Top 10 medicine facts

Syphilis was present in the Americas before European contact. It was carried from the Americas to Europe by the returning crewmen from Christopher Columbus's voyage. The first outbreak of syphilis in Europe occurred in 1494 in Naples, Italy, during a French invasion.

Capsaicin. Pepper spray (also known as capsicum spray) is a chemical compound that irritates the eyes to cause tears, pain, and temporary blindness used in policing, riot control, crowd control, and self-defence.

It is essential for functioning. Nicotinic acid, better known as niacin or vitamin B3, has nothing in common with tobacco. Chronic lack of niacin leads to pellagra, a vitamin deficiency disease.

Longevity and resistance to cancer. The life span of naked mole rat is around 30 years, while other rodents rarely live longer than a few years. Until recently it was believed that they are entirely resistant to cancer, however, in 2016 cancer was found in two individuals. Studies have revealed that the immune system of naked mole rats has an additional mechanism to identify cancerous cells.

Genetic disorders. Since almost all Amish descend from about 200 18th-century founders, genetic disorders that come out due to inbreeding increase the mortality rate among Amish children. In contrast, cancer rates are 56 percent of the national rate.

Bayer pharmaceuticals. During 1898-1913, heroin was a major product of the company, advertised and shipped worldwide. After withdrawal of heroine, the next Bayer's major product was aspirin.

Sheep. Scrapie is infectious and incurable. Recent studies suggest prions may be spread through urine and persist in the environment for decades. Scrapie occurs in Europe and North America, but to date, Australia and New Zealand (both major sheep-producing countries) are scrapie-free.

Men. It is much less likely for a woman to be red-green colorblind than a man, since this common type of color blindness is caused by a recessive gene in the X chromosome. For a woman, both of her X chromosomes would have to be affected. A man only has one X chromosome, so he is more likely to be color-blind.

Less sedative. Methanol has a much weaker sedative effect than ethanol, which leads the victim to drink more than it would normally do with ethanol. Methanol is oxidized to formaldehyde and then to the poisonous formic acid in the liver.

206. At birth, there are over 270 bones in an infant human's body, but many of these fuse together as the child grows (in the skull, vertebral column etc.), leaving a total of 206 separate bones in an adult.