Random Friday Facts.

- Fontanelles are the soft spots found on the skull of a newborn. They are made of fibrous tissue cartilage and are places on the baby's head where the skull has not yet fully ossified (i.e. developed into compact bone). There are two fontanelles (one major, and one minor). Within one year of the birth, the two soft spots will have ossified. When a baby is born, the doctor will gently rub his or her hand over the baby's head to examine the fontanelles. The fontanelles are good indicators of the baby's health. If the fontanelle is indented more than usual, then the baby is dehydrated. With less fluid in the brain, the brain is slightly 'deflated' and the fontanelle sinks into the skull more as a result. If the fontanelles are smaller than normal, then the skull won't have room to expand for the developing brain. Without adequate room for the brain to expand, the brain can be 'squished', potentially causing the baby permanent brain damage.

- Humans have the unique ability to "hide" their thumbs. It is said that a hallmark of human evolution is the opposition of the thumb. The thumb joint has a bilateral axis, meaning it can move on two axis. The thumb is capable of abduction/adduction (think of spreading your fingers apart and then bringing them back together) and is capable of flexion/extension (the thumb is able to "hide" behind the other four fingers of the hand).

- Circadian rhythms are supposed to regulate our sleep patterns (and not our alarm clocks!). In the morning, the body should wake you up by beginning to raise its internal temperature. Similarly, at night time, your should begin to feel sleepy when your body begins to cool its internal temperature. The waves of heating and cooling of the body should ideally regulate our sleeping patterns. Also, our cortisol (i.e. stress levels) should regulate sleep. In the morning, the body is typically the most stressed, and the evenings, the body should be the least stressed. However, when people lead stressful lives such that they are always stressed, the body will have a hard time falling asleep at night. Highly stressed people can suffer from insomnia as their sleep and stress levels are out of sync.

- We have to LEARN how to resolve disagreements: Listen to each other, Explain each point of view, Acknowledge the differences of opinion, Recommend ways of resolving the disagreement, Negotiate a compromise.

- Pharmacology is (basically) the science of mimicing physiology. The majority of drugs available simply mimic a cellular molecule/function/reponse/pathway that already exists in the human body.