Category Human Body

Are all drugs dangerous?

                       People take so-called recreational drugs, such as cannabis and heroin, because of the effect they have on the brain. (These drugs are different from medical drugs that people take when they have an illness or disease.) Recreational drugs can be a danger to health. Some of them make people feel excited and full of energy. Others make them feel sleepy, and some drugs can make people experience imaginary situations. All these drugs cause the brain to malfunction, and if taken regularly they can cause permanent damage to health.

                      Some of these drugs are addictive. This means that they cause changes in the brain that make people crave them, even though the pleasant effects may wear off.

How do medical drugs work?

                     Many medical drugs work by correcting the chemical reactions within the body that are responsible for disease. For example, insulin injections replace insulin that is not being produced by the pancreas, so sugar can be used properly by the body. In depression and mental illness, drugs can restore the balance of chemicals in the brain. Aspirin is often given to cure a headache, but it can also neutralize the inflammation that causes pain in the joints of people suffering from arthritis.

                       Modern drug research studies the cause of diseases, and then designs molecules that interrupt or reverse the disease process. All drugs cause some unwanted effects, and scientists try to find new drugs that relieve disease without causing further problems.

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Why is smoking harmful?

                             Cigarette smoking is known to be the main cause of lung cancer. It also causes bronchitis, heart disease and other problems with the circulation. Cigarette smoke contains many harmful substances, which are all deposited straight into the lungs. The smoke contains tiny particles of soot that can clog the air passages. The tar in smoke contains substances that can cause cancer. The nicotine in cigarettes is a strong addictive drug that can affect the heart and circulation. However, this addiction can be very difficult to break.

                             The harmful effects of cigarettes may only appear after many years of smoking. However, even when a smoker gives up the habit, it can be years before these health risks are cancelled out.

What is health?

                    Being healthy involves far more that simply not being ill. If you feel in good health, your organs will be working properly and you will have the energy to live life to the full. This feeling of wellbeing affects your mind and your body.

How can I keep myself healthy?

                    The environment you live in, your diet and your lifestyle affect your health. Physical fitness is an important part of health, and this means that your heart, lungs, skeleton and muscles all work together smoothly to carry out your daily activities. Fitness involves strength, stamina and suppleness, and you need regular exercise to maintain all these conditions. Careful exercise develops a healthy heart and lungs, and gives you the strength and stamina that allow you to run, cycle and swim. A sensible diet and sufficient sleep also help you to keep healthy.

Can the environment harm health?

                    Air pollution is an environmental factor that can damage health. Exhaust fumes from motor vehicles contain substances that can cause asthma and other breathing problems. In hot climates smog can also develop, trapping these air pollutants and making the health risk greater.

What causes disease?

                      Many diseases are infections that are caused by bacteria or viruses. Other illnesses are caused by failure of some of the body’s organs or tissues. Sometimes parts of the body wear out or are not replaced properly, but most health problems are caused when the body simply fails to maintain itself. Joints can wear out, causing arthritis, or the digestive system may not work as efficiently, causing various types of stomach upset. Other diseases may be caused by a person’s own lifestyle, for example lack of exercise or poor eating habits. Smoking is now known to be a contributory factor in many diseases.

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What is a photographic memory?

                      A few people have the ability to remember a scene or picture just as though they were looking at a photograph. They can recall all the details in the picture, or remember where a particular word is on a page.

What is a mnemonic?

                         Although a memory is stored in the brain, sometimes you cannot find the route to retrieve it. The memory remains hidden. Mnemonics are simple tricks developed to help us remember. Often these are in the form of rhymes, which are seldom forgotten, such as ‘Thirty days hath September…’ to remind you of the number of days in each month, Another example is ‘Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain’ to remind us of the colours of the rainbow. Other people associate the thing they want to remember with something completely unrelated but which sounds similar. Most people developmental tricks of this sort. They can be useful for remembering important facts during exam revision.

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Are there different types of memory?

                        There are three different ways in which memory can be stored. Sensory memory is very brief. It tells you what is happening around you and allows you to move around without bumping into things, Short-term memory lasts for about 30 seconds. It allows you to look up a number in a phone book and dial the number without forgetting it, but after a minute or so it will have vanished. Long-term memory is for things that you have carefully memorized and learned. It may last for years, and some memories can last throughout your life.

How do I remember things?

                    Memory is the ability to store things that you experience and learn, ready for future use. Some things are remembered easily, such as a dramatic event in our life. However, more ordinary things need to be rehearsed in the mind several times before they ‘stick’. This is why revision is necessary when studying for an examination.

Can the brain alter to help people to learn?

                            The structure of the brain can alter slightly as you learn new memories and activities. The number of connections between neurones can increase as you learn a repetitive task, making it easier for nerve impulses to travel through and retrieve a memory. This is why once you have learned a task like riding a bike or swimming, you never forget how to do it. You don’t have to think about it at all once you have learned the skills that are needed. Catching a ball is an example of this. Young children cannot coordinate their hands and eyes well enough to catch a ball at first, but after many fumbles they will learn to catch every time.  

Are brain circuits already in place in a newborn baby?

                            Brain circuits are already in place to maintain the body of a newborn baby, but they continue to develop as the child grows. It is not possible for a very young child to learn language because the brain is not sufficiently well developed. All children, in any culture, start to learn a language in several distinct stages as they grow. By the age of two years most children have an extensive vocabulary of several hundred words, and by the age of four years they understand the simpler rules of grammar. For this reason, some scientists suggest that the brain is ‘pre-wired’ for learning language.

Where are memories stored in the brain?

                           Memories are not stored in any one area of the brain. Because the neurones in the brain are connected in a network, parts of memory can be stored in different places. It seems that for short-term memory, things you have seen are stored near the part of the brain that deals with vision, while sounds are stored near the part of the brain dealing with hearing, and so on. Longer-term memories are stored in a small circuit of several connected nerve cells.

Why does relaxing help you to remember?

                         When you struggle to remember something this often seems to make it even harder to recall. When you relax, your brain tends to explore alternative routes to find the lost piece of information without you being totally aware of it. It is rather like finding a different way around a maze. You will usually be thinking about something completely different, when the piece of information you were trying to recall suddenly comes to mind. Even though you were not consciously looking for it, your brain will have been continuing to seek out the information you wanted.

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What is conditioning?

                      A conditioned action is one that becomes automatic after being repeated many times. You become conditioned to feel hungry when you smell cooking, or to feel thirsty when you hear someone pull the ring off a soft drinks can.

Can a smell bring back a memory?

                        The sense of smell has powerful effects in retrieving memories. Often a smell can suddenly trigger a memory from many years ago. Sounds and tastes do not seem to work in the same way.

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