What's That Rash?

It’s good to be on top of your health – but how far would you go to ensure you’re staying healthy?
Ads have popped up for full-body MRIs, promising to catch things from cancer to aneurysms.
Norman and Tegan scan through the potential benefits and risks of looking inside seemingly healthy bodies. 
References:
Principles of screening - Cancer Council
Incidental Findings and Low-Value Care
Prevalence of abnormalities in knees detected by MRI in adults without knee osteoarthritis: population based observational study (Framingham Osteoarthritis Study)
Whole‐body MRI for preventive health screening: A systematic review of the literature
The effects of incidental findings from whole-body MRI on the frequency of biopsies and detected malignancies or benign conditions in a general population cohort study
Clinical value of whole-body magnetic resonance imaging in health screening of general adult population
Long-Term Psychosocial Consequences of Whole-Body Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Reporting of Incidental Findings in a Population-Based Cohort Study 
Impact of whole-body MRI in a general population study
Elective MRI Screening of the General Public—Buyer Beware
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At-home DNA tests — what can they tell you?
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Can functional mushrooms really help treat cancer?

You might've heard the qualifier that exercise is good for you – but you need to be progressing that exercise over time.
Running further, lifting heavier, exercising for longer. How important is it to up the stakes?
Norman and Tegan flex their muscles on progressive training and its benefits.
References:
Thomas L. DeLorme and the Science of Progressive Resistance Exercise
Associations of Muscle Mass and Strength with All-Cause Mortality among US Older Adults
Skeletal Muscle Strength as a Predictor of All-Cause Mortality in Healthy Men 
Progressive overload without progressing load? The effects of load or repetition progression on muscular adaptations 
Strength and Hypertrophy Adaptations Between Low- vs. High-Load Resistance Training: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis 
Physical activity types, variety, and mortality: results from two prospective cohort studies 
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Working out? Why 'No Pain No Gain' is bull
Is a vibration plate worth the cost?
You'll catch your death! Does cold weather cause colds?

A cruise ship at the centre of a virus outbreak — sound familiar?
Passengers and crew are beginning to disembark the MV Hondius after several cases of hantavirus sent them into quarantine. 
The virus is usually caught through contact with infected rodent urine, droppings or saliva. Transmission between humans is rare. 
Norman and Tegan answer common questions about the hantavirus, and how it compares to the handling of COVID-19.

It’s easy to catch a yawn – you might even yawn while you’re reading this.
It’s not just humans that yawn, but all kinds of verterbrates, even fish! But contagious yawning is rarer.
Norman and Tegan unpack why we yawn in this live recording at the World Science Festival Brisbane.
References:
Yawning: no effect of 3-5% CO2, 100% O2, and exercise 
Brain size and neuron numbers drive differences in yawn duration across mammals and birds 
Excessive yawning and thermoregulation: two case histories of chronic, debilitating bouts of yawning
Different yawns, different functions? Testing social hypotheses on spontaneous yawning in Theropithecus gelada
Why yawns are contagious—in all kinds of animals: Evolutionary biologist Andrew Gallup explains why we yawn after others 
Mirror neuron activity during contagious yawning—an fMRI study 
The mirror-neuron system 
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Why are some people right (or left) handed?
Can consuming dairy really give you acne?
Is daylight saving time bad for us?

You might know them as "vestigial" organs, but we no longer overlook organs that aren’t vital for life.
While they can be removed, your tonsils, appendix and gallbladder play important roles in the body.
Norman and Tegan define what "vestigial" actually means, and how our bodies adapt to losing an organ.
References:
How Do We Know What Human Organs Do? - JSTOR Daily 
Tonsils, adenoids and throat infections — do doctors still recommend surgery? - ABC News
Association of Long-Term Risk of Respiratory, Allergic, and Infectious Diseases With Removal of Adenoids and Tonsils in Childhood 
Influence of Tonsillectomy on Various Disease Outcomes: An Outcome-wide Association Analysis and Mendelian Randomization Analysis
Cytokine production in patients with recurrent acute tonsillitis: analysis of tonsil samples and blood - PMC 
Association of Long-Term Risk of Respiratory, Allergic, and Infectious Diseases With Removal of Adenoids and Tonsils in Childhood - PMC 
Microbial Composition of Human Appendices from Patients following Appendectomy 
Long-term impacts of appendectomy associated with increased incidence of inflammatory bowel disease, infection, and colorectal cancer
Cholecystectomy (Gallbladder Removal)
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