Key Messages
Discover The Spectacularly Complex And Profoundly Strange World Of Human Bodies
Have you ever stopped to think about what’s going on inside your own body right now? It’s a complex and strange thing, and understanding how every part works together is truly amazing.
In The Body Book by Craig Dalton, you can take a journey through your body and gain insight into the mysteries of what’s going on inside you.
You’ll learn about the vital elements that make us who we are – from our brain and heart to our microscopic microbes.
You’ll understand more about the role of sleep, as well as the challenges of managing a healthy diet and hormones such as sex drive and affection.
Plus, you’ll even get to find out how much it would cost to build actor Benedict Cumberbatch from scratch!
So why not take a little time to explore what’s going on inside you right now? With The Body Book, you will gain knowledge into your incredible inner workings – giving you an appreciation for how remarkable we really are.
The Cost Of Building A Human Being Is Uncertain, But What Science Can Tell Us About Life Is Truly Wonderful
The human body is a wondrous and miraculous thing.
To illustrate this point, consider the fact that scientists have tried to estimate how much it would cost to build an exact replica of actor Benedict Cumberbatch.
The Royal Society of Chemistry estimated that you’d need 59 elements in total, although only 6 in any serious quantity: carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium and phosphorous; all together meaning a cost of $96,546.79 – not including labor or taxes!
But even with all these elements at our disposal assembling them into a functioning human being would be near impossible due to the complex network of cells which form our bodies.
Even science can’t tell us exactly life begins or how cells coordinate themselves create such an intricate system within us.
Still science has been able to provide us insight by uncovering unique facts such as one meter of DNA found inside each cell containing the information necessary to make you as well as 3 billion years worth of encoded information from your ancestors connecting you directly back to them!
It’s amazing how long this system can run for too with just water and food adequately fueling it for decades on end.
Furthermore considering life originated from nothing more than a few single cells floating around in the ocean makes its development over time even more astounding – truly revealing why it is so miraculous!
We All Depend Onour Microscopic Friends: The Miraculous World Of Microbes
We’re not alone in our bodies — each of us contains trillions of living things, known collectively as the human microbiota.
Made up of bacteria, viruses, archaea, fungi and protists, these microscopic organisms play a vital role in our health and wellbeing.
Without them, we would never exist in the first place!
Our microbiota helps us to digest food; its bacteria produce ten thousand digestive enzymes while we only make 20 on our own.
It makes up around 10 percent of the calories we consume and is considered virtually another organ inside us.
Fortunately for us, of the millions of microbes that exist, only 1,415 are known to cause disease in humans.
But even so, their diseases account for a third of all human deaths.
Antibiotics such as penicillin have been instrumental in fighting microbe-caused illness – but they can be ineffective if taken too often or indiscriminately due to bacterial resistance developing over time.
This is why it’s important that antibiotics are prescribed carefully and wisely – to help prevent further antibiotic resistance from building up and threatening us all with potentially fatal illnesses.
The Human Brain – The Amazingly Powerful, Soft, And Universal Organ That Regulates Our Senses, Emotions And More
Our heads contain something extraordinary: our brains.
The brain is an incredible structure, composed of 75-80 percent water, and is sealed away from the outside world, safeguarding all the amazing knowing we possess.
It’s hard working too, needing only as many calories as you’d get from a blueberry muffin to power it – but it responds with truly remarkable results.
It is made up of three main sections: the cerebrum, cerebellum and brainstem; along with a plethora of smaller neural networks such as the hypothalamus to regulate hunger and thirst.
Despite their great complexity, these parts make up an incredibly efficient system that will last us our entire life.
And even though the brains of animals like mice are just about as complexly formed and sized, ours has foraged some truly remarkable features its own.
From controlling facial expressions to regulating sleeping patterns – our brain does it all!
When you consider that other creatures don’t even have such a finely-map out organ in their head to begin with, it’s clear why your brain should be appreciated for its immense power – your head contains one of the most extraordinary things anywhere: your brain.
The Miraculous Power Of The Heart: How Our Blood Keeps Us Alive
For centuries, our understanding of the heart and blood have been far from perfect.
In fact, for a long time, the treatment of blood was emblematic of just how wrong doctors could be: most famously with the practice of bloodletting, which likely did more harm than good.
But now, thanks to advances in medical technology and knowledge, our understanding has improved immensely.
We now know that the heart isn’t where we think it is – on the left-hand side of the chest – it’s more towards the center.
In addition, its shape also isn’t like what we use to symbolize it.
Holding such an important role in our bodies – pushing blood around and managing 3.5 billion beats over a lifetime – this organ isn’t linked to emotions like many thought before.
We also understand that blood performs various tasks: not only does it carry oxygen and transport chemicals throughout our bodies, but it helps remove waste as well as kills pathogens and regulate our temperature.
Its four main constituents (plasma, red/white cells, platelets) are all carefully balanced within us- something scientists still don’t entirely comprehend today.
There has been growing progress in transfusing or even creating artificial blood through nanotechnology yet despite these advancements ,we still have far to go until we fully understand this complex molecular mixture coursing through our veins each day .
For now though ,the heart will go on pumping without fail .
The Fascinating Power Of The Hormones: Unlocking The Mysteries Of Human Physiology
Hormones are essential yet mysterious chemicals manufactured within the body.
They work by sending chemical messages throughout your system that cause various bodily functions to occur or be regulated.
While scientists have identified over 80 different types of hormones, we still don’t know much about how they all work together.
Perhaps nothing better illustrates the importance of hormones than diabetes.
When a person does not produce enough insulin to regulate sugar levels in their blood, it can be life-threatening if not managed properly.
But with the discovery of insulin therapy, diabetics now have a way to restore themselves to full health.
The tallest man who ever lived was Robert Wadlow from Alton, Illinois, who measured a whopping 8 feet 11 inches when he passed away in 1936 at the age of 22.
After studying his DNA, doctors came to realize he produced too much growth hormone due to an abnormality located in his pituitary gland – a tiny gland at the base of his brain that lays no bigger than a baked bean!
Furthermore, other hormones like oxytocin remain somewhat mysterious since it’s involved in many unrelated tasks such as stimulating contractions during birth and recognizing faces – activities seemingly unconnected with one another.
From diabetes treatment to strange cases like Robert Wadlow’s height problem – it’s evident that hormones affect our bodies in extremely powerful ways and are vital for proper functioning.
Despite extensive research conducted on hormones, there is still much we don’t completely understand them yet.
We Are Built For Movement, But Rest Is Also Essential To Our Well-Being
Humans have evolved a uniquely flexible structure that lets us walk on two feet.
Our bones, muscles and tendons are connected in an intricate web that gives us broad range of movement.
We even have our own trio of muscles in the thumbs to manipulate tools with amazing precision.
The Skeletal system of humans offer protection, makes blood cells and stores chemicals; it even produces hormones such as osteocalcin.
Our ability to walk upright set us apart from other species.
Humans needed to develop a narrow pelvis for the sake of mobility, which unfortunately made childbirth perilous for women- but for much of our evolutionary history, walking and running was necessary for survival; allowing us to search tirelessly for food with energy-efficient movements.
So while resting after a hard day’s work is now something to look forward too – let’s not forget that we are designed for movement and activity!
The Body’S Remarkable Ability To Put Our Food To Use
It’s true – you are literally what you eat!
And that includes all that sugar.
American adults consume an average of 22 teaspoons of added sugar per day, whereas the World Health Organization recommends only five teasoons as a daily maximum limit.
Unfortunately, it’s not just fast food culture adding to the amount of sugar we take in – even fruits have been bred for more sweetness over time.
All this sugar has major impacts on our health, from increasing risk for cancer or diabetes to giving us an energy crash soon after we’ve eaten it.
Cutting out excess sugar and replacing it with healthier options such as fruits and whole-grains is essential if we want to stay healthy.
Remember to also keep an eye on how much fiber and vitamins are in your diet too – these are essentials for a balanced diet.
So be wary of all those added sugars in your food – they may taste great in the moment, but you don’t want it affecting your long-term health!
Humans Have Internal Clocks To Tell Them When It’S Time To Sleep
We know that it’s essential to get enough sleep, yet we don’t know exactly why.
Our body is full of biological cues that help us determine when it’s time to go to sleep.
Scientists have discovered a third type of photoreceptor cell in our eyes (in addition to rods and cones) called photosensitive retinal ganglion cells.
This type of cell senses brightness, helping us distinguish between day and night and even tells some blind people whether or not a light is on.
Additionally, research has revealed the presence of multiple circadian clocks inside our bodies, which help you understand what time it is based on different processes, like reflex responses being best around midday or our hair growing faster in the summer months.
These clocks have also been found in bacteria, showing just how deeply ingrained this process is amongst living Things – something that Russell Foster suggests might define life as a whole.
The amount of sleep humans need changes with age too, with newborn babies needing around 19 hours per day and young adults requiring more than their parents.
Our body tracks the time of day so that it can tell us when it’s time to sleep – enabling us to stay healthy and productive!
Studying The Complexities Of Gender Science And The Miraculous Nature Of Childbirth
The medical research done on women has long lagged behind that done for men.
This is for a few reasons, such as the fact that until recently many drug trials excluded women in case their menstrual cycles happened to skew results.
Even more concerning is the fact that even to this day far less is known about female anatomy than male anatomy, and menstruation and the menopause have barely been studied at all.
Furthermore, research into pregnancy and childbirth is still in its infancy.
What we do know has only come to light recently – the placenta is sometimes called our least understood organ despite being an incredibly active part of development.
Adding to the mystery of childbirth is whether or not some microbes are transferred from the birth canal onto the baby – this might explain why babies born by Cesarean section often end up with greater chances of developing health conditions like Type 1 diabetes and asthma – but this area of research still needs much more exploration before coming to a conclusion.
It’s clear that there is still so much we need to learn about women’s bodies and reproductive systems, which makes it all the more important for us to advocate for more medical research about women where possible!
The Body’S Malfunctions: How We Struggle With Seven Thousand Diseases, Mismatch Diseases, And Cancer
2011 was a significant milestone in the world of disease – for the first time, more deaths were caused by non-communicable diseases than by contagious diseases.
This demonstrates the success of medical science, as well as how our lifestyles can play an important role in our health.
The triumph that underpinned this achievement was smallpox, which had killed an estimated 500 million people in the 20th century before it was wiped out entirely in 1980.
We have conquered many other communicable diseases too; in the US alone, diphtheria once caused 15 thousand fatalities each year and is now almost unheard of.
However, we are still battling with non-communicable diseases like genetic disorders and mismatch diseases – one example being Type 2 diabetes, resulting from changes to lifestyle and living environment since our ancestors evolved as hunter-gatherers.
One instance that demonstrates this discrepancy is Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s condition of pycnodysostosis, which halted his leg growth at puberty – only 200 cases have been recorded since then.
The development of effective treatments for most rare conditions is slow due to limited research investment.
Cancer has become another great fear for many modern humans due to its ability to cause cells to multiply uncontrollably.
Smoking and excessive alcohol consumption are two risk factors associated with its onset, but so is age or simply eating too much food.
Even though treatments are improving all the time, there remains much work to be done.
Likewise cancer pain brings no benefit; neuroscientist Patrick Wall labeled it “the apogee of pointlessness”¸ demonstrating how chronic pain reflects a failure within our bodies – unlike acute pain which warns us of danger.
Overall then, while we have made great strides against communicable diseases there are still many challenges ahead when tackling non-communicable illnesses such as cancer or genetic impairment – proving that while they may claim us instead, we’re never going to give up the fight!
We Can’T Go On Living Forever: An Exploration Into Understanding Death And Mortality
We’ve come a long way since the turn of the 20th century when it comes to avoiding death.
Thanks to advances in medicine, our chances of getting something useful out of a visit to the doctor has jumped above 50 percent for the first time and has been getting better from there ever since.
It’s not just improvements in medical treatments that have enabled us to live longer lives, though.
Other lifestyle changes like improved sanitation, better diet, and even access to fresher food via things like railways have made a huge difference as well.
That said, no one can go on living forever – we all age eventually.
We don’t know why this is so but everybody will experience some degree of aging over their lifetime, with genetics playing an important role in determining how long you will live.
Predictions vary immensely with some believing we could routinely see people reaching 80 years old whilst others claiming it’s possible for one to reach 1000!
Nevertheless, current statistics show that only about 1 in 10 thousand make it to be a hundred years old.
Above all else, death is inevitable – there are around 60 million deaths each year globally or 0.7 per hundred people – where one-fifth is sudden and another fifth occurs at short notice while the rest take place gradually over time as conditions worsen.
It is unmistakable to recognize a body – life may be gone but microbes remain while the miracle of human consciousness departs with fast finality.
Wrap Up
The final takeaway from The Body Book is that the human body is incredibly complex, and so much of it is still a mystery.
And yet, despite this, it’s also beautiful in its complexity and amazing in how much we have learned about it.
Therefore, with this knowledge, let us strive to take better care of our bodies and treat them with respect.
Let us remember just how incredible and fragile life really is, and use this knowledge to continue learning more about ourselves and our surroundings.
