Today is going to be a short entry, but it will explain a question that many of you have probably asked or heard: why does the appendix exist? Why has it hung onto us? All it does it gives us diseases, right? All these questions will be answered today.
The first step to discovering what the appendix does is knowing where it is. It is where the small and large intestine intersect, and is also connected to the colon. These three organs are part of the digestive system, so the appendix probably helps us with digesting food. However, studies have shown that the appendix doesn't really do anything during this time. So yes, the appendix is truly useless.
Over time, humans got the idea that while it doesn't help humans now, it did in the past. Long ago, humans ate more vegetables than today and in the recent* past. As humans' diets changed, the appendix shrunk so the stomach would have more room inside the body.
Here comes the proof.
Koalas and similar mammals have been found to have a longer appendix than humans. This makes sense so far because their main diet is leaves, not meat. Because the appendix is longer, it is able to host bacteria. This bacteria helps in digesting cellulose, material from plant walls, which surround plant cells.
In short, the appendix's main purpose is to host bacteria that help to break down veggies. No longer useful to us, but very important to other species.
I know this is kind of short, but I really wanted to address this issue. It doesn't really seem like a lot of people know about this, and it is kind of worth knowing about. Anyway, make sure to comment about missed and wrong stuff, suggestions for topics, or just regular comments! Next time we'll be covering a geology topic, so tune in tomorrow.
Until next time,
Ben's jamin'
Benjamin
P.S. Make sure you check out John's math blog at http://johncooksmathblog.blogspot.com.
*recent refers to about the past few thousand years
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