Is the Interstitium really a new human organ?

interstitium

A paper published within Scientific Reports, an Open Access journal published by Nature, has resulted in rather a lot of media stories concerning the supposed discovery of a new Organ that was previously unknown. Entitled “Structure and Distribution of an Unrecognized Interstitium in Human Tissues“, it describes a distributed system of fluid filled cavities in the … Read more

Low-Fat vs Low-Carbohydrate Diet – which is best?

diet

Diet is a topic that many of us are interested in. We are often awash with anecdotal stories and so we become inspired to try some fad only to discover that it is both hard and also often fails in the long term to live up to the promises on offer. So how do we … Read more

Does drinking Alcohol really help you to live over 90?

90+ Alcohol

Various media outlets have been reporting the news that the secret sauce for long life is Alcohol … UK’s Independent – Drinking Small amounts of Alcohol may help you to live over 90, study claims Detroit Free Press – Alcohol and coffee can help you live past 90, study says Chicago Tribune – Study: For those over … Read more

How much does it cost to sequence your Genome?

human genome

In 1990 a very ambitious project was started called the Human Genome Project. It was scheduled to take 15 years, but was actually completed in 2003, earlier than expected. As the project had progressed, technology had advanced and so it did not take as long as had been anticipated. A few quick facts … The … Read more

Do Cell Phones cause Cancer?

cell phones cause cancer

Over the years various health-scare stories have popped up regarding the supposed dangers of cell-phone radiation causing cancer. This plays very much into the observation that literally billions of humans now use cell phones and so if the danger is real then that is something that we should not only understand but come to terms … Read more

Discovery of oldest modern human out of Africa – Some context

out of africa

It’s an exciting new discovery, evidence that humans wandered out of Africa far earlier than has been previously appreciated. The media is quite rightly all over it, and has been trumpeting the details. For example … Washington Post – Scientists discover the oldest human fossils outside Africa BBC – Modern humans left Africa much earlier NPR – New … Read more