THE GUY THAT SURVIVED FOR MORE THAN A YEAR WITHOUT A HEART

A 25-year-old has just received a full heart transplant... but not before surviving for more than a year without a human heart inside his body.
Instead, Stan Larkin wore an 'artificial heart' in a backpack 24/7 for 555 days, which pumped blood around his body and kept him alive. The success of the procedure suggests that the device could be used to sustain other patients with total heart failure while they're waiting for a donor.
Back in 2014, Stan became the first patient in Michigan to be discharged with the artificial heart device, which is known as a 'Syncardia'.
He and his brother Dominique had both been diagnosed as teenagers with familial cardiomyopathy, which is a genetic heart condition that can cause heart failure without any warning - it's one of the leading causes of death in athletes.
After years on the donor waiting list, Stan - and eventually his younger brother Dominique - had their hearts removed and were fitted with the Syncardia device.
"They were both very, very ill when we first met them in our intensive care units," said the surgeon behind the transplant, Jonathan Haft, from the University of Michigan Frankel Cardiovascular Centre. "We wanted to get them heart transplants, but we didn't think we had enough time. There's just something about their unique anatomic situation where other technology wasn't going to work."
While other devices such as implantable defibrillators can help with partial heart failure, Syncardia is used when both sides of the heart fail.
Dominique only needed to use the technology for a few weeks before receiving a full heart transplant. But Stan had to wait more than a year, and instead of staying in hospital, he was fitted with the Freedom® portable driver so he could go home in the meantime.
At the time, no one knew how much he'd be able to do with it. The portable device comes in the form of a 6-kg (13.5 pound) backpack that's connected to the patient's vascular system, to keep oxygenated blood pumping around the body.
It's not the most versatile thing to have on you 24/7, and Stan reported not being able to hold his daughters or give them piggy back rides. But he did manage to continue playing basketball - a total surprise to his doctors.
"This wasn't made for pick-up basketball," said Haft. "Stan pushed the envelope with this technology ... He really thrived on the device."
Stan received his donor heart on 9 May 2016, and has now fully recovered from the procedure. He's shared his story, which he calls an "emotional rollercoaster" with the press to raise awareness about the 5.7 million other Americans living with heart failure, and the need for heart donors.
"You're heroes to all of us," David J. Pinsky, director of the Frankel Cardiovascular Centre, said of Stan and Dominique. "The fact that you take your story public and allow us to teach others makes a difference. You'll make a difference for a lot of patients. You'll make a difference to the doctors of the future. We thank you for allowing us to share your story and your bravery in sharing it."

Source: Science Alert

20 Health facts you have gotten totally wrong your whole life

1.  Organic food is pesticide-free and more nutritious.
2.  Eating food within 5 seconds of dropping it on the floor is safe.
3.  The chemical tryptophan in turkey makes you sleepy.
4.  Eating chocolate gives you acne.
5.  An apple a day keeps the doctor away. (Apples are packed with vitamin C and fiber, both of which are important to long-term health, but they aren't all you need. And if certain viruses or bacteria get into your system, an apple will unfortunately do nothing to protect you. Go ahead and get that flu shot, even if you eat apples.)
6.  Natural sugar like honey is better for you than processed sugar.
7.  Coffee stunts your growth.
8.  Eating ice cream will make your cold worse.
9.  Sugar is as addictive as heroin.
10. Sugar causes hyperactivity in children.
11. Your blood turns blue when it's out of oxygen.
12. Humans have five senses. (Sight, smell, taste, hearing, and touch are just the beginning. Don't forget about balance, temperature, and time, as well as proprioception — the body awareness that helps us not walk into things all the time — and nociception, our sense of pain.)
13. Pregnancy gives you "baby brain" and makes you dumb.
14. Humans can't grow new brain cells.
15. Everyone should drink eight glasses of water a day. (A good rule is to drink when you're thirsty — you don't need to count the glasses.)
16. Vaccines cause autism.
17. Cracking your knuckles will give you arthritis.
18. Being cold can give you a cold. (Your doctor will help explain to you that Common Cold is caused by Virus)
19. Being stressed will give you high blood pressure.
20. Humans got HIV because someone had sex with a monkey.

Source: BusinessInsider

Mind-blowing Hair facts. True and Verifiable

1. Hair is made up mostly of keratin, the same protein animals’ horns, hooves, claws, feathers, and beaks are made of.
2. When wet, a healthy strand of hair can stretch an additional 30% of its original length.
3. Hair tends to grow slightly faster in warm weather, because heat stimulates circulation and encourages hair growth.
4. All hair is dead, with the exception of the hair that’s still inside the epidermis of your scalp.
5. Hair contains information about everything that has ever been in your bloodstream, including drugs, and is one of the most commonly used types of forensic evidence.
6. The only thing about you that can’t be identified by your hair is your gender—men’s hair and women’s hair are identical in structure.
7. Black is the most common hair color. Red is the rarest and only exists in about 1 percent of the world’s population, with blonde hair found in 2 percent.
8. As soon as a hair is plucked from its follicle, a new one begins to grow.
9. Hair is 50 percent carbon, 21 percent oxygen, 17 percent nitrogen, 6 percent hydrogen, and 5 percent sulphur.
10. Hair can grow anywhere on the human body with the exception of the palms of hands, soles of feet, eyelids, lips, and mucous membranes.
11. Goosebumps from cold or fear are the result of hair follicles contracting, causing the hair and surrounding skin to bunch up.
12. The average number of hair strands varies by natural color, with blondes having the most and redheads having the fewest.
13. The scientific term for split ends is “trichoptilosis.”
14. Aside from bone marrow, hair is the fastest growing tissue in the body.
15. Balding only begins to become visible once you’ve lost over 50 percent of the hairs from your scalp.
16. At any given time, 90 percent of the hairs in your scalp are growing, while the other 10 percent are resting.
17. A single hair has a lifespan of about five years.
18. Hair acts as a layer of thermally insulating protection for our heads, which lack the insulation that fat provides for the rest of our bodies.
19. Eighty percent of Americans wash their hair twice a day.
20. Each strand of hair can support up to 100 grams in weight. Multiply that by the average 100,000 to 150,000 strands on each head, and your entire head of hair could support the weight equivalent to two elephants.

FACTS ABOUT AFRICA. (Very true and Verifiable)

1. The Gambia has only one university.
2. Equatorial Guinea is Africa’s only spanish speaking country.
3. South Africa is the most visited African country.
4. Nigeria has the richest Black people in Africa.
5. Samuel Eto’o is the highest paid Footballer of all time, he received about £350,000 weekly in Russia in 2011.
6. A person from Botswana is called a Motswana, the plural is Batswana.
7. A person from Lesotho is called a Mosotho.
8b. A person from Niger is called a Nigerien.
8. A person from Burkina Faso is called a Burkinabe.
9. Nigeria has won more football cups than England.
10. Zimbabwe’s President, Robert Gabriel Mugabe is the world’s most educated President with 7 degrees, two of them are Masters.
11. Al-Ahly of Egypt is the richest club in Africa.
12. Didier Drogba is Chelsea’s highest goalscorer in European competition.
13. Johannesburg, South Africa is the most visited city in Africa.
14. Zinedine Zidane wanted to play for Àlgeria, but the selector rejected him, saying they are already many players like him in the team.
15. President Jacob Zuma was given a special award by Fifa for refereeing on Robben Island during his years as a political prisoner.
16. President Robert Mugabe was jailed for 11 years for fighting for freedom.
17. President Robert Mugabe is Africa’s oldest Head of State and the world’s second oldest Head of State. He was born in 1924.
18. The Seychelles are the most educated Africans. Seychelles’ literacy rates (Adult: 92%, Youth: 99%) Zimbabwe is 2nd (Adult: 91.2%,Youth: 99%).
19. Rwanda is a better country for gender equality than England and USA.
20. Somalia got its first ATM on October 7, 2014. 21. South Africa has the most Grammy award winners in Africa.
22. Ethiopia has the most airports in Africa.
23. Ethiopia’s economy is growing faster than China’s.
24. Eritrea’s President, Isaias Afwerki is the least richest President in Africa.
25. Ethiopia is Africa’s oldest independent country, it has existed for over 3,000 years without being colonised.
 26. Haile Selassie 1 was the 225th and last Emperor of Ethiopia. 27. Nigeria has the most monarchs in the world.
28. Angola has more Portuguese speakers than Portugal.
29. President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos has ruled Angola since 1979.
30. President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo is Africa’s longest serving Head of State. He has ruled Equatorial Guinea since August 3, 1979 when he overthrew his uncle, Francisco Nguema. His son, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue is his Vice President and will succeed him if he resigns.
 31. George Weah of Liberia is the first man to win World, European and African footballer of the year in the same year.
32. Swaziland is the only remaining absolute mornach in the world.
33. The Gambia is the smallest country in Africa followed by Swaziland.
34. King Sobhuza ll of Swaziland took the longest time in reigning Swaziland, 62 years as he was crowned in 1921 and died in August 1982 at the age of 83 years.
35. Zimbabwe is the only country in the world were almost everyone was a billionaire at one point
36. Mansa musa...one time leader of the empire of mali....was the world's most richest person with estimated wealth of 400 billion dollars...3 times richer than Bill gates

First U.S. Penis Transplant Is Set To Happen In The Next Few Weeks

 
An American veteran could receive the first penis transplant in the U.S. in the next few weeks.

The operation will be conducted at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. If the operation is a success, the donated penis will be capable of urination, sensation, and sex.

Reuters reports that doctors are prepared to perform the transplant “in the coming weeks.” However, the hospital has to wait for an appropriate donor – a recently deceased male of similar age and skin colour whose family has given permission to remove the penis.

The recipient, who remains anonymous, suffered genital injuries and lost most of his penis in a bomb explosion while serving in the Afghanistan war. Soldiers suffering substantial genital injuries might need transplant surgery for not just the penis, but also the scrotum, areas of groin tissue and parts of the abdominal wall and inner thigh.

During the recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, 12 percent of war injuries involved genitourinary traumas. Reuters said that doctors who worked with servicemen have noted the particularly traumatic experience of losing a penis, reporting it can have a drastic effect on a man’s “identity and manhood.”

In 2014, the world’s first successful penis transplant was conducted in South Africa. In 2006, Chinese doctors also attempted a penis transplant, but the recipient asked to remove the new organ just 10 days after the operation because of psychological trauma.

At the moment, the operation in the U.S. is only being considered for wounded war veterans. However, doctors hope it could eventually be performed on men with birth defects and transgender people.

A technology that can bring dead back to life; coming soon!!!

 
Researchers plan to bring dead to life by freezing their brains and then resurrecting them with artificial intelligence

Bringing the dead back to life is futuristic and final frontier of science and Humai is working on just that. Humai is a technology company based in Los Angeles and is working on a project known as “Atom & Eve” that would let human consciousness be transferred to an artificial body after their death.

The artificial intelligence company has said it can resurrect human beings within the next 30 years. The “conversational styles, [behavioural]patterns, thought processes and information about how your body functions from the inside-out” would be stored on a silicon chip through AI and nanotechnology.

Humai researchers are banking on three technologies – bionics, nanotechnology and artificial intelligence – to achieve their goal of bringing the dead back to life and they feel that it will take around three decades for them to achieve this goal.

The founder of Humai, Josh Bocanegra told the Australian Popular Science: “I accept death, I’m not afraid of it that I’m not 100% sure I’m going to die one day.” While their Facebook page states, “Will death always be inevitable? We don’t think so.”

Bocanegra told Australian Popular Science that the brain of the deceased will be frozen using cryonics technology so that when the technology is fully developed they can implant the brain into an artificial body.

Humai says that bringing a body back to life won’t be easy, or cheap. It’s not known how the brains would be harvested, or for that matter, how much it would cost to bring someone back from the dead. Bocanegra says,”Using cloning technology, we will restore the brain as it matures”. “I don’t think of it as fighting death. I think of it as making death optional. I personally cannot imagine why someone would want to die, but I respect everyone’s wishes,” Bocanegra adds.