Oct 30, 2014

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Red Blooded

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When you see blood oozing from a cut in your finger, you might assume that it is red because of the iron in it, rather as rust has a reddish hue. But the presence of the iron is a coincidence. The red colour arises because the iron is bound in a ring of atoms in haemoglobin called porphyrin and it's the shape of this structure that produces the colour. Just how red your haemoglobin is depends on whether there is oxygen bound to it. When there is oxygen present, it changes the shape of the porphyrin, giving the red blood cells a more vivid shade
Source:http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/jan/27/20-human-body-facts-science

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Your Sneeze Style May be Genetic

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Some honk, some shout, some just can’t seem to stop — your style of sneezing is one of the many things that makes you who you are. The basic process of sneezing (called sternutation) usually starts when some kind of irritant, from pollen to black pepper, is detected by the trigeminal nerve (it branches throughout the face and head to provide motor control and sensory information). This irritation triggers a sequence of reflexes to expel the intruder: a deep inhalation followed by the closing the glottis in the throat and a buildup of pressure in the lungs (“ah”), then the sudden opening of the glottis as the diaphragm forces air up through the mouth and nose, expelling the irritant (“choo!”). That expulsion has some real power — particles in an average sneeze travel 100 miles per hour, says Dr. Payne. And the particular style with which you execute this basic process could be something you inherit, Dr. Kao adds. “I’ve empirically noted similar styles of sneezes in families, probably because sneezes are a neurologic reflex we’re all born with,” he says. “Since tissues are very similar within families, all muscle actions, including smiling and laughing, will be similar also.”
Source: http://www.everydayhealth.com/ear-nose-throat-pictures/11-odd-facts-about-your-nose.aspx

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Our Skin

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If you're wondering exactly how many skin cells fall off, get ready for some staggering numbers. Scientists estimate that the human body is made up of around 10 trillion cells in total. Your skin makes up about 16 percent of your body weight, which means you have roughly 1.6 trillion skin cells [source: BBC]. Of course, this estimate can vary tremendously according to a person's size. The important thing is that you have a lot of skin cells. Of those billions of skin cells, between 30,000 and 40,000 of them fall off every hour. Over a 24-hour period, you lose almost a million skin cells [source: Boston Globe].
Where do they all go? The dust that collects on your tables, TV, windowsills and on those picture frames that are so hard to get clean is made mostly from dead human skin cells. In other words, your house is filled with former bits of yourself. In one year, you'll shed more than 8 pounds (3.6 kilograms) of dead skin. It gets even grosser: Your house is also filled with trillions of microscopic life forms called dust mites that eat your old dead skin.

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Height

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You are shortest in the morning, and tallest at night.
Another amazing fact that you may not know is that when you get up in the morning, you are actually taller than you normally are! This incredible occurrence is because during the course of a day, the gravitational pull pushes on your spine, along with other parts of your body. As you go lay down, your body then is no longer being ‘dragged down’ by gravitational pull, making your body go back to it’s normal size laying down!

Source: http://tumblfun.com/human-body-facts/gravity-and-height/

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The Brain

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Source: http://www.factslides.com/s-Brain

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