Interesting Facts

Never mind the vitamin C, new research carried out at the University of Alberta in Canada, and the University of Auckland, New Zealand, suggests that the best way to avoid the common cold is to wash your hands. (If you insist on paying for supplements, a daily dose of 10 or 15 milligrams of zinc sulphate has been shown to lower rates of colds. Probiotics, which boost the amount of friendly bacteria in the gut, may help prevent colds too, and our old friend honey had a slight effect in relieving cough symptoms, but vitamin C and antibiotics showed "no benefit". I notice they said nothing about the medicinal effects of a hot toddy.)

According to researchers at the Emory School of Medicine in Georgia, fear can be transmitted from a father to his offspring through his sperm. (They have shown that if mice are taught to fear a certain smell this triggers chemical changes in their sperm.These changes then alter the makeup of their children and grandchildren's brains, causing them to fear the same smell. This could explain my fear of flying, and is bound to open up the whole nature vs nurture debate again.)

In 2012, over 246,241 items were handed to lost property offices in London after being found on trains and buses. (Shopping trolleys, umbrellas, medicine, and even the ashes of a loved one are all on the list of things that got left behind. Happily 52,000 people were eventually reunited with their property.)

According to the British Medical Journal the following drugs were named as the greatest medical advances of the century:- Aspirin was chosen as the greatest medical advance of the century by cardiologists, chemotherapy by oncologists, antidepressants by psychiatrists, and penicillin by doctors in general practice. (You see.  The result of any survey depends on whom you ask.)

According to a study published in Science Translational Medicine, a patient's belief that a drug will not work can become a self fulfilling prophecy. (Studies showed the benefits of painkillers could be boosted or reduced by manipulating expectations. The power of the brain should never be underestimated.)

A team of researchers in the US has discovered the earliest sample of human-made medicine. (They found traces of wine compounds and plant-derived ingredients from a jar, basically a medicinal alcoholic drink. The bottles are more than 5,000 years old and were found in the tomb of one of the first pharaohs of Egypt, Scorpion I. So the next time I have a tipple, it will be purely medicinal.)

According to the the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), popular cough and cold medicines which have been used for years to treat children probably don't work. (Not only don't they work but they can also cause side effects like hallucinations! I knew there was a reason I never liked taking my medicine.)

powered by ODEO Blood can turn a dark greenish-black - like Spock's - if you take a certain type of migraine medication. (A team of Canadian surgeons got a shock when the patient they were operating on began shedding dark greenish-black blood, but the unusual colour was due to the migraine medication he was taking. The patient had been taking large doses of Sumatriptan, which seemingly can cause a rare condition called sulfhaemoglobinaemia, where sulphur is incorporated into the oxygen-carrying compound haemoglobin in red blood cells. Actually I think he was really a Vulcan. Live long and prosper.)

A new study shows that even decaffeinated coffee comes with at least a small dose of caffeine. Yes, drinking five to ten cups of decaf could deliver as much caffeine as one or two cups of regular coffee, according to research at the University of Florida Maples Center for Forensic Medicine . (My biggest problem is that according to Wiki the decaffeination process generally starts with the steaming of the beans (fine so far). They are then rinsed in solvent that contains as much of the chemical composition of coffee as possible without also containing the caffeine in a soluble form - (yes solvent - lovely). I have just one question: Low fat ice cream - decaf coffee - no sugar coke - Why?)

25% of all prescription medicines are derived from plants. (This is called phytopharmacology. "Phyto" refers to plant and "pharmacology" refers to the medicinal effects of said plants.)

The first known heart medicine was discovered in an English garden. In 1799, physician John Ferriar noted the effect of dried leaves of the common foxglove plant, digitalis purpurea, on heart action. But the credit for introducing digitalis into the practice of medicine goes to William Withering from Shropshire. Still used in heart medications, digitalis slows the pulse and increases the force of heart contractions and the amount of blood pumped per heartbeat. Dr. Erasmus Darwin, Grandfather of Charles Darwin, employed digitalis to good effect and sought to immortalize it in the following verses: Digitalis Bolster'd with down, amid a thousand wants, Pale Dropsy rears his bloated form, and pants; "Quench me ye cool pellucid rills," he cries, Wets his parch'd tongue and rolls his hollow eyes. So bends tormented Tantalus to drink While from his lips the refluent waters shrink; Again the rising stream his bosom laves And thirst consumes him mid circumfluen...