Let's learn the facts

Every year, around 100,000 metric tons of caffeine are consumed worldwide. This is the equal of 14 Eiffel Towers in weight. Caffeine is mostly found in coffee and tea, but it can also be found in sodas, chocolates, caffeine pills, and even decaf beverages. Even if we haven't gotten enough sleep, caffeine makes us feel alert, focused, cheerful, and active. But it can also make us feel worried and spike our blood pressure. It is the most extensively used drug in the planet. So how does it keep us awake? Caffeine evolved in plants and performs a variety of functions. It is harmful to insects in high concentrations, as it is found in the leaves and seeds of some species. However, at little doses, such as those present in nectar, it can actually help them remember and revisit flowers. Caffeine functions as a stimulant for the central nervous system in humans.  It keeps us awake by blocking one of the body's key sleep-inducing molecules, a substance called adenosine. Your body requir...

For instance, you're at the playground and you get sand in your eyes. How do you know the sand is there? You obviously can't see it, but if you are a normal healthy human, you can feel that the sensation of extreme discomfort, also known as pain. Now, pain makes you do something, in this case, rinse your eyes until the sand is gone. How do you know the sand is gone? Exactly, because there's no more pain. There are persons who are unaffected by pain. That may appear to be cool, but it isn't. If you can't feel pain, you may unintentionally injure yourself or others. Your body's early warning system is pain. It shields you from the outside world as well as from yourself. Pain detectors are installed in most places of our bodies as we grow. These detectors are nociceptors, which are specialized nerve cells that run from your spinal cord to your skin, muscles, joints, teeth, and some internal organs. Working mechanism of pain relievers, Image credits: getbodysmart.co...

The first known pregnancy test was created in ancient Egypt around 1350 BC.  According to Egyptians, all you have to do is urinate on wheat and barley seeds and wait. If either sprouts, you're pregnant. If wheat sprouts faster, it's a girl but if barley, it's a boy.  In 1963, a small research replicated the test and discovered that it accurately predicted pregnancy with a 70 percent accuracy, albeit it couldn't consistently determine the baby's sex. The test worked, according to scientists, since pregnant women's urine includes more estrogen, which promotes seed growth. Within minutes, modern pregnancy tests provide highly accurate findings. How do they work? Working mechanism of pregnancy test kit, Image credits: nippongene.com Over  the counter pregnancy tests are all designed to detect one things: a hormone called HCG. HCG is created in the early stages of pregnancy and initiates a telephone call to the body, telling it not to shed the uterus' inner linin...