Popular Misconceptions About Few Creatures

Many animals unfortunately suffer from a rather negative image in human culture, regarded by us as frightening, disgusting or just plain lowly. Nature, however, has no “vermin” or “pests” – all things have their place in the natural order of things, and in most cases, the benefits of an organism far outweigh its (accidental) inconveniences. Even animals many of us find “ugly” are only demonstrating the perfect body shape for their particular ecological niche. Open up your mind a little, and you just might find some beauty in something that once made your skin crawl.

10. Snakes

Millions of people the world over suffer from a fear of snakes, and even those who don’t may kill the limbless reptiles on sight, fearing for the safety of their pets or children. This is most unfortunate, as only around fifteen percent of known snakes possess venom at all, and dangerous species can be easy to distinguish with a little research. Wherever you may live, there are likely only a few distinct varieties worthy of extreme caution, and as the saying goes, they’re more afraid of us than we are of them. The last thing a snake wants to do is waste its precious venom on something it can’t even eat, so unless startled or cornered, snakes will nearly always attempt to flee and hide before actually striking. It’s still easy to vilify a slithering, unblinking serpent as it strangles and engulfs a pudgy little tweety bird, but even “cute” animals like songbirds are often lethal predators to still smaller creatures. It’s important to remember the role hunters play in saving the very species they prey upon from the starvation, disease and inbreeding that comes with an uncontrolled population.

9. Black Widows

We’ve always heard that the black widow is one of the deadliest spiders in the world, but while this is more or less true, it’s just not saying much. Completely unaggressive towards larger creatures, widow bites are quite rare, and lethal bites are even rarer – those at risk are normally only infants, the elderly or those suffering some pre-existing medical conditions. They’re still creepy though, right? With that whole “devouring the male” thing. Yeah, about that…of the 31 species of Latrodectus or “widow” spider, only two species have been observed eating their mates at all, neither of which are the famous red-hourglass black widow, and the cannibals in question were likely just frightened by their gigantic human voyeurs. Though the male is weak and snack-sized, the larger female normally allows him to escape or even hang around in her web a while, where her presence makes him a tad safer from an assortment of spider-eating things.

8. Termites

The only thing most people know about termites is that they eat wood, and we like to live in wood, so that’s bad. Many organisms can make a nuisance of themselves by colonizing a human dwelling, but only termites can outright destroy one from the inside, costing us billions of dollars in damages each year. As far as nature is concerned, however, dead wood is nothing more than a fire hazard standing in the way of fresh growth, and nothing in the wild mulches a dead tree as quickly and thoroughly as a termite colony. Working together with fungi, bacteria and an assortment of other wood eating insects, termites are integral in the continued health of every forest on the planet. It’s hardly their fault that we like to build houses out of perfectly good food…the little guys don’t even have eyes, cut them some slack.

7. Rats

It’s a classic image of horror: mangy, greasy rats crawling out of the decaying human corpse they’ve been gnawing at. Rats have had a reputation as filthy, dirty carrion-eaters ever since they were blamed for the dreaded bubonic plague, but while the disease is indeed carried primarily by the fleas of rodents, cases are rare today and many experts argue that it was not responsible for the infamous “black death“. Rats are also quite shy, highly unlikely to bite and can be very rewarding pets, demonstrating much more intelligence and affection than such dumber, nippier rodents as hamsters and guinea pigs. As for corpse-eating, scavenging decayed meat is actually rather low on a rat’s list of dietary preferences.

6. Wasps

Millions of people suffer from a fear of wasps, as some species seem needlessly aggressive and are well known for their painful, venomous stings. A majority of wasp species, however, are unable to actually sting us humans or even lack stings entirely, and venomous or not, they play a tremendously important role both as pollinators and in the control of other insect species, regulating their populations far better than almost any other predator. Many trees and plants are even capable of *communicating* with wasps, releasing chemical signals to attract just the right wasps for whatever pests might be munching their foliage. Incidentally though, those plant-eating insects are important themselves; as long as they’re kept in check by wasps and other predators, their natural pruning service can maintain a strong, healthy plant population. When wasps do attack us larger mammals, it’s often because our own fear makes us appear more aggressive, and social wasps will risk it all when they feel their defenseless young are threatened. Mind your own beeswax around buzzing bugs, and they probably will too. Only maybe more literally.

5. Sharks

One of nature’s most feared predators, sharks are generally portrayed by the media as ravenous, unfeeling jaws and teeth that happen to have animals attached to them. World-wide, however, the typical year sees under a dozen human deaths by shark attack, as opposed to thousands of deaths by drowning or other swimming accidents. Sharks are quite a bit more intelligent than most people give them credit for, and often avoid prey as unfamiliar as humans. Predation by sharks is of great importance to the health of fish populations, maintaining the balance necessary for many different species to thrive in the same environment, and they’re far from brainless eating machines – some species even demonstrate play behavior and sharks in captivity may be possible to “tame.”

4. Dolphins

What…you thought all of these were going to be *negative* misconceptions? Many of us unfortunately have it in our heads that while Sharks are mindless, ravenous eating machines, Dolphins are sweet, playful little sea-people, ready to protect us from those big, bad sharks and do fun tricks for our amusement. Dolphins, however, are predators themselves; lethally powerful, cunningly intelligent, fiercely territorial, pack hunting flesh-eaters. Animals live by very different rules, and while it isn’t fair to categorize them as “good” or “bad,” it’s hard to find dolphins very cute when they have been observed tormenting, killing and even sexually assaulting other animals for often unclear reasons, including young pups of their own species, and attacks on humans are by no means unheard of.
Maybe they’re only smiling so much at their own perverse fantasies.

3. Cockroaches

Ewww, cockroaches! Everyone hates cockroaches! They’re dirty, nasty, parasites who only exist to live in our garbage, right?! Can there possibly be anything good about them? Do I still have to answer that at this point? The order Blattodea has over 30,000 known species, yet only around a dozen or so have the special characteristics to thrive in our homes – characteristics which make them useful scavengers in the wild. Most roaches prefer a more conventional insect life outdoors, where they help to recycle decaying vegetation, pollinate plants, and in some cases even prey on more harmful insects. Even those few “pest” species aren’t as filthy as you think…in fact, they’re only ever as filthy as their surroundings, and they’re just as likely to live in perfectly sanitary conditions as in decaying garbage. House roaches only have the potential to spread disease primarily by walking through something germ-ridden (like an unkempt kitchen trash bin) and accidentally tracking it onto your food, which is actually rather unlikely; germs don’t cling to their bodies all that easily, and the little neat-freaks groom themselves almost constantly.  Yes, believe it or not, roaches practice better hygiene than a lot of humans.

2. Maggots

The very thought of fly larvae squirming around in a corpse is difficult for some people to stomach. It seems like they’re often regarded as one of the most nauseating, abhorrent organisms in nature, largely due to the whole “squirming around in corpses” thing, but the same reasons people detest them are the same reasons they shouldn’t. A dead body is a ticking time bomb of contagious diseases, and no other scavenger can even come close to the importance of maggots. Everything about these little critters – shape, size, squirminess, sliminess and even that ghostly pale coloration – is adapted for maximum efficiency carcass removal, scouring every nook and cranny of a skeleton for the tiniest scraps of soft tissue. Thanks to maggots, most carcasses only lie around in the wilderness for a few weeks before only bones remain, while other processes of decomposition would have them festering for months. Maggot activity is even somewhat antiseptic, destroying the bacteria they’re basically competing with for food. The bottom line is…would you rather every animal dropping dead every moment of every day nourish several hundred flies or several million Anthrax bacteria?

1. Parasites

“Parasites” is admittedly a pretty damn broad umbrella. You can find them within every phylum of every kingdom of life on our planet, they easily outnumber non-parasitic or “free living” lifeforms and almost nothing lives entirely free from their influence. The very word “parasite” is associated with uselessness, and even science was once guilty of the belief that parasites were “lower” on the evolutionary ladder. Today, however, biologists are waking up to the incredible sophistication and significant ecological impact of parasitic organisms. Nearly every wild animal on this planet has parasites feeding and breeding inside it as we speak, influencing the host’s health and even behavior to better suit their needs. It may sound disturbing, but as this has been going on since the dawn of life as we know it, it should have always been obvious that they’re as much a part of nature’s delicate balance as any other form of life, even regulating entire food webs and possibly influencing evolution itself. Most have adapted to cause as little harm to hosts as possible (why kill your own delicious, delicious house?) and even those that haven’t are still playing their part in population control. Parasites are just the eyeless, brainless little governors of ecoville, working hard on the inside to keep those cheetahs running on time.



Related Post: Dangers River Creatures

What Our Lips Are Telling Us - Part 3

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13. Even a light lip-brushing is a huge turn-on for our brains

“It probably depends on who you ask -- it’s culturally influenced,” the Expert says. The famous Indian sex text the Kama Sutra advises going for the lips, of course, as well as the inside of the mouth, the breasts, the throat and most places on the face. Science also provides some clues: It turns out that a disproportionate amount of brain space is taken up with processing information from the lips compared to the rest of our bodies. “Just a light brush on them stimulates a very large part of the brain -- an area even more expansive than would be activated by sexual stimulation below the belt,” the Expert writes.


14. Men like tongue more than we do

Remember when Sex and the City’s Charlotte got totally grossed out when one of her dates started licking her face? The moment captures a real distinction between how men and women like their kisses. “There’s this huge gender divide: Men tend to express a preference for wet, sloppy, open-mouthed kisses, and women are constantly complaining about too much tongue,” the Expert says. There’s a reason guys do what they do: An open mouth allows men to dose women with small amounts of libido-raising testosterone via their saliva. “If he’s kissing her over weeks or months, it enhances her libido over time,” the Expert says.

15. Kissing while (mildly) intoxicated can up the passion

To drink or not to drink? On the one hand, drugs and alcohol stimulate some of the same brain chemicals as a kiss, so you could mistake your substance-induced high for passionate feelings about your partner, the Expert says. But, that said, if you’re looking for something casual, kissing can be better after a drink or two (and alcohol can release your inhibitions, making a kiss more likely). “It can wind up feeling better or worse -- it depends on how drugs affect your sense of reality,” the Expert says. “Kissing acts as a drug on top of everything else, so when there’s a lot riding on it, go with most accurate impression of what you feel,” which is probably more obvious when you’re sober.


16. Kissing never gets old -- even when we do

While there hasn’t been much study of kissing and longevity, there’s reason to think that kissing is vital -- and enjoyable -- throughout our lives, the Expert says. “Kissing is so important to long-term bonds,” she says. ”It helps to maintain a relationship.” So she suspects kissing plays an important role from birth to death.


17. Kissing can actually help you make up

Forget chocolate and flowers -- just plant one on her lips. Though a woman may profess to be unmoved by a kiss from the man she’s fighting with, research has found that a smooch (or a few) paves the path to forgiveness, the Expert writes. The effect may come from the oxytocin that’s released during kissing. Kissing may reduce levels of cortisol -- the stress hormone -- coursing through our bodies during a fight. “Reducing stress is a pretty good way to amend a fractured relationship,” the Expert says.


18. Men see kisses as a means to an end

No doubt: Both men and women enjoy kissing. But while women tend to ascribe big-picture significance to a kiss (is he "The One"?) guys often smooch for short-term gain. Exhibit A: Prostitutes don’t kiss their johns, and the clients don’t seem to mind. For men, while kissing can be meaningful, it also can be all about sex, the Expert says. “Men are kissing as a means to an end: They’re swapping saliva so they can swap something else later,” she says. “Women look to a kiss to assess relationship status. We are sensitive to things that tweak out compatibility, and from an evolutionary perspective, men don’t need to do that.”

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What Our Lips Are Telling Us

1. Is it in his kiss?

Oh, yes. Osculation, the scientific term for kissing, in many ways says everything about your compatibility with your mate and the health of your relationship. What Our Lips Are Telling Us,We asked an expert, to tackle some of your top questions when it comes to smooching. Curious to know what happens inside our brains and bodies when we do it? Wondering whether a kiss means more to you than to your guy, or whether you can make your make-out session even better?



2. Kissing isn’t just about chemistry

While two strangers might serendipitously find themselves chemically compatible, more often the best kisses grow out of an emotional connection and ambience, Expert says. “So much of a great kiss is understanding the needs and desires of another person -- there’s no one-size-fits-all formula to it,” she says. How-to guides “focus on where to put your hand or how to set the mood, when so much of it is intuitive that you make the person comfortable, secure and safe. It’s an ultimate expression of how you feel about them.”


3. Kissing is universal

Kissing seems “almost completely universal” among humans today, the Expert says. But it wasn’t always so; she cites the work of anthropologist Helen Fisher, who’s noted that certain South African tribes once “found kissing disgusting” and that it was previously “unknown” among people in parts of East Africa and South America. Still, non-kissing cultures did kissy things like lick, suck or blow on a lover’s face before intercourse, the Expert writes. “Now kissing is exported and we’re using mouthwash and toothpaste, so in some ways the experience is so much better than before it became a common custom,” she says.

4. We always remember our first kiss

If you’re like most people, you remember your first kiss much better than losing your virginity, according to Butler University research. It’s not clear why, but the Expert says it may relate to a kiss being our introduction to sexual behavior -- and to all the important decisions that come with it. “I would expect it has to do with novelty and how much we engage all our senses in the behavior,” she says. “A kiss really works as nature’s litmus test. It tells us whether we decide to pursue a relationship.”



5. Kissing comes naturally but our techniques can evolve

We’re kissed from birth (more on that later) and other social animals seem to kiss, too. Bonobos -- a type of Chimpanzee -- have been known to smooch for up to 12 minutes straight, while giraffes like to entwine necks, and even fish touch lips, the Expert says. So while all of us seem to be programmed to know what to do, we pick up culture-specific techniques from movies and TV. Still, the Expert says, “There are definitely things people can learn to make it a better experience.” Lay off the pressure -- it produces the stress hormone cortisol, a real buzz kill. “Getting to know someone fosters a bond and makes the likelihood of a kiss going well higher,” she says.



6. It’s all about first impressions

A bad first kiss can kill a would-be romance faster than you can reapply your lipstick. In a S.U.N.Y. Albany survey, 59 percent of men and 66 percent of women reported ending a relationship because the first kiss was off. The finding points to the way we unconsciously assess reproductive compatibility through a kiss, so a good kiss may signal a sizzling future under the sheets, the Expert says. Kissing releases chemicals associated with romantic and emotional bonding (oxytocin) and pleasure (dopamine). “A lot of people, especially men, judge how someone might perform later based on kissing,” she says. “If you have that boost in oxytocin, those dopamine spikes, you can’t wait to be with that person.”




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Is Smoking really bad for health?

Several types of "Smoker’s Paradoxes", (cases where smoking appears to have specific beneficial effects), have been observed. This is in addition to the numerous documented negative health effects of smoking.

Often the actual mechanism remains undetermined.

A plausible mechanism of action in some cases may be the nicotine in tobacco smoke acting as an anti-inflammatory agent and interfering with the disease process.

• Digestive system
  • Risk of ulcerative colitis has been frequently shown to be reduced by smokers on a dose-dependent basis; the effect is eliminated if the individual stops smoking.
  • Smokers are less often affected by aphthous ulcer.

• Cardiovascular system
  • Kaposi's sarcoma

• Reproductive/breasts
  • breast cancer among women carrying the very high risk BRCA gene
  • Pre-eclampsia
  • Smoking can also reduce rates of uterine fibroids. This may be due to estrogen inhibition, as opposed to general inhibition of inflammation.
  • The risk of endometriosis has been reported to be reduced in smokers.

• General
  • atopic disorders such as allergic asthma

• Neurologic
  • Smoking has been consistently found to be a protective factor on epidemiological studies for Parkinson's disease. The basis for such effect is not known but possibilities include an effect of nicotine as dopamine stimulant.
  • The majority (80% in Australia as of 2001, 85% in the US as of 2007) of schizophrenics smoke, apparently to self-medicate.Nicotine appears to be an effective antipsychotic, and work is underway to develop antipsychotic drugs based on nicotine without the ill effects of smoking or of nicotine itself.

# The University of Melbourne confirmed the claims made by many smokers that tobacco itself is a strong appetite suppressant, and many use it to self-treat compulsive overeating disorders or obesity.
 
# Cigarette smoking has also been linked to a decrease in risk of certain inflammatory disorders, since nicotine itself appears to be an anti-inflammatory agent. The department of gastroenterology at the University Hospital of Wales conducted a number of in-vitro studies to confirm and explain the decreased risk in ulcerative colitis (a potentially severe digestive disorder) in individuals who smoke cigarettes.

# Perhaps most shockingly, tobacco smoke's anti-inflammatory effects may actually provide some benefits to children who are exposed to secondhand smoke. While this is certainly not worth at-home experimentation, one astonishing study conducted in Sweden observed two generations of Swedish children and found that the children of smokers had lower rates of allergic rhinitis, allergic asthma, atopic eczema, and food allergies.

# A series of very interesting studies from multiple academic sources confirms that the risk of Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease is surprisingly higher in non-smokers than in smokers.

# The most fascinating and widely recognized health benefit of smoking is its ability to seemingly alleviate symptoms of mental illnesses, including anxiety and schizophrenia. According to an article published in 1995 in Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, schizophrenics have much higher smoking rates than people with other mental illnesses, and appear to use it as a method of self-medicating.

# A study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology revealed that preeclampsia, an extremely common but potentially deadly condition, is significantly less common in expectant mothers who smoke cigarettes than in expectant mothers who do not smoke.

******************

This is a risky subject and I request everyone who reads this story that if you are a non-smoker or quit smoking please don't get enthusiastic to have it again. Even who are smokers and planning to quit please do it now - quit smoking. Because benefits of non-smokers are far more great than somkers. Please NEVER SMOKE,do not use this as a reason to begin smoking or to avoid smoking cessation.

I only want to let you know that other side of smoking and just not to encourage you smoking. See here the Danger side of SMOKING.
****************

See How Effective is Oral Contraceptive


  

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Common Safety Measures Invention

No matter how safe we feel in our own lives, every day brings with it another opportunity for an unprecedented and possibly fatal accident -- be it a Mother Nature-induced natural disaster such as an earthquake or tsunami, or a more personal event such as a car accident or life-threatening medical diagnosis.

While it leaves one feeling uneasy to ponder the various things that could possibly damage our personal well-being at a moment’s notice, our modern society can take comfort in knowing that we are, quite frankly, significantly safer in this generation than we were centuries ago. Top Public Safety Innovations examines the inventions that have been instrumental in making us feel more secure and affording us a higher quality of life.

Life Preservers

For anyone who takes a cruise or a ferry trip on a regular basis, the sight of a life jacket is to be expected. First created in 1854 by Englishman Captain Ward before being adapted into inflatable devices by Peter Markus in 1928, life preservers are now commonplace in preventing drowning deaths of adults and children on both commercial ships and private boats. It’s worth noting that the inflatable shape of early life preservers was ample enough in the chest area to warrant the nickname Mae West, in recognition of the classic bosomy actress.

Fire Extinguisher

The earliest fire extinguishers -- first developed by Ambrose Godfrey and then retooled by George William Manby -- were used to combat fires in 18th- and 19th-century England. Over the course of their substantial evolution -- which initially featured ingredients like gunpowder, but now contain water, foam or carbon dioxide -- these familiar red contraptions have become safety staples in places such as residential dwellings, offices and restaurants. While no fire extinguisher can offer the advanced technology a local fire department provides, they have still provided accessible, effective protection against small fires that was never available before.

Pasteurization

When French scientist Louis Pasteur developed the art of pasteurization, he was hoping to extend the shelf life of beer and wine. Good man. By perfecting the process of using high-heat and fast-cooling action to keep harmful pathogens under control, his original handiwork has since been applied to dairy products, juices, canned products, and even water. Besides allowing the important things -- like beer -- to taste better, pasteurization has been innovative in protecting people from acquiring scarlet fever, typhoid fever, listeriosis, and diphtheria through food and beverage consumption. 

 Helmets

No matter how easily a helmet can bring on a case of bad hair, not wearing one can just as easily bring on a case of serious injury. First worn for protection by soldiers in ancient times, helmets are still worn during modern warfare while also showing up in everything from sports to construction. Also popular for riders traveling by motorcycle and bicycle, helmets offer an extra layer of security that is invaluable to their well-being and safety on the road. 

Refrigeration

Humans first experimented with food conservation through cooling centuries ago by using ice and snow inside caves. Following the efforts of pioneers William Cullen, Benjamin Franklin and Carl von Linde, refrigerators infiltrated households in the early 20th century. The health benefits of a fridge are numerous, starting with the healthier diets that are possible from refrigerating fruits and vegetables year-round. Additionally, we can thank refrigeration for allowing us to enjoy sushi, as cool preservation was the key to eliminating sushi’s early hepatitis A health risks. 

Anesthesia

We have come a long way since Sigmund Freud suggested that Karl Koller employ cocaine as a local anesthetic and Crawford Long instituted diethyl ether as the operation drug of choice. The advances in anesthesia along with the teamwork of nurses and doctors have made surgery safer for patients who are under the knife, making it less of a life-threatening risk and more of a live-saving procedure. By keeping the focus on the patient and reducing surgical risks, modern anesthesia has prolonged the lives of millions by allowing surgeons to successfully treat countless injuries and conditions at a moment’s notice.   

Vaccines

Through their individual efforts, Edward Jenner and Louis Pasteur transformed society by moving it away from inoculation and into the era of vaccination. Initially introduced in the 18th century and popularized in 19th-century medicine, vaccines changed the course of the health industry by encouraging the prevention of diseases in the human body before they could start. While not without occasional flares of controversy, vaccines can still be credited with protecting humans against the dangers of otherwise deadly conditions like polio, smallpox, measles, and rubella.

Tap Water

Water is the primary essence that allows us to live, which makes the ability to access clean drinking water a vital component for human survival. Perhaps the greatest benefit of the indoor plumbing revolution of the late 19th and early 20th centuries in developed countries was the introduction of tap water. Besides giving humans water they could use for cleaning and food preparation, clean tap water provides essential fluids while preventing waterborne illnesses. As an example of how important safe tap water is, one can simply observe the challenges and health problems endured by those living in countries without it.

911 Emergency Service

The evolution of telephones has gone hand in hand with the changes in how we summon emergency help. During the prerotary phone era, operators patched callers through to authorities, but the invention of rotary dialing necessitated a new approach. The answer came in 1937, when a single emergency phone number -- 999 -- was developed in England. AT&T spearheaded a similar technology across the United States in 1968. The institution of 911 has streamlined emergency services and saved millions of lives by immediately connecting people to the appropriate authorities in times of danger.  

Soap

Being a soap salesman, Fight Club’s Tyler Durden would tell you that there’s no greater universal safety innovation than soap. When coupled with hand washing, soap is critical to protecting the body from bacteria. The one-two punch of William Shepphard’s pioneering liquid soap and dispenser has allowed soap to do its job almost anywhere and everywhere we get the urge to clean up, keeping humans healthier in the process.

Now get some cool facts about SEX

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