Article posted Thursday, December 10, 2009 3:49pm

• Bar-tailed Godwits are large shore birds with long, upturned bills, somewhat similar in appearance to a curlew. They feed along mudflats and use their long bills to root out worms, crustaceans, and mollusks. In North America, they breed in western Alaska. Researchers implanted tiny satellite tracking devices in the legs of female Godwits before they began their winter migration from Alaska to New Zealand. One of these birds set a new nonstop distance record for birds, flying over 6,000 miles in eight days without food, water, or nesting. To make this remarkably journey, before they depart Alaska, Godwits gorge themselves. They almost double their weight and use stored fat reserves to provide energy for their flight. (Science News, 2008)

• Here’s a recent headline in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Sept. 8, 2009): “90% of a person’s cells aren’t human.” This may explain the behavior of some politicians. Actually, the article under the headline pointed out that most cells of your body are bacteria and other microbes that live in our gut or on our skin. About 1,000 different species make up this group. Many of them are harmless and others are essential to our well-being (e.g., intestinal bacteria that help digest food). Recently Julia Segre, a microbiologist, discovered that the region behind the human ear has very few bacteria, and that the forearm has more species of bacteria than any other site. So mothers should make their children wash their forearms instead of behind their ears. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Sept. 8, 2009)

• Why does our hair turn gray with age? It seems that hair follicles produce small amounts of hydrogen peroxide, which is broken down by an enzyme into water and oxygen. As we age, the amount of the enzyme diminishes, and the amount of hydrogen peroxide increases until it reaches a point where it interferes with pigment production. The hair becomes gray, then blonde, then white, in that order. The hair of a young “peroxide blonde” is a result of accelerated aging of hair by a beautician. (Science Illustrated, 2009)

• The human spleen is gaining the respect it deserves, thanks to recent studies showing that the organ is more important than we once thought. Certainly we can live without a spleen, but the evidence indicates that we can live better with it intact. Monocytes are important immune cells, and about 50 percent are stored in the spleen. When a foreign substance or agent is introduced into our bodies, these monocytes are immediately released into the bloodstream and carried to the site of “invasion.” There they change into cells responsible for gobbling up foreign material and displaying pieces of the material on their surfaces. These pieces serve to inform other immune cells what to look for, and they in turn seek out and destroy foreign material (or foreign cells). Another important function of the spleen is the removal and recycling of “worn-out” red blood cells. The spleen also stores a population of red blood cells that can be released quickly when needed. Adults without spleens have a diminished immune response to some bacteria (e.g., Streptococcus pneumoniae, which causes pneumonia) and have a greater incidence of certain coronary diseases. (Science News, 2009; other sources)