Skeptics Stack Exchange
Skeptics Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [physiology]

Human physiology is the science of the mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions of humans in good health, their organs, and the cells of which they are composed. The principal level of focus of physiology is at the level of organs and systems within systems.

Human physiology is the science of the mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions of humans in good health, their organs, and the cells of which they are composed. The principal level of focus of physiology is at the level of organs and systems within systems.

Physiology is closely related to anatomy; anatomy is the study of form, and physiology is the study of function. Due to the frequent connection between form and function physiology and anatomy are intrinsically linked and are studied in tandem as part of a medical curriculum.

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Does wearing summer clothing during the winter increase your tolerance to the cold?

My dad could tolerate long periods of time outside during the winter while wearing shorts and a t-shirt. He told me he started wearing warmer-weather clothing during the winter, and eventually his body simply adapted. Is this possible, and if so,…
Voriki
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Is any unconscious person capable of full splits?

The following popular article on stretching claims that lack of flexibility is purely neurological (or even psychological) and that [almost] any unconscious person would be very stretchy, e.g. can be put into a full horizontal split: When…
amoeba
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Does a typical human on a western diet have undigested protein stuck in their body from years of eating certain foods?

Last night I watched the movie Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. The movie followed two unhealthy people who suffered from a chronic disease on their juice fasts and subsequent lifestyle changes. Their health improved dramatically, their disease was…
Sam I Am
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If you put your hand in water while sleeping/drunk, will you pee yourself?

This is like an urban myth and a classic prank, but I never saw it in action. Supposedly if someone is passed out or sleeping, the contact with water will make him pee. Is this true? If true, why does this happen?
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Do side sleeping postures contribute to breast sagging?

CNN claims that sleeping on your side and sleeping on your stomach can lead to saggy breasts. Sleeping on your side can cause you to get wrinkles," Glaser says. Blame all that smushing of one side of your face into the pillow. This pose also…
Aquarius_Girl
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Does sleeping together naked help stay warm?

In a bunch of films and other entertainment, when characters find themselves in a cold place with no heating but must sleep, they conclude that to stay warm, they should sleep as close to each other as possible —and naked. I think it sounds…
Anko - inactive in protest
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Is it possible to increase the breast size of a woman through massage?

Caitlin MacKenna writes in Increase a Cup Size in 30 Days with Breast Massage: If you massage your breasts for 20-30 minutes a day, they should grow one cup size larger in 30 days. Massage does two things to stimulate growth. One benefit of massage…
Christian
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Does the human body crave missing vitamins?

My mother has told me that if your body needs a certain vitamin, you will find you feel like eating fruits that include that vitamin. For example, if you have lack of Vitamin C, you'll get a craving to eat an orange. Is this true?
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Is the human menstrual cycle related to the lunar cycle?

I've heard that the female menstrual cycle follows a pattern of the lunar cycle, mostly as an evolutionary adaptation so that menstruation (and hence detectability by predators because of the smell of fresh blood) happens on the nights where humans…
Brian M. Hunt
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Do mechanical techniques for penis enlargement work?

According to several different penis enlargement companies, and an unsourced claim on Wikipedia, men have been trying to enlarge their penis for over 2,000 years. Over the years, many different techniques have been tried. For the purposes of this…
Patches
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Does the brain limit muscle strength in humans, but not in other apes?

In researching whether the brain limits our muscle strength, Sciencedaily has a quote: Add to this the effect of severe electric shock, where people are often thrown violently by their own extreme muscle contraction, and it is clear that we do not…
Bart Silverstrim
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Does willpower depend on the amount of glucose in the body?

How strong is the evidence for the argument made in Willpower by Baumeister and Tierney? Basically willpower (or better: "self-control") is supposed to be proportional to the amount of glucose in your blood and if you use up the willpower, it takes…
Christian
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Is the comeback of measles in the US "largely due to anti-vaxers?"

From CNN: In some recent years, there have been fewer than 100 cases nationwide. But the [measles] virus has made a comeback in other years, including 2019 -- largely due to anti-vaxers, experts say. The article doesn't include any statements by…
Barry Harrison
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Will getting your feet wet make you sick?

I keep on reading about people living in the Northern Hemisphere who warn their children not to get their feet wet or else they will "catch the death of your cold". Is this really true? I mean will they catch cold? If so, why? Because in Australia,…
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Is there a relation between brain physiology and gender identity?

I recently came a cross a blog post that talked about DSD or Intersexuality as they rather call it. One of the claims that was made is that gender identity (that is, whether I think of myself as male or female) is a social construct (and implicitly,…
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