The body, the almost perfect machine.

[daveza]

The human body is an amazing piece of machinery.

You put stuff in, it turns it into energy and the waste is expelled - solids one way, fluids another.

And as long as you keep putting the correct stuff in the machine will keep on going ( until the parts eventually wear out ...)

It has a system for delivering fuel to every last cell of the body, old cells are continually replaced with new... quite remarkable.

Every component has a necessary function within this engine....-

....so why do we have an appendix, tonsils and a foreskin - all of which are expendable ?

 

[Jabberwocky]

To identify the jews

 

[daveza]

To identify the jews

And muslims and zillions of non-jews.

 

[TheMightyQuinn]

The human body is an amazing piece of machinery.

You put stuff in, it turns it into energy and the waste is expelled - solids one way, fluids another.

And as long as you keep putting the correct stuff in the machine will keep on going ( until the parts eventually wear out ...)

It has a system for delivering fuel to every last cell of the body, old cells are continually replaced with new... quite remarkable.

Every component has a necessary function within this engine....-

....so why do we have an appendix, tonsils and a foreskin - all of which are expendable ?

The last three things mentioned are evolutionary leftovers...plain and simple. And the body is not perfect in one major sense...we age and die. And the reason for that is a simple flaw. Our bodies are continiously regenerating the cells that our bodies consist out of 'cos these cells are damaged and thus die continiously. The way the body does this is by making copies...unfortunately the body ends up making copies of copies of copies etc. etc. and we all know the result of that: make a copy on your Xerox of a picture...then make a copy of that copy etc...same result.

 

[daveza]

The last three things mentioned are evolutionary leftovers...plain and simple.

We know this for certain ?

What was their original purpose ?

 

[TheMightyQuinn]

We know this for certain ?

What was their original purpose ?

The foreskin was obviously there to protect the overly sensitive glans.
The tonsils are still debated if they are necessary or not. Supposedly they "absorb" germs as they consist out of immunocompetent tissues.
The appendix is NOT expendable: Read below:
The US scientists found that the appendix acted as a "good safe house" for bacteria essential for healthy digestion, in effect re-booting the digestive system after the host has contracted diseases such as amoebic dysentery or cholera, which kill off helpful germs and purge the gut.

This function has been made obsolete by modern, industrialised society; populations are now so dense that people pick up essential bacteria from each other, allowing gut organisms to regrow without help from the appendix, the researchers said.

But in earlier centuries, when vast tracts of land were more sparsely populated and whole regions could be wiped out by an epidemic of cholera, the appendix provided survivors with a vital individual stockpile of suitable bacteria.

"The function of the appendix seems related to the massive amount of bacteria that populates the human digestive system," said Bill Parker, a professor of surgery and one of the scientists responsible for establishing its status as a useful organ. "The location of the appendix, just below the normal one-way flow of food and germs in the large intestine, helps support the theory."

Other studies had shown that, in less-developed countries where the appendix may still be useful, the rate of appendicitis was lower than in the US, he said.

 

[porchrat]

We know this for certain ?

What was their original purpose ?

Foreskin should be pretty obvious when you look at other mammals.

Appendix and tonsils are thought to have been immunological in nature. There has even been some suggestion the appendix may still help to grow intestinal bacteria... the kind that help us not the pathogenic ones... well not pathogenic when confined to the gut anyway.

Tonsils though look a lot like they belong with our lymphatic system which is vital for the immunological protection of our bodies.

EDIT: LOL nevermind Quin beat me to it.

 

[TheMightyQuinn]

That was too easy Daveza...anything else? Or were you hoping to spark an evolutionary debate?

 

[K3NS31]

Foreskin is still very useful in protecting both the glans and the vagina from friction.

Also, you forgot a few other 'imperfections'. Off the top of my head:
inside out eyes, with a blindspot (Octopus / squids have much better eyes than us, similar to ours, but with all the problems fixed)
males have sensitive, important genitalia exposed and unprotected.
females have birth canals which are too small for an average newborn's head, causing the head to be squashed during childbirth, and until recently, causing a high incidence of deaths of mothers and babies. (see how many Caesars are being done now days.)
we are not yet perfectly adapted to walking upright - hence leg joint and back problems as we age.
One set of proper teeth for a whole lifetime? WTF? Sharks get new teeth whenever they need.

OK, that's all I can think of for now.

 

[daveza]

That was too easy Daveza...anything else? Or were you hoping to spark an evolutionary debate?

Nope - otherwise I would have posted in PD

Was just wondering about these few factory faults that missed quality inspection.

 

[Voicy]

I'm going to speed up the evolutionary process of turning my tonsils into gills through a new device I developed. I'll be the world's best freediver and/or freelance underwater welder.

Watch this space!

 

[TheMightyQuinn]

Foreskin is still very useful in protecting both the glans and the vagina from friction.

Also, you forgot a few other 'imperfections'. Off the top of my head:
inside out eyes, with a blindspot (Octopus / squids have much better eyes than us, similar to ours, but with all the problems fixed)
males have sensitive, important genitalia exposed and unprotected.
females have birth canals which are too small for an average newborn's head, causing the head to be squashed during childbirth, and until recently, causing a high incidence of deaths of mothers and babies. (see how many Caesars are being done now days.)
we are not yet perfectly adapted to walking upright - hence leg joint and back problems as we age.
One set of proper teeth for a whole lifetime? WTF? Sharks get new teeth whenever they need.

OK, that's all I can think of for now.

Sheeze where do I start:

Octopi/squid mostly live in perpetual darkness and underwater...we don't.
The human head was designed to be "squashed" during birth, thus the reason for the "seams" in our skulls.
The large volume of Ceasarians are purely due to convenience for mother AND gyne.
Back and joint problems are caused by bad health, obesity and lack of proper posture and excersise.
Our teeth deteriorate due to modern diet and lack of care. Sharks bite EVERYTHING 'cos that is mainly how they check to see "what it is".

I am actually glad that was all you could think of for now.........

 

[Jamal]

An obvious flaw in the composition of the human body is that we do not have a protective layer of fat covering our shins.

I also think it would have made more sense to be built like a centaur.

 

[daveza]

What about nails and hair - is there a reason they have to grow ?

 

[K3NS31]

Sheeze where do I start:

Octopi/squid mostly live in perpetual darkness and underwater...we don't.
The human head was designed to be "squashed" during birth, thus the reason for the "seams" in our skulls.
The large volume of Ceasarians are purely due to convenience for mother AND gyne.
Back and joint problems are caused by bad health, obesity and lack of proper posture and excersise.
Our teeth deteriorate due to modern diet and lack of care. Sharks bite EVERYTHING 'cos that is mainly how they check to see "what it is".

I am actually glad that was all you could think of for now.........

Gonna disagree on a couple:
Octopi / squid have been found to have very good eyes capable, which are similar to ours, just not 'inside-out'. Gonna see if I can find a link, but I read it ages ago, so I may not be able to.
I saw a lecture given by a female physiologist or gyne or something (forget her field, but she researched this kinda thing), and she was explaining how the whole narrow birth canal / squashing head thing works well enough to allow the species to survive, but not well enough to prevent a large number of deaths. Now I know nothing about this field, but she made a compelling case and had the right credentials. Will see if I can still find the vid.
Are you sure our teeth deteriorate due to modern diet? I seem to remember reading that our forefathers had all sorts of dental problems.
As for back and joint problems, it's commonly accepted that walking upright is one of the causes. Dunno if that's still the case, so I'll give you that one.

 

[K3NS31]

So here's one so far:
Seems I missed the fact that they can't see in colour, but that's what you get for living underwater I guess.
Still, their eyes aren't inside out, and have no blind spot.
http://www.d.umn.edu/~olse0176/Evolution/octo.html

 

[shogun]

What about nails and hair - is there a reason they have to grow ?

When last did you loose a nail: slammed in the car door, hit by a hammer, ripped toe nail while doing something stupid... etc etc. Perhaps not you, but it does happen to a lot of ppl. Without re-growth you'd have an exposed piece of flesh in a region that requires a lot of protection.

Never mind how screwed we would be on voting day still having last election's making

 

[FrankCastle]

Perfect indeed.Like the secondary bladder muscle that's controlled by the subconscious mind.
It prevents us from peeing in our beds.
Indeed lots of functions are controlled unconsciously its just that this particular one goes into override when were awake.

 

[dabbler]

And the coccyx?

Sent from my GT-I9000 using MyBroadband Android App

 

[Apache]

An obvious flaw in the composition of the human body is that we do not have a protective layer of fat covering our shins.

I also think it would have made more sense to be built like a centaur.

The shins are so designed so that we can find things in the dark...howbeit painfully ...