6 scientific myths debunked

Vrutti Patel. 8/16/2020

In a world abundant with information, many widely known beliefs are false: myths. Several researchers and scientists work to prove them wrong with the advances in science we have made over the past century. Here are a series of popular myths that have been debunked by the scientific community:

Myth #1: We only use 10 percent of our brains Fact: Although it is true a person cannot use all parts of the brain at once, researchers have discovered that we use more than 10 percent of our brains within 24 hours. John Henley, a neurologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, states, “Evidence would show over a day you use 100 percent of the brain.” The reason for this myth comes from the fact that 10 percent of our brain’s cells consist of neurons. Modern brain scans, like PET scans and fMRIs, show activity throughout the entire organ.

Myth #2: Humans cannot grow brain cells Fact: Recent studies show that neurogenesis, growing new neurons, is possible. The study was led by Arturo Alvarez-Buylla, a developmental neuroscientist at the University of California, San Francisco, and focused on the sections of the hippocampus — one of the brain’s memory centers. They found evidence that neuron growth in humans drops at the age of 1 and starts again in the teenage years. This discovery might lead to a deeper understanding of brain-related disorders, like Alzheimer’s disease.

Myth #3: Your sight deteriorates if you read in the dark or on a computer Fact: Reading, as well as being on the computer, in the dark will not have any negative impacts on your eyes. Although, it can cause eye strain. The best position to read is to have the light directly on the reading material and not over your shoulders. Or better yet, read in natural light!

Myth #4: The sun is yellow Fact: The sun is all colors and wavelengths mixed, which is essentially white. Pictures taken from space easily show the sun as white. The reason for the sun’s appearance of red, yellow or orange is because of the short wavelength colors scattered in the Earth’s atmosphere, which are green, violet and blue. Therefore, only colors such as red, orange and yellow can pass through Earth’s thick atmosphere, making the sun appear to be one of those colors to the human eye.

Myth #5: Bats are blind Fact: This myth comes from the fact that bats mostly rely on their enhanced hearing abilities since they hunt at night. They rely on echolocation to hunt thief prey, but that has no connection to their blindness. In fact, they have the ability to tune their eyes in low-light situations for better vision since they have photoreceptor cells called rods in their eyes to enhance their vision. They depend on their vision to avoid predators and navigate.

Myth #6: Humans evolved from monkeys Fact: Humans did not evolve from monkeys. Rather, we share a common ancestor from which both species evolved about 25 million years ago. The fossil records and DNA analysis supports this theory. We share around 93 percent of our DNA with monkeys, which led to the conclusion that we shared a common ancestor.

Myths are persistent and memorable. In order to displace them, there needs to be an even more memorable fact. How many more myths do we believe are true? Will science debunk them? While we do not know what the future holds, modern science improves by the second and can guarantee many more surprises.

Cover Photo: (Silver Wolf / Emaze)