Faith Brynie, Ph D
Facts by Faith Brynie (30)
A Sweaty Subject
When human body temperature rises, tiny muscles around the sweat glands in the skin contract, squeezing…
Exercising In Space
What did astronaut Shannon Lucid like least about her six months on Space Station Mir? The daily exercise. 'It…
Fahrenheit 100 and Rising
When you are well, your body temperature varies only a little around 37o C. (98.6o F.), whether you're…
Fahrenheit 98.6
When you're well, your body temperature stays very close to 37o C. (98.6o F.), whether you're playing…
How Blood Clots
Scabby knees and bruised shins are as much a part of growing up as climbing trees. Minor injuries from paper…
How Did Dogs Evolve?
While the status of the dog as humankind's best and oldest friend remains unchallenged, debate rages about…
How Do They Grow Those Colossal Pumpkins?
Those enormous pumpkins that set records every fall are living proof that both genes and environment make…
Hypotension
Bend to select a book from the lowest shelf, then rise quickly. Chances are, you'll feel a little lightheaded…
Is Heartburn a Heart Burn?
Heartburn is a bad name for a complaint that has nothing to do with the heart. TV ads call it acid…
It's Hay Fever Season!
If spring's flying pollen is making you sneeze, you are not alone. Some 40 to 50 million people in the United…
Mad Cow Disease
In 1986, the first case of 'mad cow' disease or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was found in cattle in…
Serendipity In Science
Most scientists accept the notion that serendipity plays a major role in their work. Too many discoveries have…
Sex and the Sea Slug
The sea slug, Aplysia. Now there's an expert on sex. Equipped with both male and female sex organs, this…
Splitting Hairs
Pluck a single strand of hair from your head and you've lost what scientists call the hair shaft. The shaft is…
The Placebo Effect
To test new drugs, researchers usually divide their subjects into two groups. One group receives the…
The World's Largest Clone
What's the world's largest clone? It's not a sheep, but an aspen tree...and it's a natural clone, not a…
There's No Such Thing as a Safe Suntan
Every time you step outdoors, you are bombarded by ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun. UV rays cause the…
Types of Volcanoes
Geologists describe four types of volcanoes. Cinder cones, the simplest of volcanoes, grow as pieces of…
Ultrasound In Medicine
In medical testing, ultrasound equipment is used to produce a sonogram, or a picture of organs inside the…
What Are Blood Types, and Why Are They Important?
If your medical report reads A, Rh+, M, s, P1, Lua, K+, Kp(a-b+), Le(a-b+). Fy(a+), Jk(a+b+), don't run for a…
What Causes Wrinkles?
Elastin and collagen are proteins in the skin's underlying layers that give it firmness and elasticity. As we…
What Gives Hair Its Color?
Put a single hair under a microscope, and you'll see granules of black, brown, yellow, or red pigment. What…
What Is a Bruise?
A bruise is a deposit of blood under the skin. It flows from tiny capillaries that break when you bump your…
What Is Narcolepsy?
Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder than affects about 1 of every 2000 people worldwide. It usually starts in the…
What's So Bad About Cholesterol?
Cholesterol has a worse reputation than it deserves. This waxy lipid (a kind of fat) is essential to good…
When and Why is Blood Typing Done?
Fans of the popular television show ER know how important blood type is in an emergency. 'Start the O-neg,'…
When Motherhood Means More than One
These days, twins, triplets, and other multiple births are becoming more common, but how do they happen?…
Why Is Blood Pressure Two Numbers?
Blood pressure might better be called heart pressure, for the heart's pumping action creates it. To measure…
Why is Red-Green Colorblindness a 'Guy Thing?'
Colorblind girls and women are rare, while men who can't match their socks are relatively common. The reason…
Your Friend, the Fat Cell
A healthy, adult human body contains about 35 billion fat cells. Each contains about 0.5 micrograms of fat.…