/oss/taxonomy/term/1266/all en /oss/article/medical-critical-thinking/you-probably-dont-have-leaky-gut <p>There is a world in which our gut is leaking and causing all manner of diseases. It is not our world, but the trip through the looking-glass is an easy one to make.</p> Fri, 23 Feb 2024 14:09:05 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 9842 at /oss /oss/article/medical/what-not-expect-when-youre-expecting <p>There’s a special type of excitement surrounding a pregnancy announcement. Congratulations, gifts, and celebrations are in order. From “we’re pregnant” and “we’re expecting” to elaborate announcements that a baby is on the way, there are countless ways that people have decided to share the news. The very first pregnancy announcement I heard was something along the lines of “mommy has a baby in her stomach.”</p> Fri, 20 Jan 2023 11:00:00 +0000 Cat Wang, B.Sc. 9353 at /oss /oss/article/health/dark-matter-inside-your-gut <p>There is a kind of dark matter inside our intestinal tract. “Dark matter” is the phrase coined for the matter that is implied to be present in the universe based on physicists’ calculations but that cannot be seen yet. Scientists who study tiny living things are facing their own type of dark matter: invisible microbes that are indirectly detected. They call it “microbial dark matter.”</p> Fri, 21 May 2021 19:41:42 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8742 at /oss /oss/article/environment-did-you-know-general-science/crustaceans-have-teeth-their-stomach <p>Believe it or not, lobsters, as well as other crustaceans such as crabs and crayfish, have teeth in their stomach! The teeth are part of a system called the “gastric mill.” Through rhythmic movements of these large teeth, of which there are three, their stomachs can actually crush food as a prelude to further digestion.</p> Wed, 12 Aug 2020 16:23:03 +0000 Caitlin Bard, OSS Intern 8360 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition-history/alternative-medicine-not-alternative-medicine <p>The best definition seems to be “those practices that are not taught in conventional medical schools.”  And why not?  Because medical schools are sticklers for a little detail called “evidence.”  After all, patients have a right to expect that a course of action recommended by a physician has a reasonable chance of working. In science, evidence means statistically significant results from properly controlled experiments, as evaluated by experts in the field. Lack of evidence of course does not mean that a particular treatment cannot work. Only that it has not been demonstrated to work. And </p> Tue, 27 Feb 2018 19:33:07 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 6935 at /oss /oss/article/food-health-history/accidental-opportunity <p>William Beaumont was an army doctor stationed at Fort Mackinac in Michigan in 1822 when an accident occurred that allowed him to make the first systematic study of the process of digestion. Alexis St. Martin, a young French Canadian army porter was wounded in the stomach when a musket accidentally discharged. He was brought to Beaumont who was unable to close the wound. The man developed an infection for which, according to accepted practice at the time, he was bled by Beaumont. In spite of this useless treatment he survived and became a living laboratory.</p> Fri, 08 Nov 2013 03:34:11 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2029 at /oss