Little Marvels
1. You can get more energy from an apple than coffee.
2. If in desperate need of water (desperate as in stuck in the mountains with no other method of drinking) drink the still water as opposed to the running water for cleaner water.
3. Limiting caloric intake (not starvation, but within reason) and drinking red wine (ingredient resveratrol) prevents aging.
4. Eating 6 pds of chocolate is equivalent to smoking a joint.
5. Successful aging takes into account lots of things, but a major impact is staying positive and adapting!
6. It is possible to synthesize the smell of a banana (isoamyl acetate) from only a couple of chemicals
(isoamyl alcohol and acetic acid), that before do not smell like a banana!
7. You can make a mirror from only a little silver nitrate and glucose solution.
8. Antioxidants (like in blueberries and other foods) get rid of free radicals which helps to prevent aging (among other benefits).
9. Billions of cells in your body die each hour. But, your body is working to keep it in a constant baseline balance of cell death (apoptosis getting rid of damaged, bad, infected,starved or radiated cells) and proliferation (cell growth and new cells).
10. Being healthy isn't just about exercise and eating right but staying social, learning and getting involved in new things, looking forward to the future and looking at the bright side of things.
11. A lot of things cause cancer; it's just what happens when bad cells are not caught and killed (apoptosis) or sent into senescence (a state where cells are not allowed to divide; aging), and are allowed to divide and proliferate. Aging is merely a trade-off or prevention of cancer.
12. Alzheimer's is the cause of formation of tangles and Beta-amyloid sheets.
13. Things are made up of a lot of molecules and compounds, and it is not too hard to extract them with the right techniques!
14. Our bodies are so complex and there are millions of things happening at one time (things are getting transported, exported, trafficked, stored, secreted, ingested..etc.. all at the same time). While it is very complex and complicated, humans are amazing at maintaining order and balance and keeping everything working properly.
15. Bubbles are amazing marvels: I used to think they just pop but if you really look, they fade while maintaining shape then disappear! Look close.
This semester has made me take deeper looks into things and realize that tiny things and processes come together to make one whole picture. Take a look around you. When you really look and observe (from humans to plants and animals), you can see some of the world's greatest wonders, it's all around you!
Have a great summer!
Love,
Jamie Rae
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