• Question: What is the weirdest thing you know about the human body? (Doesn't have to be in your line of work)

    Asked by anon-181984 on 14 Jun 2018.
    • Photo: Nathan Clarke

      Nathan Clarke answered on 14 Jun 2018:

      Great question! This is probably pretty mild compared to other scientists here, but I remember being genuinely surprised and finding it a little weird that the skin on your eardrum grows outward (like a conveyor belt) to shift earwax. People have drawn on eardrums and taken pictures over time of the dot moving along the ear canal! Don’t try at home 😉

    • Photo: Claire Donald

      Claire Donald answered on 14 Jun 2018:

      The human body is amazing and there are loads of werid things about it. I think the weridest one I have heard is that we are bioluminescent (we produce light!) but its so weak our eyes can’t see it. How cool would that be if we could be a literal human torch!

    • Photo: Joanne Sharpe

      Joanne Sharpe answered on 14 Jun 2018:

      We have more bacterial cells in our body than we have our own cells! Kinda gross, but actually these bacteria are really important for a variety of reasons, to keep our gut healthy for example!

    • Photo: Alex Haragan

      Alex Haragan answered on 15 Jun 2018:

      Ooh thats a good question. And I love the answers so far!
      >
      My favourite is this:
      Almost every cell in your body contains a nucleus – and this holds all your genetic material, your DNA etc. Now cells vary in size but are around 1-5 microns (0.001 of a mm). Each cell contains the entire DNA of your body, and it is curled up super tight.
      >
      But if you were to unwind the DNA all the way out and lay it out in a straight line – it would be over a metre long. (I’ve read anywhere between 130cm to 200cm). Every cell – so small you can’t even see them, has DNA long enough to stretch over a metre!
      >
      And if that wasn’t crazy enough if you took all the DNA in your body and stretched it out you’d have enough to stretch outside the solar system!
      >
      I never, ever, get tired of thinking about how amazing that is, how amazing our bodies our and how amazing life is.

    • Photo: Joey Shepherd

      Joey Shepherd answered on 15 Jun 2018:

      My favourite fact is the same as Joanne’s – there are about ten times as many bacterial cells in and on your body as human cells – in fact bacteria make up 3-6% of your body weight!

    • Photo: Camille Parsons

      Camille Parsons answered on 18 Jun 2018:

      Great question, I think one of the weirdest facts I learnt is that you are born with more bones than you will have as an adult. A baby has around 300 bones at both, but this total decreases to 206 bones by adulthood! What is your strangest fact?

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