10 Crazy Facts About Health Science

As medical science continues to progress, new facts emerge daily about our health and our bodies in general. Some of these facts are entirely new concepts that lead to entirely new fields of medical research. But, some of the strangest and most interesting bits of information that emerge are not new at all. They are often things that we have either intuitively known for generations, or things that we’ve learned through trial and error and experience, but have not been able to prove. Here are 10 health science facts that may or may not come as a surprise, but will explain a lot about ourselves, our health and our behavior.

Sun Linked to Violence

It’s no surprise that hot weather can make people irritable and cranky and lead to heated arguments and a loss of patience, but it turns out it may be much more serious than that. Health science data suggests that violent acts, from the start of wars to rape and assault, are more prevalent during the hot months of July and August.

Scientists are still trying to isolate the exact cause of this, but the facts are suggesting that serotonin levels decrease in violent subjects during the summer. Perhaps higher levels of testosterone cause this. Until the cause is found and a cure can be developed, let’s just remember to try to take it easy in the heat.

Poor Eyesight and Intelligence; More Than a Myth

Stereotypes certainly aren’t always correct, but sometimes they are closer than we like them to be. The stereotype of the nerd as a nearsighted, four-eyes, may be the truest one to date. For years it was assumed that smart people had poor eyesight simply because they spent so much time reading, which strained the eyes. It turns out that the condition may be inherently linked to the brain, physically. The brain and eyes are thought to share a common genetic base responsible for their growth, and are actually physically connected via the large optic nerves. If someone were to open your skull and pull out your brain, your eyes would still be attached to it. Perhaps the same anomaly that causes a brain to grow larger causes the eyes to go the opposite direction and not grow large enough. Shortsighted people of the world, rejoice! link

Eye Enhancement Surgery

The human eye comes in many different colors, depending on genetics and ethnic affiliation. Regardless of how beautiful a person’s peepers are, there are always people who simply aren’t happy with their natural color. For some reason, blue seems to be the most desirable eye color, possibly because blue eyes are one of the rarest colors. If you spend your time wishing your baby brows were actually baby blues, you are in luck. A California medical company has developed a procedure using a laser that can break up the brown pigment in the eye, revealing the blue color underneath, that all people are said to possess. After the 20 second procedure, it takes about two weeks for the blue color to shine through. Like any vanity surgery, the procedure isn’t cheap at between $5,000 and $7,000, but can you really put a price on the dream of blue eyes? link

The Anti-love Pill

Anyone who has ever been madly in love, especially if that love isn’t returned, knows exactly what a painful condition this can be. At best it can leave you feeling frustrated and anxious, and in worst cases can cause severe depression and lead to numerous health problems. Health science researchers studying the brain to determine what exactly causes us to love have found it linked to several chemicals. Once the chemicals were identified, it was a relatively easy thing to figure out either how to increase the chemicals, or how to counteract them. They identified the two chemical culprits as dopamine, the same chemical that gives us pleasure, and arginine vasotocin. Scientists believe that supplementing with these chemicals could counteract the feelings associated with love. Who knows? Soon, instead of moping around depressed when a relationship fails, we’ll simply head to the medicine cabinet for a pill. link

Fat Makes You Happy

I’m not talking about the succulent fat dripping from that rack of delicious baby back ribs you’re about to dive into, I’m talking about the stuff we all try so hard to get rid of and keep in check. Research has finally concluded that heavy people truly are jollier. Research has shown that people with higher body mass indexes, or the ratio of fat to lean tissue, are several times less likely to suffer from depression. Research is still ongoing to determine the exact cause, but at least in women, it’s believed to be linked to higher estrogen production, which decreases in lean women. Now we have one more reason not to stress so much about a few extra pounds here and there. link

Insane Asylum Frequent Fliers

There are few non-life-threatening conditions that are as unpleasant as a bad case of jet lag, but it may be more serious than once believed. As research into the many functions of melatonin continues, new information suggests that jetlag’s effects on melatonin can trigger a recurrence of previous or underlying mental disorders. The melatonin drop caused by jetlag’s effect on sleep can trigger bouts of severe mental disorders such as schizophrenia and manic depression. Research is now focused on other possible negative effects of melatonin reduction. The next time your fellow airline passenger is acting a little, crazy, he just might be. link

Coffee Gives You Special Powers

For years we have known that the caffeine in a cup of coffee is an excellent brain stimulant. It can provide energy to tired bodies and brains and it can make rested brains function better. Coffee may be so effective in stimulating the brain that it can actually make you see things others can’t. Research has shown that large amounts of caffeine can cause hallucinations. The suggested cause is the rise in cortisol, the stress hormone, that consuming caffeine can cause. If this turns out to be true, the next time you’re on a caffeine buzz feeling superior to your myopic peers, consider for a moment that many of your fellow geniuses may only exist in your overcharged brain. link

Roller Coaster Therapy

If you had a choice between taking pills, complex medical procedures and visits to the doctor, and an afternoon at an amusement park, which one would you choose? If mental health science research into the benefits of roller coasters continues heading in its current direction, your insurance provider may soon pay for your Disneyland tickets. So far, roller coaster health research is targeted at two conditions, asthma and bipolar disorder. In the case of asthma, the positive effects seem to come from the change in breathing pattern you experience when you’re on a challenging coaster. You inhale deeply, hold it and then let it out forcefully as you plunge. This turns out to be just the exercise asthmatic lugs need. In the case of bipolar disorder, the jury is still out, but the evidence suggests that the rapid changes back and forth between feelings of adrenaline fueled terror and dopamine fueled euphoria can regulate the chemical process in bipolar brains. A monthly trip to Six Flags might be what the doctor orders one of these days, and make paying those insurance premiums less painful. link

That’s Best Friend, Not Breast Friend

In the ongoing battle against breast cancer, a new enemy has been identified and it’s not who or what you might think. When you think of any kind of cancer, things like chemicals, unhealthy food, radiation and other similar factors usually get the well-deserved blame. What doesn’t get the blame are our furry canine friends, until now. Cancer researchers have poured over decades of data and determined that having regular contact with a dog is one thing that the majority of breast cancer patients have in common. Dogs tend to suffer breast cancer at a high rate, and now the theory is the dog can transmit whatever is causing this to humans. To add evidence to the claim, researchers cite the increased rate of breast cancer in Asian women, who don’t generally maintain dogs as pets, when they move to western countries. This is certainly not good news for dogs or women who adore them, but it may bring us one step closer to preventing the disease once and for all.

A Gut Feeling in the Heart

Regardless of how you feel about intuition, gut feelings or whatever you want to call it when you can feel something but have no idea why, when it comes to your health you should pay attention. Humans may not be able to predict the outcome of sporting events or make predictions about love, but it turns out we’re pretty good at determining when we’re sick. Research in the health science field shows that people can very frequently accurately predict that something is amiss even before symptoms occur. This tends to be especially true with heart related conditions such as heart attacks and other conditions related to the heart such as some tumors. The current theory is that the heart is able to send signals to the brain via neurotransmitters. Our modern analytical brains have lost the ability to directly interpret them, but we still get a certain feeling we can’t account for. The next time you have a feeling that something is wrong but you don’t know why, perhaps a trip to the doctor for a checkup is not such a bad idea.link