Unusual conditions: what are gigantism and acromegaly?

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Unusual conditions: what are gigantism and acromegaly?

"Gigantism is embedded in the folklore of many civilisations – think of the giant Goliath who fought with the legendary King David in the Bible, for instance.

But it’s not all the stuff of legends. Present-day famous “giants” include André René Roussimoff, known as Andre the Giant (224cm), and Richard Kiel (218cm), otherwise known as Jaws in two James Bond movies."

Image Credit:
Photograph or image of Robert Pershing Wadlow (February 22, 1918 – July 15, 1940)
By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12592533

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What happens to your body when you’re dehydrated?

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What happens to your body when you’re dehydrated?

By the time you feel thirsty your body is already dehydrated; our thirst mechanism lags behind our actual level of hydration.

"Research shows that as little as 1% dehydration negatively affects your mood, attention, memory and motor coordination. Data in humans is lacking and contradictory, but it appears that brain tissue fluid decreaseswith dehydration, thus reducing brain volume and temporarily affecting cell function."

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How electricity could replace your medications

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How electricity could replace your medications

Tracey has been championing the practice of using electric signals for purposes of neuromodulation, with the ultimate goal of maintaining immunological homeostasis. 

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Word of the day - Metaplasia

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Word of the day - Metaplasia

Word of the day

Metaplasia -  is the reversible replacement of one differentiated cell type with another mature differentiated cell type. The change from one type of cell to another may generally be a part of normal maturation process or caused by some sort of abnormal stimulus. In simplistic terms, it is as if the original cells are not robust enough to withstand the new environment, and so they change into another type more suited to the new environment. If the stimulus that caused metaplasia is removed or ceases, tissues return to their normal pattern of differentiation.

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Acupuncture for neck pain?

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Acupuncture for neck pain?

The reality is this - opioids have side effects are people are looking for alternative pain management strategies.

Opioid-based painkillers are problematic for several reasons. Their efficacy wane over time and they have been linked to addiction and overdose deaths. Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recently advised doctors to seriously restrict their use.

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Can a human ever run 100m under nine seconds?

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Can a human ever run 100m under nine seconds?

"Our thoughts, based on 20 years of investigating the biomechanics of sprinting, are “of course they can”. There is no limit to human sprinting in sight yet. Humans have run competitively (with time records available) for only about 100 years. In the context of human evolution, this is far too short a period to analyse with a view of making long-term predictions for the future. Records are still being broken, and training and technology (for example, track surfaces and running spikes) are continuously developed further."

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