Science In Society Catalyst Quiz Prep

Spider Ballooning PhobiaAcidic Bile ConstipationBezoar Enzyme Chronic

Digestive Hormones FamineEnergy Appetite Protein

Physiology Abortion FetusAbnormality Quantifiable GestationTermination

•Attached are the catalyst mini-excerpts from scientific journals that have been or will be used in class up to the quiz on: Monday, Tuesday January 12

Do We Really Swallow Spiders In Our Sleep?The idea that we eat spiders while we sleep is a myth. Some spider species are known to balloon. One of these could accidentally drift into your mouth while you’re asleep. But you’d have to be unlucky for that to happen. One spider specialist has outlined 5 requirements:1You need to be asleep with your mouth open (rare) 2) A spider must be on your bed (spiders avoid humans) 3) It has to crawl across your body (see above) 4) It has to actually want to go into your mouth, and 5) You have to actually swallow it (we don’t automatically swallow everything that goes in our mouth).So why is this myth so popular? High levels of people’s disgust of spiders together with their phobia of coming into contact with them has led to our unrealistic expectation that we eat them unconsciously.

Does Gum Sit In Your Stomach?The answer to this urban myth is a resounding no. But, as with all good myths, there is some truth behind it. Gum survives the stomach’s acidic environment surprisingly intact. It is very resilient and not broken down by digestive enzymes. The normal propulsive waves of the gut will eventually expel gum out of the body. Gum is normally surrounded by bile and other fluids and tends not to stick in the intestine. Just because gum can pass through the digestive system doesn’t mean we should make a habit of swallowing it. Chronic massive consumption of gum can spell trouble. Two young children who, as prolific gum chewers, swallowed a certain amount of gum. They developed chronic constipation and large rectal masses known as rectal “bezoars”, made up mainly of chewing gum.

Why is it so hard to lose weightWe are designed to seek food. Research shows that following weight loss, levels of hormones which affect our appetite promote over-eating and weight regain. We overeat after a period of energy restriction until fat mass has returned to or exceeded initial levels. We might consider fat a simple energy reserve, but during periods of food shortage fuel partitioning is not straightforward – muscle protein is just as readily converted to energy as fat. Our physiology has been shaped by evolutionary processes which make us suited to a hunter-gatherer lifestyle: high levels of physical activity and periods of famine and feast.

Abortion JudgementAbortion laws in Northern Ireland have been ruled to breach human rights. Banning abortions of fetuses with fatal abnormalities, or that were conceived as a result of a sexual crime, is not compatible with human rights. In northern Ireland, abortion is only legal when the pregnancy poses a quantifiable risk to the mother’s life. People who receive or perform illegal terminations can face life imprisonment. Women get around this by going to other places in the UK where abortion is legal through 24 weeks gestation. This, however, ends up being cost prohibitive for the poor, making a “one law for rich, another for poor” situation.