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Dr Joseph Bell - real life Sherlock Holmes

Dr Joseph Bell was known for his skills in observation. He would often pick a stranger, and by observing him, deduce his occupation and recent activities. He was considered a pioneer in forensic science.
Arthur Conan Doyle and Joseph Bell worked together at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh in 1877. It was during this time that Conan Doyle became a student and avid fan of Dr Bell, often irritating his mentor by asking too many questions.
Conan Doyle would later say:
"It was Joseph Bell who first showed me how much could be deduced from a single glance at a man's face. He would pick up a newspaper and say, 'This man was in Dublin yesterday,' or 'This man is going to Paris tomorrow.'"
Dr Bell's skills were so impressive that Conan Doyle loosely based his character Sherlock Holmes on him. The two men shared many similarities, including their passion for using science to solve crimes. And although Dr Bell never worked on solving crimes on his own like Holmes, he did assist police with their investigations on several occasions.
Despite being the inspiration for one of the world's most famous detectives, Dr Bell never achieved the same level of fame as Conan Doyle. He continued to work as a surgeon until his death in 1911. The popularity of Sherlock Holmes has definitely helped achieve what Bell wanted - to use forensics and science in crime solving, as it is a standard part of any investigation nowadays.

When immune system goes rogue

Immune system is a system of the body that protects it from all foreign substances from the outside (viruses, bacteria, fungi, etc.) and controls the destruction of failed or outdated cells (for example, it is immunity that protects us from tumour formations). In order for immune cells not to destroy the cells of their own body, there is immunological tolerance.

Most healthy poisons in the world

While plants do their best to scare away those who want to eat them by producing all sorts of complex poisons and toxins, ironically, some of them are now used by humans only because of those very poisons.

Banana republic the beginning

One of the co-founders of the United Fruit Company (now Chiquita) was Minor Cooper Keith. He built a railroad in Costa Rica and planted many banana trees along the way to feed the workers. When the government could no longer fund the project, Keith had to come up with something to pay back the huge loan he had received. He decided to start using the newly built railroad to export bananas to the United States.

Appendix - a secondary immune organ

Although appendix is no longer used by humans for digestive purposes it still contains a high concentration of lymphoid tissue. Lymphoid tissue is essential for the immune system and may help encourage the growth of some types of beneficial gut flora.

How to survive if you're slow as a sloth?

A sloth can move slowly, but movement is not his primary defense method. Camouflage is a great way to go undetected. And this is where sloths have become experts over a long period of their evolution.