Science & Nature · 1

What continuously protects the stomach's lining from being broken down by its own digestive acid?

Answer

A layer of mucus

Specialized cells in the stomach wall secrete a thick mucus layer that shields the tissue underneath from the highly acidic gastric juices.

💡 Did you know?

Your stomach produces a new lining every 3–5 days, meaning it digests itself continuously yet never runs out of protective mucus.

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Science & Nature

How many times per day does the human heart beat on average?

If you lived 80 years, your heart would beat about 3 billion times—a biological feat requiring precision control.

Science & Nature

Fingernails tend to grow fastest on which hand, due to increased blood circulation from more frequent use?

Human fingernails grow faster in summer than winter, and faster on your dominant hand due to increased blood circulation from use.

Science & Nature

Which disease is caused by a deficiency of vitamin C?

British sailors earned the nickname 'limeys' after discovering limes cured scurvy during long sea voyages.

Science & Nature

What specific type of bowel obstruction in infants led to the 1999 withdrawal of the first licensed rotavirus vaccine?

The rotavirus vaccine was withdrawn in 1999 after causing bowel obstruction in infants, but a safer version later prevented millions of deaths.

Science & Nature

What was Jonas Salk's primary stated reason for declining to patent his polio vaccine?

The polio vaccine's creator Jonas Salk refused to patent it, potentially forgoing billions in royalties to maximize global access and production.

Science & Nature

The word 'vaccine' derives from the Latin term 'vacca,' referencing Edward Jenner's use of cowpox—what animal does 'vacca' mean?

Smallpox vaccination created the term 'vaccination' itself—Edward Jenner used cowpox virus because milkmaids exposed to it never caught smallpox.