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What Are Everyday Mysteries?

by kphirst

Everyday mysteries are things that you unsuccessfully try to
understand. Somnambulism is as mysterious to me as the condition
it describes - sleepwalking. Only 1.2% of the population
sleepwalks, which explains why I've never known anyone with the
condition. Sleepwalkers are supposedly in a non-dream state of
sleep, which allows the process going on in the brain to manifest
in actions. Although some drugs have been thought to cause
sleepwalking, somnambulism experts say drugs only exacerbate the
condition, as do anxiety, sleep deprivation and high fever.
Although scientists haven't determined a specific cause for
sleepwalking, they have discovered a genetic predisposition.
Sleepwalking, however, isn't just walking. Some people perform
complex tasks while they're asleep, such as driving, preparing
meals and writing checks. The checks don't make sense, but they
are signed. I don't think I'm a sleepwalker, but the check
writing thing sounds like something I do every April 15th.

The workings of the circadian clock are another of my everyday
mysteries. The circadian clock is supposedly a biological,
time-keeping mechanism that connects the body's rhythms to
external light levels - thus determining our sleep and wake
cycles. Recently the Journal of Science reported that mice have a
second circadian clock that connects with food consumption and
that can override their light-based clock. Researchers at
Harvard's School of Medicine think that the second clock helps
animals adjust to hard times. It allows them to switch their
sleep and wake cycles to maximize their opportunity to find food.
Although the researchers think that all animals have this second
clock, I think what maximizes the human animal's opportunity to
find food is the light which goes on when we open the
refrigerator door.

One of the mysteries that is no longer as mysterious - at least
to scientists - is what causes left-handedness. In 2007
geneticists at Oxford University discovered "LRRTM1", also known
as Leucine-Rich Repeat Transmembrane Neuronal Protein 1. It's the
first gene that has been linked to the increased odds of being
left-handed. Nevertheless, LRRTM1 doesn't explain why only 10% of
the population is left-handed or why left-handedness is more
common in males. Something else which remains a mystery is why
researchers at both Lafayette College and Johns Hopkins
University found that left-handed men who graduate from college
earn 26% more money than their right-handed counterparts.
According to the researchers, the earnings difference doesn't
apply to women. - which may be a left-handed compliment.

KNIGHT PIERCE HIRST takes humorous looks at life.
<a href="http://knightwatch.typepad.com">Take a minute to make
yourself smile</a> at 
http://knightwatch.typepad.com

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