Book Review :D

This is an amazing article i have come across when i was searching for the original author of the bio-science thing. When I read it the only thought which came to my mind was to share this with all of you... Read and dont think too much lolzzz

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Why do men have nipples?

Because we are mammals and blessed with body hair, three middle ear bones, and the ability to nourish our young with milk that females produce in modified sweat glands called mammary glands.
Although females have the mammary glands, we all start out in a similar way in the embryo. During development, the embryo follows a female template until about six weeks, when the male sex chromosome kicks in for a male embryo. The embryo then begins to develop all of its male characteristics. Men are thus left with nipples and also with some breast tissue.
Men can even get breast cancer and there are some medical conditions that can cause male breasts to enlarge. Abnormal enlargement of the breasts in a male is known a gynecomastia. Gynecomastia can be caused by using anabolic steroids. So, if your favourite athlete suddenly develops man boobs and starts winning gold medals, you know the reason why.


CAN CARROTS HELP TO IMPROVE YOUR VISION?
The Roman emperor Caligula believed that carrots had the properties of an aphrodisiac. He is said to have fed the Senate a banquet of only carrots so that he could watch his senators fornicate like wild beasts.
However, the eyesight myth dates back only to the Second World War when the Royal Air Force was trying to hide the fact that it had developed a sophisticated radar system to shoot down German bombers. They said that the accuracy of British fighter pilots at night was a result of them being fed huge quantities of carrots.
It’s true that carrots are rich in betacarotene. The body converts betacarotene to vitamin A and extreme vitamin A deficiency can cause blindness. But only a small amount of betacarotene is necessary for good vision. If you’re not deficient in vitamin A, your vision won’t improve, no matter how many carrots you eat.

WHY DO SOME PEOPLE HAVE AN “OUTIE” BELLY BUTTON, SOME AN “INNIE”?
I always believed that you had an “innie” if the doctor tied a good knot and if he didn't you were cursed with that funny-looking “outie”. But I discovered when I delivered my first baby that there is no knot-tying at all. We just put on a clip, cut and wait for the umbilical cord to dry up and fall off. It is all random. Sometimes someone can develop an “outie” because they have a hernia at this site.

IS IT BAD TO CRACK YOUR KNUCKLES?
Cracking your knuckles is not as bad as people think. The usual argument is that it causes arthritis. Chronic knuckle-cracking may cause some damage, including stretching of the surrounding ligaments and a decrease in grip strength, but not arthritis. So what causes the pop? The sound is produced when bubbles burst in the synovial fluid surrounding the joint.

CAN POPPY SEEDS MAKE YOU TEST POSITIVE FOR HEROIN?
If you plan on competing in the Olympics, think twice before gorging on poppy-seed biscuits. Eating enough poppy seeds can cause your urine to test positive for opiates. It is difficult to say how many you need to eat to fail your drug test, but some reports have stated that poppy-seed bagels could generate a positive result. What’s the connection with heroin? Cultivated poppies are the source of opium, from which morphine and heroin are produced.

IF SOMEONE IS CHOKING AT A DINNER PARTY, CAN YOU DO A TRACHEOTOMY WITH AN OYSTER KNIFE?
Our friend Kim can do pretty much anything. She wanted to know the answer to this, and we realised that if anyone could do this, it would be her. She wouldn't let the procedure spoil her dinner party either. A tracheotomy is a dramatic attempt to relieve a blocked airway. Remember the MASH episode where Father Mulcahy sticks a pen in a guy’s throat to help him breathe? The oyster knife might work but please don’t try this at home. Call 999 instead.

WHY ARE YAWNS CONTAGIOUS?
There are several theories for what causes yawns and why they are contagious. It was originally thought that people yawned to get more oxygen, but this appears not to be true. The most common theory is behavioural. In an article on contagious yawns, a biopsychologist, Dr Steven M. Platek, of Drexel University in Philadelphia, suggests that people are unconsciously imitating others when they yawn. Humans are not the only species to yawn. Yawning is seen in many animals, including cats, fish and birds (no, we don’t know what a yawning fish looks like either).

WHY CAN YOU LIGHT A FART?
An average fart is 59 per cent nitrogen, 21 per cent hydrogen, 9 per cent carbon dioxide, 7 per cent methane and 4 per cent oxygen. Farts can travel at speeds of 10ft (3m) a second. A person produces about half a litre (1pt) of farts a day. Women fart as much as men. The gas that makes farts stink is hydrogen sulphide. This gas, which is less than 1 per cent of the make-up of a fart, contains sulphur, the smelly component. Foods that cause smelly farts include beans, cabbage, cheese, eggs, fizzy drinks. Most people pass gas about 14 times a day. Farts contain the flammable gases hydrogen and methane. The proportions of these gases depend largely on the bacteria that live in the colon which digest food that has not previously been absorbed by the gut. There is some danger associated with igniting flatulence. But students don’t seem to care.

SHOULD YOU WAIT HALF AN HOUR AFTER EATING TO GO SWIMMING?
In childhood, no time seemed longer than waiting to jump back in the water after a meal. But there is no medical evidence for this. When you put food in your mouth digestion begins immediately, but once the food arrives in your stomach it takes about four hours to process there completely. Food then passes into the small intestine, where it spends another two hours, and then on to the large intestine for another 14. These times vary widely, depending on what you eat, so don’t set your watch by it.
This doesn’t mean that it’s safe to eat 12 hamburgers and then try to swim the English Channel. Use your head and listen to signals from your body. If you feel pain, cramping, or severe fatigue, get out and, please, don’t puke in the pool.

WHY DO OLD LADIES GROW BEARDS?
The easy answer would be: “To work in a carnival”. But it’s not that simple. At menopause, the ratio of male hormones, or androgens, to oestrogen begins to change. This can produce mild increases in facial hair. The amount and thickness of facial hair is hereditary and how thickly follicles are distributed throughout the skin is determined at birth. Some ethnic groups or nationalities are more likely to develop facial hair than others. Some medical conditions can cause excessive hair growth, so it is always wise to check with your doctor, especially if you are a woman experiencing five ’clock shadow.

BEER BEFORE WINE, YOU’LL FEEL FINE; WINE BEFORE BEER, YOU’LL FEEL QUEER?
This one isn’t all that clear. Or maybe it’s because of those drinks we’ve just had. The biggest problem with this rhyme is that nobody seems to remember how it goes. As for the science, there is no research to prove or to disprove it. One theory about this little ditty attempts to explain that the carbonation in beer causes increased alcohol absorption. There is no proof that this is true. Nor should you believe that coffee will help you with a hangover or that bread will absorb the alcohol in your system. Only time will cure your pain as you wait for the alcohol to leave your bloodstream. Intoxication is defined as a blood alcohol level of 100 milligrams per decilitre of blood (0.1 per cent). In adults, the level usually falls about 15 to 20 mg/dL an hour. Everyone metabolises differently, but on average it would take about six to eight hours for you to return to normal from a mild drunken state. Simply put, alcohol causes intoxication, so the more you drink, the sicker you get. It doesn’t have anything to do with the order in which you tend to drink your beer or wine.
As for the dreaded hangover that follows, it is caused mainly by dehydration and interrupted sleep. The sleep and water that will ultimately cure you are not as interesting as some of the more popular hangover cures.

IS IT MORE SANITARY TO BE SPAT ON OR PEED ON?
There is no specific course in medical school to deal with all the secretions that you find yourself faced with as a doctor. It is definitely a rude awakening to find yourself being coughed on, spat on and even urinated on. All doctors have been doused in a variety of bodily fluids. One wonderful evening in accident and emergency, I heard a nurse screaming. I found her desperately trying to keep a drunk patient who had passed out from hitting the floor. He was not a small man, and the dead weight was too much to manage. The only way I could get him back on the stretcher was to grab him from behind and throw myself on the stretcher with the patient on top of me. Simple. I could then just roll him over. Unfortunately, I didn’t plan on him using me as a bedpan the instant we hit the bed. This is disgusting, of course, but when faced with the option of being urinated or spat on, I would choose urine. This is not a fetish. Normal urine is sterile. It contains fluids, salts and waste, but it’s free of bacteria, viruses and fungi. It is not always fragrant, but it is cleaner than spit. Spit contains large amounts of bacteria and, thus, is filthy.

CONTACT LENS IN THE BACK OF YOUR HEAD?
It is quite common for people to come into an emergency room because they can’t find their contact lens. Sometimes it is found folded and tucked behind the eyelid, but other times it is nowhere to be found. So where is it? Answer: probably on the bathroom floor at home. A little anatomy lesson: there is nowhere else for it to go. Other commonly “misplaced” items that lead people to accident and emergency: tampons, condoms and car keys.

IS SPERM NUTRITIOUS OR FATTENING?
You are what you eat. In this case, it is somewhat true, as sperm contains important genetic material. But sperm is not particularly nutritious or fattening. The average ejaculate, about one teaspoon, contains between two and three hundred million sperm. Total calories: about five. These calories are derived mainly from fructose, a type of sugar, secreted into semen by the prostate gland to provide the sperm with the energy to swim. Other good stuff found in semen includes water, vitamin C, citric acid, phosphate, bicarbonates, zinc, and prostaglandins. A veritable breakfast of champions.

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This was just an amazing read, so i thought its better to have it here to read after so much of Rationalism. :D
Extracted from Why Do Men Have Nipples? Published by Orion (?6.99)
Source : The Telegraph

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Cheers!!!