The man who revolutionized our knowledge of the human body

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The man who revolutionized our knowledge of the human body

"His name was Andreas Vesalius. He was born into a medical family in what is now Belgium. As a boy he showed a great interest in the dissection of animals, a predilection that disgusted his contemporaries. Yet he persevered, going on to study medicine at both Paris and Padua, then two of the great centers for anatomic research. When he graduated, he was immediately offered a teaching position. Unlike those who taught him, he insisted on performing the dissections himself and encouraged his students to do likewise."

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The ability to control dreams may help us unravel the mystery of consciousness

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The ability to control dreams may help us unravel the mystery of consciousness

"We spend around six years of our lives dreaming – that’s 2,190 days or 52,560 hours. Although we can be aware of the perceptions and emotions we experience in our dreams, we are not conscious in the same way as when we’re awake. This explains why we can’t recognize that we’re in a dream and often mistake these bizarre narratives for reality."

"But some people – lucid dreamers – have the ability to experience awareness during their dreams by “re-awakening” some aspects of their waking consciousness. They can even take control and act with intention in the dream world (think Leonardo DiCaprio in the film Inception)."

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What is brain plasticity and why is it so important?

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What is brain plasticity and why is it so important?

"Neuroplasticity – or brain plasticity – is the ability of the brain to modify its connections or re-wire itself. Without this ability, any brain, not just the human brain, would be unable to develop from infancy through to adulthood or recover from brain injury."

"What makes the brain special is that, unlike a computer, it processes sensory and motor signals in parallel. It has many neural pathways that can replicate another’s function so that small errors in development or temporary loss of function through damage can be easily corrected by rerouting signals along a different pathway."

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Why aren’t there any human doctors in Star Wars?

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Why aren’t there any human doctors in Star Wars?

Though set “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away,” it isn’t hard to see in the Star Wars films a vision of our own not so distant future. But Anthony Jones, a physician with a long background in health care technology development, sees the Star Wars vision of medicine’s future as sheer fantasy. Specifically, he is struck by the dearth of doctors – at least human ones. “In Star Wars,” he says, “there are no people practicing medicine. Caring for patients seems to have been taken over by machines.”

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What happens to your brain when you’re pregnant – morning sickness, smell and forgetfulness?

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What happens to your brain when you’re pregnant – morning sickness, smell and forgetfulness?

"More than half – perhaps even up to 90% – of pregnant women experience nausea or vomiting to some degree, particularly in the morning. Thrust into the limelight as a result of the Duchess of Cambridge’s hospitalisations, around 1% of pregnant women experience more severe, prolonged morning sickness called hyperemesis gravidarum, which can result in dehydration and weight loss, and may require medical attention. For most women, morning sickness goes away after 18 weeks."

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The House of Cards characters have terrible sleep habits

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The House of Cards characters have terrible sleep habits

"Rarely does an episode go by that we don’t see Claire lounging in bed, papers strewn across the blanket and MacBook screen glowing in the reflection of her wayfarers. Frank is guilty in a different way, suited up and typing away at his computer in the Oval Office in the middle of the night or playing games on his tablet. Reading and working late are one thing, but the blue light from their screens is probably destroying their bodies’ natural circadian rhythms."

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