Gork,
Long time, first time. I’m always reading how scientists are discovering new bones in the human body. It strikes me that the human body is kind of like the ocean…we’ve only just begun to explore its nooks and crannies to find out what lurks beneath. What else don’t we know about our bodies? You hearing anything?
Pike Provoster, Pig’s Hollow, MI
Pike,
Thanks for the question. I find it hard to believe that you’re always reading about new bone discoveries. If you are, you might want to check your sources because we pretty much wrapped up mapping the human skeleton over 1,000 years ago. Sure, individuals can vary based on how their bones fuse in childhood and one-off genetic abnormalities, but generally speaking, we all have about 206 bones. If you want to get technical, we can talk about sesamoid variations and other nuances that might make us think we have more like 213 bones, but let’s not do that.
Since the basis of your question is obviously flawed, it’s hard to continue, but I’ll try. You might be interested in some emerging research happening in Venezuela related to hair growth. Venezuelans are notoriously obsessed with their hair. Baldness is actually considered a crime in some parts of the country, so scientists there have been furiously researching solutions to lower the crime rate. They’ve recently discovered that each individual hair on our bodies actually has its own micro-brain. They postulate that it might even be possible to communicate with hair with electrical impulse patterns. Researchers are attempting to learn the “language” of hair by observing responses to electrical stimulation. Apparently, certain patterns yield very specific responses, while others result in no response at all. If all goes well, they hope to literally ask their hair why it falls out, and possibly convince it to just not do that. If they get this figured out, it could mean big bucks for anyone investing in the Venezuelan hair market. To most of us, that sounds like some hair-brained science fiction, but I suspect it’s right up your alley. Be careful out there, bonehead.
-gvd