, but in reality we do not know how long the brain can remain active in such a situation and whether at all.
Research is difficult to do, primarily because scientists can’t just take and decapitate a person. The only real opportunity to collect data existed in France before and after the revolution, when the main method of execution was guillotine – then several experiments were carried out, but only one of them is documented.
The case was described by Dr. Gabriel Borough: eyes on a severed head men opened up and briefly focused on a certain point before closing forever. The doctor concluded that some functions remain active for almost 30 seconds after decapitation, but he could not establish whether human consciousness.
5. Do people have pheromones?
A photo from open sources
Animals, when it comes to reproduction, rely on partner pheromone odor. Because of this, researchers are trying find out if pheromones play a role in human interaction. But the more answers we get, the more we get confused. Many studies have shown that smells definitely affect people, but with pheromones are a little more complicated.
For a long time, scientists were not sure whether people a special olfactory organ like what they use to detect pheromones animals. Nevertheless, we have one, but very undeveloped and small, so it is unclear whether it works at all.
According to the study, all people have their own unique smell, to which we owe our genome. For instance, newborn babies can recognize by the smell of their mothers, and if women will regularly smell each other, then their the menstrual cycle can be synchronized. Obviously learn about the human sense of smell needs much more.
6. What happens when lightning strikes someone?
A photo from open sources
If you have ever been outside during a thunderstorm, especially near metal, you probably wondered what could be inside you strike lightning. This is a rather frightening prospect: after the strike lightning can cause permanent brain damage, very severe burns, but you can even die. Despite how all this sounds dreadful, most of the victims survive. Some even remain completely unscathed, and science has not the slightest ideas why.
To find out what’s what, the researchers went to South Africa, where thunderstorms with lightning occur more often and are stronger than anywhere else in the world. They found that lightning is special way through our bodies. They decided that it has related to the incredible electric charge passing through person in a short period of time. However, many questions remain unanswered, and the more we know, the more victims will be saved.
7. How can a woman not know that she is pregnant?
A photo from open sources
Agree, it seems doubtful: the woman claims that I was very surprised when she suddenly gave birth to a child. All nine months she lived a normal life and completely suspected nothing, but here – the baby was born. It really does, albeit quite rarely, so studying this phenomenon is very difficult.
One of the reasons a woman may not know that she is pregnant Is overweight, which in turn means that it can gain more and more weight, so that extra weight child and will not notice.
It seems to be worth thinking about a very serious violation menstrual cycle, but in many women, especially those who overweight, cycles are irregular, and what menstruation is not many months in a row, for them, in principle, is normal. In addition, some women experience small regular bleeding that can be mistakenly taken for menstruation.
True, sometimes this happens with completely healthy by women. One patient of Dr. Sabrina Sukhan – just such happening. This woman had normal weight, she even worked in medical field, so she knew all the signs of pregnancy, but not suspected that she was pregnant until she gave birth. Doctors still cannot understand how this is possible.
8. How do mitochondria work?
A photo from open sources
Mitochondria are an integral part of our body. The sole purpose of microscopic organelles is to transform all the food we consume into energy. For a very long time we did not know about mitochondria is almost nothing, but science is close to understanding how they work.
More recently, scientists have learned how mitochondria carry energy. Scientists also learned that mitochondria really like calcium, which can sometimes cause problems: if mitochondria absorb too much calcium, it can kill cells. It’s connected with diseases like type 2 diabetes.
Researchers believe that these diseases affect the process of transmitting signals through which the body communicates mitochondria, how much calcium is absorbed, and how much is excreted. A Harvard research team recently managed to bring in catalog each protein in mitochondria, including all proteins, associated with the absorption of calcium. So far, there is little information, but this we are about to solve the mystery.
9. Why does the ear consist of three bones?
A photo from open sources
We are used to hearing sounds. How this works is understandable in principle. If the ears do not undergo severe deformations, then they fulfill their the function is very good and does not require special care. But not at all kinds of ears are the same. Stanford Researcher Sunil Puria noted that in reptiles and birds the ear consists of two bones, and in mammals – there are three of them. Why is unknown.
According to Puria, we hear in several ways. First way obvious – sound passes through our ears. But still we hear when vibrations from the movement of our vocal cords pass through the bones of our skull. When you speak, you hear your own voice not the way everyone else hears it. This explains why we are so own voices are unpleasant, if we hear them from the side – for example, in audio or video recordings.
The best theory of Puria, why our ears are made up of three bones, based on a strange disease called exposure syndrome front semicircular canal. This disease can lead to tissue reduction in the ear canal, and as a result, people hear extraneous sounds that are usually not perceived, such as beats own heart. Puria suggests that perhaps the third the ear bone is needed in order to minimize these effects, but detailed research is needed.
10. What bacteria live in our languages?
A photo from open sources
It would seem that the human mouth certainly does not contain any secrets: we know what teeth are and how they work, we understand that they are gums, and we know a lot about taste buds. A at first glance, there’s nothing to hide the language, but in reality the language – it’s just a storehouse of secrets.
Doctors from all over the world would like to get living for research. in the language of bacteria to study them in as much detail as possible and save thereby life. However, most bacteria from our languages do not grow in a petri dish so classify and understand them very difficult.
This misunderstanding is the biggest stumbling block in the treatment. gum disease like periodontitis. Doctors do not really know how his treat because the types of bacteria that cause periodontitis, very much, but too little is known about them.
Recently, researchers still managed to grow one bacterium from the oral cavity using DNA and they hope this will allow better understand how to deal with diseases of the oral cavity. Not less, there are too many bacteria, and so far many microorganisms, living in our mouths remain a mystery.
DNA Time Life Health Evolution
