Patricia Holden MD|

In my last post, I mentioned the hind leg bones of whales as a possible sign of evolution. There are also clues from other species, such as humans, that could be used as evidence that species have slowly undergone evolution over a period of millions of years. As a devout Catholic, although I do believe in creationism, I also believe that the bible was not meant to be taken literally and that the theory of evolution could be accepted as truth. Here are three body parts in humans that could have been traces of our previous forms.

Tailbone - Also known as the coccyx. It is a set of fused vertebrae which is believed to be the last remaining trace of our tails before humans started to learn walking upright. Tails are designed to maintain balance for animals or even used to hang onto branches by some primates. For humans, a tail would essentially be useless given that we walk upright and do not need the tail for counterbalance. Our hip bones and muscles are the ones responsible for that. It is true, however, that the coccyx serves as support for minor muscles and pelvic organs, there have been no observed adverse health effects after its removal.

Body Hair - Alright, give me any seriously bad effects of being bald and shaving your eyebrows, armpits, or even your pubic hair. Can’t think of any? Of course. Aside from keeping sweat from going to your eyes (eyebrows) or helping deal with underarm moisture, the remaining hair on our body serves no other special purpose. Many scientists believe that it simply what remained of our once fully covered bodies but I’m still thankful. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be keeping this nice haircut I just had yesterday.

Toes - Admittedly, if we lost one or more of our toes it will be hard to keep our balance for a while. Eventually, it will just be the same as before. The truth is, the only toe we need for balance is the big toe. According to those who support the theory of evolution, the other toes were simply the remains of our history as tree climbers (like the chimpanzees).

There are other possible signs of us humans having evolved from other species such as a third eyelid and extrinsic muscles. If you are interested in the other ones, here’s a link for additional reading.

I’m taking a break from all that medicine-related mumbo-jumbo to talk about some weird stuff (again). I’m sure you all know what mammals are. Usually, members of a certain “class” of animals have things in common like egg-laying for birds or live birth for mammals. There are however some characteristics of some of the members that make them stand out. Here are some strange mammals and what makes them so.

Sloths - Sloths have a flat head, big eyes, a short snout, and tiny ears. They also have long legs and a stubby tail. But what makes them different from other mammals? Most mammals have seven cervical vertebrae. Two-toes sloths only have six and three-toes sloths have nine. What also makes them weird is their physical capabilities and behavior in general. Sloths can only move one and a half meter every 5 minutes. How slow is that? Also, they spend most of their lives hanging on a branch sleeping for 15-18 hours (although later studies say that they only sleep for around 10 or so hours). They go down only once a week to urinate and other “calls of nature”. Their young also cling to the mother’s fur but often fall off. The good thing is, they are rather tough and don’t die from falls. However, if a predator is waiting below, then there’s a good chance that the young will get eaten.

Platypus - The platypus is one strange creature. It is the only mammal that has webbed feet and a rubber snout whice makes it look closer to a duck than anything than anything else. The webbed feet is folded back when walking on land and is more prominent on its front feet. Its jaw is also different from most mammals along with its jaw muscles. It’s movement is also different as its body is like a reptile that has the legs on the sides rather than underneath.

Bats - Bats are the only flight capable mammals with the forelimbs developed in to wings rather than legs or arms. They are similar to rodents so they are often called “flying mice”. They have poorly developed sight and track prey using a process called echolocation. Basically, they emit high-pitched sounds and listen to the echoes similar to the technology used in submarines. They use sonar to locate their prey instead of by locating them visually.

Armadillos - Armadillo is Spanish for “little armored one”. True to its name, the armadillo is a mammal with a bony armor shell which it uses for defense against predators. They are good diggers and use their sharp claws to dig for food and create dens. Like bats, they have poor vision. Their armor is formed by plates of dermal bone covered in relatively small, overlapping epidermal scales called scutes, which is composed of bone with a covering of horn. They have rigid shields over the shoulders and hips, with a number of bands separated by flexible skin covering the back and flanks.The armor covers the top of the head, the upper parts of the limbs, and the tail.

Whales - When I was younger, I thought dolphins and whales were fish. They don’t have gills and breathe through their lungs which make them different from fish. Although they look like fish with flippers and tail fins, they have mammary glands (which makes them mammals) which they use to feed their young with milk. It is believed that whales, along with dolphins and porpoises, are descendants of land-walkers. Although it may be hard to believe, this weird mammal have been discovered to have hind-leg bones which serve no purpose and serve as an object of curiosity among scientists, making many believe that they have evolved from land-living mammals or would evolve into one. It would be scary to imagine whales walking on land though.

I mentioned something about how some diseases can be spread from one person to another and that how it can cause people to isolate themselves from others. Most diseases have symptoms that can be easily seen so it can be pretty easy for people to distinguish who is infected and who isn’t. However, what if that person is someone who seems to be disease-free but somehow could contract the disease to anyone near him or her? Scary isn’t it? Here are three examples of carriers.

Milkman in Boston - Around 1899, a typhoid outbreak happened in Jamaica Plain, Boston Massachussets. Apparently, it was a milkman who was infected by the disease a month back but continued his duties without realizing that he himself was infected. The bad thing was, being a milkman, wherever he goes to deliver the product, he was unknowingly spreading the disease. The man has 300 customers so imagine how many he could have infected. Note: Picture above is not of the milkman I’m referring to but is simply there to give you an idea of what a milkman is (if you don’t happen to know…haha).

Mary Mallon - Better known as “Typhoid Mary”. She was the first person in the US to be known as a “healthy carrier” of typhoid fever. As a cook, she infected 47 people with 3 of them dying due to the disease. After being approached by typhoid researcher George Soper, she denied that she was a carrier of the disease and refused to quit her job as a cook. This continued on until public health authorities arrived and took her into custody. She was examined and was proven to be a carrier. She was isolated for three years then released under the condition that she would not take a job that was related to food. She still did, under the alias “Mary Brown”, where she infected 25 more people. She was quarantined for life after that. She died at 69 years of age due to pneumonia. During her autopsy, it was found she was carrying live typhoid bacteria in her gallbladder.

Princess Alice - The third child of Queen Victoria of Britain and was a carrier of X-linked hemophilia gene. She passed hemophilia to the German and Russian imperial families. She’s considered to be a genetic carrier, meaning that she inherited a genetic trait yet does not show its trait. Of her six children, three showed symptoms of the disease. Her daughter Irene was also a carrier and after marrying her first cousin, Prince Henry of Prussia, she gave birth to two hemophilic sons. Every attempt was made to conceal the fact that the disease had been presented in the German imperial family, but Waldemar, the youngest of the princes, bled to death at age 4. The other prince, Henry, died at the age of fifty-six.

Those mentioned above are only human carriers. Animals and insects can be carriers as well. They don’t necessarily show any signs of the disease but if the disease-causing organism happens to rub onto you, it’s possible for you to get infected. There’s nothing much that can be done about it unless you have psychic powers to know who’s infected or not. Or live in isolation in your private island. Or an escape to the mountains or the beach. Speaking of beach escape, LL is having a contest so check it out.

Getting pregnant at a critical period (like on your last year of law school) wouldn’t be a pleasant thing to happen. You’ll be stressed out just from thinking about what’s going to happen that you’ll find it difficult to continue with your regular activities. Most likely, you’ll be opting for an abortion afterwards - which isn’t a good thing in my opinion.

Man (I mean humans, not just males) have thought of a lot of ways to prevent women from getting pregnant. There have been natural methods like the rhythm method, and artificial ones like condoms. There have also been beliefs that have been passed on through generations and of course, some are true while most are not. Let me tell you of seven myths regarding birth control.

Having Sex During a Woman’s Period - Many people thought that having sex while a woman is on her menstruation period wouldn’t get her pregnant. Although it is true that women are much more likely to conceive during their midcycle, studies have shown that a woman can conceive at any day of the month (except for the so called safe period, which I’m not going to talk about here). Aside from that, sperm can live up to 5 days inside a woman’s body.

Having Sex For The First Time - A lot of people believe that a woman won’t get pregnant during the first time she will have sex. This is not true. A woman can get pregnant as soon as ovulation occurs (read: when she begins having periods). Girls, don’t believe your boyfriend when he says otherwise. Guys, you know who you are…

Birth Control Pills Are Effective Immediately After Taking One - Oh no, it’s not…well, for most women. Usually, it takes one full cycle for the hormones in the pill to work with the woman’s hormones to prevent ovulation. The best way to go about using one is to follow the directions indicated on the product itself.

A Woman Can’t Get Pregnant Without An Orgasm - Seriously, what does having an orgasm have anything to do with the sperm reaching the egg and forming a zygote? None. Well for males, maybe since orgasm usually follows ejaculation. A woman, as long as she’s fertile and sperm enters her cervix and uterus, would get pregnant no matter if she’s had orgasm or not during sex.

Using The Withdrawal Method Wouldn’t Get A Woman Pregnant - False. That’s why there’s something called premature ejaculation. Sometimes a man releases his fluids even before reaching climax. With that said, it’s near impossible to tell whether sperm has already entered the cervix or not. Men should use condoms to be sure.

Douching After Sex - Once the sperm reaches the cervix, it’s nearly impossible for any douching method to fix that. With that in mind, douching cannot be considered a good method of contraception. Taking a bath afterwards also won’t help as the sperm has almost reached its destination (if not yet).

A Woman Can’t Get Pregnant While Breastfeeding - Not really. Although it is true that menstruation stops when a woman is on her breastfeeding stage, ovulation may happen without warning and could get you pregnant. Use birth control to be safe. Also, it is recommended by doctors to wait for a year before getting pregnant again.