Warren2ThaG Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 The Appendix: Useful and in Fact PromisingThe body's appendix has long been thought of as nothing more than a worthless evolutionary artifact, good for nothing save a potentially lethal case of inflammation. Now researchers suggest the appendix is a lot more than a useless remnant. Not only was it recently proposed to actually possess a critical function, but scientists now find it appears in nature a lot more often than before thought. And it's possible some of this organ's ancient uses could be recruited by physicians to help the human body fight disease more effectively. In a way, the idea that the appendix is an organ whose time has passed has itself become a concept whose time is over. "Maybe it's time to correct the textbooks," said researcher William Parker, an immunologist at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C. "Many biology texts today still refer to the appendix as a 'vestigial organ.'" ---more...http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20090824/sc_livescience/theappendixusefulandinfactpromising Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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