Amazing Facts - Human Body

Amazing Facts - Human Body

1. A human being loses an average of 40 to 100 strands of hair a day. 

2. A cough releases an explosive charge of air that moves at speeds up to 60 mph. 

3. Every time you lick a stamp, you consume 1/10 of a calorie. 

4. A fetus acquires fingerprints at the age of three months. 

5. A sneeze can exceed the speed of 100 mph. 

6. Every person has a unique tongue print. 

7. According to German researchers, the risk of heart attack is higher on Monday than any other day of the week. 

8. After spending hours working at a computer display, look at a blank piece of white paper. It will probably appear pink. 

9. An average human drinks about 16,000 gallons of water in a lifetime. 

10. A fingernail or toenail takes about 6 months to grow from base to tip. 

11. An average human scalp has 100,000 hairs. 

12. It takes 17 muscles to smile and 43 to frown. 

13. Babies are born with 300 bones, but by adulthood, we only have 206 in our bodies. 

14. Beards are the fastest growing hairs on the human body. If the average man never trimmed his beard, it would grow to nearly 30 feet long in his lifetime. 

15. By age sixty, most people have lost half of their taste buds. 

16. By the time you turn 70, your heart will have beat some two-and-a-half billion times (figuring on an average of 70 beats per minute). 

17. Each square inch of human skin consists of twenty feet of blood vessels. 

18. Every human spent half an hour as a single cell. 

19. Every square inch of the human body has an average of 32 million bacteria on it. 

20. Fingernails grow faster than toenails. 

21. Humans shed about 600,000 particles of skin every hour-about 1.5 pounds a year. By 70 years of age, an average person will have lost 105 pounds of skin. 

22. At rest, a person breathes about 14 to 16 times per minute. After exercise it could increase to over 60 times per minute. 

23. New babies at rest breathe between 40 and 50 times per minute. By age five it decreases to around 25 times per minute. 

24. The total surface area of the alveoli (tiny air sacs in the lungs) is the size of a tennis court. 

25. The lungs are the only organ in the body that can float on water. 

26. The lungs produce a detergent-like substance which reduces the surface tension of the fluid lining, allowing air in. 

27. Your heart is about the same size as your fist. 

28. An average adult body contains about five quarts of blood. 

29. All the blood vessels in the body joined end to end would stretch 62,000 miles or two and a half times around the earth. 

30. The heart circulates the body's blood supply about 1,000 times each day.

65 Amazing Facts About Human Body

65 Amazing Facts About Human Body

1. The nose has specialized smell - detecting cells with nerves taking information to the brain. Each nerve has up to 25 tiny micro - hairs that respond to minute odour particles.

2. The average 25 year old has up to 10,000 taste buds. After the age of 50, however, taste buds gradually die and a 70 - year - old may only have 5,000 taste buds left.

3. The average adult human being consumes 550 kilograms of food in a year.

4. At rest people breathe in and out 10 to 15 times each minute or an average of 20,000 each day.

5. More than 300 million alveoli in the lungs provide a huge surface area for taking in oxygen.

6. The human heart beats some 30 million times a year! 

7. At rest, each heartbeat pumps out around 80 millilitres of blood.

8. A tiny pinhead-sized drop of blood contains 5,000,000 red cells, 5,000 white cells, as well as 300,000 platelets. 

9. The body has more than 640 skeletal muscles.

10. There is no link between brain size and intelligence - Einstein’s brain weighed just 1.2 kilograms. 

11. Americans eat about 700 million pounds of peanut butter. 

12. Americans eat over 2 billion pounds of chocolate a year. 

13. In your lifetime, your digestive system may handle about 50 tons!! 

14. Your lungs contain almost 1500 miles of airways and over 300 million alveoli. 

15. Every minute you breathe in 13 pints of air. 

16. Plants are our partners in breathing. We breathe in air, use the oxygen in it, and release carbon dioxide. Plants take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen. Thank goodness! 

17. People tend to get more colds in the winter because we're indoors more often and in close proximity to other people. When people sneeze, cough and even breathe -germs go flying! 

18. The body of an adult contains over 60,000 miles of blood vessels! 

19. An adult's heart pumps nearly 4000 gallons of blood each day! 

20. The average three-year-old has two pints of blood in their body; the average adult at least five times more! 

21. A "heartbeat" is really the sound of the valves in the heart closing as they push blood through its chambers. 

22. You have over 30 facial muscles which create looks like surprise, happiness, sadness, and frowning. 

23. Eye muscles are the busiest muscles in the body. Scientists estimate they may move more than 100,000 times a day! 

24. The largest muscle in the body is the gluteus maximus muscle in the buttocks. 

25. The human hand has 27 bones; your face has 14! 

26. The longest bone in your body? Your thigh bone, the femur- it's about 1/4 of your height. 

27. The smallest is the stirrup bone in the ear which can measure 1/10 of an inch. 

28. Did you know that humans and giraffes have the same number of bones in their necks? Giraffe neck vertebrae are just much, much longer! 

29. You have over 230 moveable and semi-moveable joints in your body. 30. The endocrine system is under the control of the nervous system

31. You've got over 30 of these amazing hormones busily orchestrating and regulating such things as: 
-when you feel hungry or full
-how you sleepy
-our body temperature
 -how you break down and utilize the food you eat and whether you are fat or thin
-when you start puberty and how long it take
-show you handle stress-how much adrenaline you have in an emergency situation
-even how and when you grow
-It also makes you smelly, greasy, and gives you the ability to mother or father a child 

32. A weakened immune system is NOT a cause of the common cold.

33. The No. 1 way to boost your immune system is reducing stress

34. Laughing lowers levels of stress hormones and strengthens the immune system. Six-year-olds laugh an average of 300 times a day. Adults only laugh 15 to 100 times a day.

35. Vitamin C helps, too, if you don’t pee it out.

36. Over 90% of diseases are caused or complicated by stress.

37. People with higher number of moles tend to live longer than people with lesser number of moles.

38. The fastest growing nail is on the middle finger. And the nail on the middle finger of your dominant hand will grow the fastest of all. Why is not entirely known, but nail growth is related to the length of the finger, with the longest fingers growing nails the fastest and shortest the slowest.

39. Human hair is virtually indestructible. Aside from it’s flammability, human hair decays at such a slow rate that it is practically non-disintegrative. Hair cannot be destroyed by cold, change of climate, water, or other natural forces and it is resistant to many kinds of acids and corrosive chemicals.

40. The brain itself cannot feel pain. While the brain might be the pain center when you cut your finger or burn yourself, the brain itself does not have pain receptors and cannot feel pain.

41. The brain is much more active at night than during the day.

42. The brain operates on the same amount of power as 10-watt light bulb. The cartoon image of a light bulb over your head when a great thought occurs isn’t too far off the mark. Your brain generates as much energy as a small light bulb even when you’re sleeping.

43. Every human spent about half an hour as a single cell.

44. Babies are born with 300 bones, but by adulthood the number is reduced to 206.

45. A woman never runs out of eggs.  At birth she has between 1 and 2 million potential eggs (follicles) and by puberty has 300,000 to 400,000 viable eggs (follicles) that can be fertilized.

46. The male scrotum hangs outside the body since the internal body temperature is too high and will kill the sperm.

47. About 500 million sperm mature every day in a healthy male.

48. Approximately 75% of human waste is made of water.

49. Earwax production is necessary for good ear health. While many people find earwax to be disgusting, it’s actually a very important part of your ear’s defense system. It protects the delicate inner ear from bacteria, fungus, dirt and even insects. It also cleans and lubricates the ear canal.

50. Tears and mucus contain an enzyme (lysozyme) that breaks down the cell wall of many bacteria.

51. There are 29 bones altogether in the skull and jaw. They make a box to protect the brain, eyes and ears.

52. The spine is made up of 24 individual small bones (called vertebrae). Your spine supports your head and body. Each of the bones are linked by small joints which can move a little. Lots of small movements add up and let your spine bend a lot.

53. The nerve network allows the brain to communicate with your body. Nerves help transport information from different areas of the body. Some nerves give information to the brain and the others allow us to see, hear, smell, taste, and touch.

54. You should always get lots of rest so your eyes aren’t groggy. To keep your nose clean you should blow it often. If you are listening to music you shouldn’t have it too loud.

55. If you put your right knee on your left knee then hit your right knee cap with the side of your hand, your foot will jump. 

56. Your brain is made of nerves and tissue.  Your brain weighs 1,400 grams, that’s exactly 3 pounds. Your brain is made of your spinal cord and a huge network of nerves. Nerves are made of thin threads of nerve cells. Your nerves pass along messages to your brain.

57. At rest, the body takes in and breathes out about 10 liters of air each minute.

58. The right lung is slightly larger than the left.

59. The highest recorded "sneeze speed" is 165 km per hour.

60. The surface area of the lungs is roughly the same size as a tennis court.

61. The capillaries in the lungs would extend 1,600 kilometers if placed end to end.

62. We lose half a liter of water a day through breathing. This is the water vapor we see when we breathe onto glass.

63. A person at rest usually breathes between 12 and 15 times a minute.

64. The breathing rate is faster in children and women than in men.

65. A a typical male elephant’s rumble is around an average minimum of 12 Hz, a female's rumble around 13 Hz and a calf's around 22 Hz. 

Fascinating Facts About Human Body

Fascinating Facts About Human Body

1. The Skeletal System 
-  The largest bone is the pelvis, or hip bone. In fact it is made of six bones joined firmly together.
-  The longest bone is the 'femur', in the thigh. It makes up almost one quarter of the body's total height.
-  The smallest bone is the 'stirrup', deep in the ear. It is hardly larger than a grain of rice.
-  The ears and end of the nose do not have bones inside them. Their inner supports are cartilage or 'gristle', which is lighter and more flexible than bone. This is why the nose and ears can be bent.
-  After death, cartilage rots faster than bone. This is why the skulls of skeletons have no nose or ears.


2. The Muscular System
-  There are about 60 muscles in the face. Smiling is easier than frowning. It takes 20 muscles to smile and over 40 to frown.
-  The longest muscle in the body is the sartorius, from the outside of the hip, down and across to the inside of the knee. It rotates the thigh outwards and bends the knee.
-  The smallest muscle in the body is the stapedius, deep in the ear. It is only 5mm long and thinner than cotton thread. It is involved in hearing.
-  The biggest muscle in the body is the gluteus maximus, in the buttock. It pulls the leg backwards powerfully for walking, running and climbing steps.


3. The Circulatory System 
-  The heart beats around 3 billion times in the average person's life.
-  About 2 million blood cells die in the human body every second, and the same number are born each second.
-  Within a tiny droplet of blood, there are some 5 million red blood cells, 300,000 platelets and 10,000 white cells.
-  It takes about 1 minute for a red blood cell to circle the whole body.
-  Red blood cells make approximately 250,000 round trips of the body before returning to the bone marrow, where they were born, to die.
-  Red blood cells may live for about 4 months circulating throughout the body, feeding the 60 trillion other body cells.


4. The Nervous System 
-  The brain looks like a giant, wrinkled walnut.
-  Unlike other body cells, brain cells can not regenerate. Once brain cells are damaged they are not replaced.
-  The brain and spinal cord are surrounded and protected by cerebrospinal fluid.


5. The Immune System
-  The skin secretes antibacterial substances. These substances explain why you don't wake up in the morning with a layer of mold growing on your skin - most bacteria and spores that land on the skin die quickly.
-  Tears and mucus contain an enzyme (lysozyme) that breaks down the cell wall of many bacteria.
-  Lymph nodes contain filtering tissue and a large number of lymph cells. When fighting certain bacterial infections, the lymph nodes swell with bacteria and the cells fighting the bacteria, to the point where you can actually feel them. Swollen lymph nodes may therefore be a good indication that you have an infection of some sort.


6. The Digestive System 
-  Adults eat about 500 kg of food per year.
-  1.5 litres of saliva are produced each day.
-  The oesophagus is approximately 25cm long.
-  Muscles contract in waves to move the food down the oesophagus. This means that food would get to a person's stomach, even if they were standing on their head.
-  An adult’s stomach can hold approximately 1.5 litres of material.
-  Every day 11.5 litres of digested food, liquids and digestive juices flow through the digestive system, but only 100 mls of fluid are lost in faeces.
-  In the mouth, food is either cooled or warmed to a more suitable temperature.
-  We get two sets of teeth. Our 20 'Baby Teeth’ are replaced starting at around 6-7 years of age with our 32 ‘Adult Teeth’.


7. The Respiratory System
-  At rest, the adult body takes in and breathes out about 6 litres of air each minute.
-  The right lung is slightly larger than the left.
-  Hairs in the nose help to clean the air we breathe as well as warming it.
-  The highest recorded "sneeze speed" is 165 km per hour.
-  The surface area of the lungs is roughly the same size as a tennis court.
-  The capillaries in the lungs would extend 1,600 kilometres if placed end to end.
-  We lose half a litre of water a day through breathing. This is the water vapour we see when we breathe onto glass.
-  A person at rest usually breathes between 12 and 15 times a minute.
-  The breathing rate is faster in children and women than in men.

Fast Facts about Human Genetics

Fast Facts about Human Genetics

1. DNA stands for Deoxy-ribo-Nucleic Acid.

2. On February 28, 1953, Francis Crick and James Watson figured out the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).  That structure, a 'double helix', can "unzip" (separate into two long strands) to make copies of itself.  This discovery confirmed suspicions that DNA carried an organism's hereditary information.

3. DNA molecules are linked, one after another, like pearls on a very long string.

4. DNA molecules are the "software" that direct cellular activity and determine everything about an organism - from what it looks like to how long it is likely to live. Genes are pieces of this DNA, and are the fundamental units of heredity.

5. The complete human genome consists of approximately 3 billion DNA molecules.

6. On average, each chromosome has about 65 million DNA molecules.

7. A gene is a stretch of DNA molecules (ranging in length from thousands to tens of thousands of DNA molecules, in some cases they may be even larger).

8. Between genes, along the length of a chromosome, there may be long stretches of DNA, which have no known function.

9. A chromosome contains about 1000 genes.

10. Humans have approximately 30,000 different genes spread out over the 46 chromosomes.

11. Humans get one complete set of genes from each parent.

12. In April 2003, the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) celebrates the completion of the human genome sequence and the 50th anniversary of the description of the DNA double helix.

13. The nucleus, or control centre, of a cell, is where the DNA is coiled up into chromosomes. With the exception of reproductive cells, every cell has 46 chromosomes. Twenty-two pairs of the chromosomes are similar in terms of size, shape and genetic content. The twenty-third pair determines the sex of the individual, and is composed of either two x chromosomes (female) or an x and a y chromosome (male).

14. DNA molecules are incredibly long. If all of the DNA from all of your cells was stretched out into a single thread, it would extend to the moon and back about one million times!

15. It takes about eight hours for one of your cells to completely copy its DNA.

16. The human DNA code is made up of about three thousand million A,T, C, and Gs on each side of the DNA strand.

17. If you were to start reciting the order of the ATCGs in your DNA tomorrow morning, at a rate of 100 each minute, 57 years would pass before you reached the end (provided that you did not stop to eat, drink, sleep, use the bathroom etc.)

18. If you were to stretch out the DNA from those 46 chromosomes in one cell and lay it end to end, it would be over 2 yards in length.

19. If the total DNA in one person were laid in a straight line, it would stretch to the sun and back over 30 times (it’s 93 million miles from here to the sun).

20. You could fit one thousand nuclei across the period at the end of this sentence.

21. You could fit one million threads of DNA across the period at the end of this sentence.

22. Humans are 99.9% genetically identical - only 0.1% of our genetic make-up differs.

23. Information, and yet, all of it is contained inside the microscopic nucleus of a cell so tiny that it could easily fit on the head of a pin!

24. Our genes are remarkably similar to those of other life forms. For example, we share 98% of our genes with chimpanzees, 90% with mice, 85% with zebra fish, 21% with worms, and 7% with a simple bacterium such as E. coli.

25. Less than 2% of the total DNA carries instructions to make proteins. The rest is misleadingly called ‘junk’ DNA, because it is a hodge-podge of sequences that does not seem to code for anything.