Thursday, August 14, 2014

Interesting Facts About Humans

By Kristy McCaffrey

Within 200 milliseconds of seeing an image, the brain can decide whether it’s a face or something else.

We are made up of 100 trillion cells, 22 internal organs, 600 muscles, and 206 bones.


You can survive without sleep for eleven days only.


Skipping breakfast may do more than affect your waist. In a series of classic studies on what it takes to age in a robust and healthy way, public health titan Lester Breslow (who died in 2012 at age 97) showed over and over again that just a few habits were critical. They included not smoking, exercising, watching your weight, no excessive drinking, not snacking, eating breakfast, and getting 7-8 hours of sleep.


Sleep doesn't just clear your head. Scientists now say it literally flushes out waste and toxins that build up in your brain during the day. During sleep, cerebral spinal fluid is pumped around the brain, and flushes out waste products like a biological dishwasher.


In females, about 1/2 a million eggs are produced on average, out of which only 400 have the potential to develop into a baby. Men produce approximately 10 million sperm every day, enough to re-populate the earth within 6 months.


Sugar may give you wrinkles via a process called glycation, in which excess blood sugar binds to collagen in the skin, making it less elastic. Cutting back on sugar may help your skin retain its flexibility.


We all have traces of Neanderthal in us. It’s been more than 5 million years since we separated from chimps, but only 400,000 years since human and Neanderthal lineages split. Asian and Caucasian ancestors interbred with Neanderthals as recently as 37,000 years ago, when they crossed paths in Europe.




Photo Credits
http://www.answers.com/topic/musculo-skeletal-system
http://www.keepingyouwell.com/care-services/sleep-disorders
http://eofdreams.com/breakfast.html
http://www.nadamoo.com/insidescoop/cleansing-detoxing-your-body-naturally/
http://teacher.scholastic.com/commclub/earth_day_activity1/
http://eofdreams.com/sugar.html
http://www.abroadintheyard.com/evolution-of-neanderthals-over-last-100-years-says-more-about-us/

4 comments:

  1. Interesting factoids, Kristy. I think I need to take a nap and flush out my brain. I have to ask: what inspired you to write these factoids for your blog? Did you come across this while you were researching something?

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  2. Hi Sarah,
    Now we know that a nap is good thing! I keep a running list of interesting facts as I peruse online. I follow several science magazines. You never know when an idea might be useful. :-) Cheers!

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  3. Very interesting facts Kristy, especially the one about not snacking to keep you aging in a healthy way!! Sorry, but I have to snack hopefully in a healthy way or else I am no good to me or anyone else!!

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    1. I'm with you, Barbara. I need to snack a little to keep my blood sugar steady. Most days, I can keep it to something healthy. Thanks for stopping by!

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