Biology pertaining to humans
3
votes
2answers
111 views
Physiological indicators of happiness and well being
If I understand it correctly, levels of serotonin in the brain can indicate if a person is happy. What other physiological measures indicate happiness or well being for a humans?
I am looking for ...
7
votes
1answer
139 views
Why are some menstrual cycles irregular?
A friend of mine asked me this today, and I didn't know. I remember studying the menstrual cycle a few years ago, but I can't remember the details (other than it was very hormone-related), and so I ...
4
votes
1answer
54 views
Why does plucking nose hair cause tears in the eyes?
It's not a particularly sad or painful thing to pluck a few nose hairs, but it's common for the tear ducts to wet up when doing this.
I would like to know the physiological reason for the ...
3
votes
1answer
44 views
Why does it hurt more when you touch a nerve directly?
I am not a biologist nor know much about biology (so please explain in layman's terms) however I have always been curious as to why this is.
What causes the difference in pain between touching an ...
5
votes
0answers
79 views
Does muscle growth trigger angiogenesis?
So heavier people generally have more blood than lighter people (this is why heavier people generally need to take higher doses of medication for the same effect of medication). They also have more ...
4
votes
0answers
42 views
Is human face more resistant to cold than other body parts?
Walking outside tonight in -15˚C I realized an interesting observation: While I felt cold on most part of my body, my face (although the only uncovered part) didn't really feel cold. It registered the ...
4
votes
0answers
50 views
Functionality of vitamin A, Bx, C, D, E, K as used in cosmetics for the skin?
I was wondering if someone can compare the functionality of vitamin A, Bx (x means numbers, such as 1, 2, 3, ...), C, D, E, K in the skin? They are used in cosmetics but what is their actual effect?
...
4
votes
0answers
44 views
What light intensity determines the start/end of a photoperiod in humans?
I'm reading this article, which discusses the influence of Long Photoperiod (LP) and Short Photoperiod (SP) on melatonin production:
HIOMT drives the photoperiodic changes in the amplitude of the ...
4
votes
0answers
102 views
How do the pharmacodynamics of the NSAIDs differ and are there “resistant” COX phenotypes?
I know that the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (e.g., aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen) affect the enzymes cyclooxygenase (types I and II).
Is there any difference in the degree to which these ...
3
votes
0answers
45 views
What is the evolutionary reason behind the fragility of teeth?
Almost all organs in the human body have a rather large threshold within which the organ or tissue is capable of repairing itself using materials supplied by the body, whether it's made from organic ...
3
votes
0answers
422 views
What causes random long white body hairs?
I'm sure many of you have experienced this - you scratch your back or brush your hand over your arm and find a ridiculously long thin white hair, sometimes as long as 3 or 4 inches. I know a few ...
3
votes
0answers
122 views
Can a person really die quickly from biting their tongue?
A common trope in certain circles (like Eastern martial fiction), is someone committing quick suicide by biting his or her tongue. But is this really possible?
The internet turns up millions of ...
3
votes
0answers
48 views
How does healing work?
I stacked my bike and split my head right open. About three weeks later the scab falls off and the skin is sealed over, like magic! How does it all work? How does the brain know that part of the ...
3
votes
0answers
71 views
What is the effect of garlic on intestinal flora?
Now that we can compare whole microbiomes, has there been investigations on the effect of garlic (or diallyl disulfide, its main ingredient) on intestinal flora? From the proven antimicrobial ...
3
votes
0answers
49 views
What controls the feeling of discomfort/comfort before and after sleep?
I'm interested in which biological systems or hormones are involved in the following phenomenon:
Before sleep it may be difficult to find a comfortable position, and muscular aches and pains are more ...
2
votes
0answers
19 views
HSL Lightness vs Eye sensitivity
In a monochromatic spectrum, is the human eye equally able to distinguish between lighter colors just as it is in distinguishing between darker colors? I mean is there really a linear relationship ...
2
votes
0answers
31 views
What nutrients can humans absorb in the mouth?
For instance, I realise being able to absorb simple sugars in the mouth is pivotal in the rapid action of oral glucose gel. Thus I was wondering what nutrients in general can be absorbed directly ...
2
votes
0answers
45 views
Can frequent ultrasound diagnostics be harmful?
Are there any short or long term effects apparent in tissues if a zone (or the whole) of human body is scanned with ultrasonic waves often?
2
votes
0answers
34 views
Do humans have chemosensors for nutrients or chemicals?
I'm reading about chemoreceptors on Wikipedia, and see that the typical ones are mentioned: taste, smell, co2. I would like to learn more about the other kinds of chemoreceptors that humans may ...
2
votes
0answers
112 views
Are inflammation and anxiety connected?
I've been reading a curious paper about the use of cannabis, and one of the passages piqued my interest:
There’s also been a lot of work done on another constituent of
marijuana, cannabinoid, ...
2
votes
0answers
63 views
Virucides - Herbal and otherwise, for HHV6 type virus or any inner-cell virus
Does anyone know where I can find a reliable list of virucides (not anti-virus) that can be used by humans? This virucide must be able to affect viruses that are already inside the cells. St John's ...
2
votes
0answers
85 views
How does fever physically work?
What is the physical mechanism that causes temperature to rise during a fever? I know that somehow the hypothalamus "orders" to increase the standard body temperature regulation, and this should ...
2
votes
0answers
18 views
How to seek information on the duration of biological entrainment processes in mammals?
This is a question that is a little bit hard to define for me. I'm interested in learning more about times of "attractor/entrainment" processes that may take place in the body/brain of mammals, and ...
2
votes
0answers
40 views
Are there any situations in which phenylephrine is preferred to pseudoephedrine?
In the mid 2000s in the US, due to issues of drug enforcement, pseudoephedrine containing medications were brought behind the pharmacy counter and in most cases require ID, and phenylephrine was ...
1
vote
0answers
16 views
What effect do oligosaccharides, like those found in legumes, have on the composition of intestinal flora in humans and if so how so?
I know that intestinal flora metabolising oligosaccharides like those found in legumes is the cause for the well known fact that legumes cause flatulence but does an oligosaccharide-rich intestine ...
1
vote
0answers
29 views
Why do ion concentrations change with different secretion rates in pancreatic juice?
Why is it that when secretory rate increases in the pancreas the concentration of chloride ions decreases, and the concentration of bicarbonate increases in the production of isotonic NaCl secretion?
...
1
vote
0answers
62 views
How does geography affect morphological features of the human body
I've seen many times how a person born in one place, goes to another country for a long time, and then they start looking more like the people there, but I never found out how it works.
This report ...
1
vote
0answers
34 views
How do omega-3 fatty acids reduce cholesterol at the molecular level?
I have heard that omega-3 fatty acids found in fish are a good way to prevent/reduce cholesterol problems.
My question is how do omega-3 fatty acids do that: what are they doing on a chemical level ...
1
vote
0answers
38 views
Are there nutritional benefits to drinking diluted urine?
I know that urine drinking is a widespread practice (with a long history). The main reason that people give today involves there being nutrients in urine.
If there are nutrients to be gained, why is ...
1
vote
0answers
17 views
Are anti-inflammatories useful for tendinosis?
I am wondering why some doctors prescribe anti-inflammatory treatments for conditions that are supposedly not inflammatory such as tendinosis.
From my understanding, only tendinitis a swollen tendon ...
1
vote
0answers
43 views
What are the physiological effects of wine?
I have read that alcohol in general and wine in particular can have advantageous as well as detrimental effects on human health. Is this true? What are the physiological effects of consuming wine in ...
1
vote
0answers
19 views
Is there an entry-level circadian model of serotonin, ghrelin, dopamine and the sense of well being?
I've long been interested in circadian rhythms and recently came across a variety of articles that appear to indicate that the following neurotransmitters, transferases and hormones are connected. ...
1
vote
0answers
33 views
Why do people feel extreme cold at different temperatures compared to other people of same body structure?
I have seen some people shivering in the room temperature of 18°C while others of similar body structure do not feel that much amount of cold.
Of course the clothing of both people is similar if ...
1
vote
0answers
13 views
What are studies linking dietary choices over life with probability of reaching higher ages?
Are there big studies that link diet and lifestyle choices with the probability of reaching a certain age? What are their conclusions?
1
vote
0answers
95 views
Can dry air make a person more prone to catching a cold?
I'm interested if there is a correlation between room air humidity and risk of catching a cold.
1
vote
0answers
30 views
Does Dorsal Raphe Nuclei firing pattern change in response to voluntary breathing?
I'm reading this paper, which discusses how Serotonin may be involved in motor functions of mammals: 5-HT and motor control: a hypothesis .
The paper includes the following diagram of the Dorsal ...
1
vote
0answers
68 views
What triggers creative thought in humans?
Creativity, innovation and ideation. Is there something in the brain that makes the brain think that way, as opposed to "normal baseline". What triggers creative thought in humans?
1
vote
0answers
70 views
Why is membrane potential not zero at equilibrium?
For the squid giant axon, the membrane potential computed by the Goldman equation is -60mV. And the Nernst potentials are (the differences between the K+ and the Na+'s Nernst potential and the ...
1
vote
0answers
19 views
Can we make any judgements about sleep or readiness to sleep from a heart rate metric and/or pulse oxymetry?
I'm looking at inexpensive and un-intrusive ways to quantify the state of human body/mind . One of these is Actigraphy, which is a study of human motion over time. This can be done with an iPhone ...
1
vote
0answers
27 views
Can progerin formation be triggered explicitly?
Corollary to my question - Could inhibition of progerin formation slow the rate at which a body ages?
Is it possible to activate/trigger progerin formation explicitly? Say, by some hormonal/chemical ...
1
vote
0answers
95 views
What is the timing of information assimilation within a human brain?
A little background: I'm an avid dreamer and have great dream recall, sometimes up to 5-7 per night.
In my experience, I can sometimes trace some elements of the dream to an event that occured ...
1
vote
0answers
46 views
Are the intestinal flora substantially different within a diverticulum of the colon?
From the Wikipedia page for the vermiform appendix:
This proposal is based on a new understanding of how the immune system supports the growth of beneficial intestinal bacteria, in combination ...
0
votes
0answers
25 views
What processes are responsible for focusing on an image only seen by one of the eyes?
When a person is spying from around a corner with only one eye, it's rather easy to ignore the other eye's image, since it's probably much darker, because one usually spies around a corner standing ...
0
votes
0answers
29 views
Size order of human organs
Wikipedia states that the liver is the largest internal organ in the human body.
How does it relate to the sizes of ex. the lungs and small intestines? I've been having this personal image for years ...
0
votes
0answers
22 views
Perception of distant lights without glasses
I am fairly short-sighted and wear glasses pretty much all the time. Naively, I would expect that when I take my glasses off, the image I see should look very much the same as as a photograph that's ...
0
votes
0answers
40 views
Why does strenous exercise cause vision of “lights”?
I had a hard climb a week ago. I got so tired then any time I closed my eyes I saw these lights inside my head. I see these lights almost every time that I run fast or some thing like that. What are ...
0
votes
0answers
25 views
Are there different metabolic pathways leading to “sleep”?
First of all, I apologize if this question does not belong on biology.stackexchange.
I've long been interested in sleep and recently postulated this question in light of reading about ...
0
votes
0answers
90 views
Can the sleep/wake cycle be influenced by non-visible spectrum electro-magnetic radiation?
I've been reading a few papers on Melanopsin and Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN), and see that the sleep/wake transition is ...
